Blogging provides a number of functions, and a big one for me is self-education. Not only is there the benefit of other’s experience (when I’m trying to fix a problem with hardware or software I almost always use Google’s blog search to find recent answers to my problem) and a specialized information source (academic productivity, anyone?) but it also allows a public platform to teach yourself.
Much like the academic homepage we discussed before, your blog allows you a place to focus in on your subject matter - but in a far more intimate way because if you’re blogging correctly it forces you to be more than a passive recipient of information, but respond and consider what these daily occurrences really mean.
You may be asking “why blog, why not just keep a journal?”
One of the advantages of keeping a blog as you research something, over just a private journal, is that if you have readers it helps reinforce the process and keeps you on track. It also, of course, lets others share in your thinking and, ideally, challenge you. A conversation will always be a better way to learn than just receiving information.
I did this for a number of years, myself. In fact, this is how I first began blogging - and I maintained the site in various incarnations for a number of years. I quit, however, as I found that the stories in my particular subject (religious studies) were becoming supremely repetitive and I simply got sick of writing about religious violence, insipid “new atheists,” and insane fundamentalists. But, it was a poor decision on my part and even as I write this I’m planning out my new academic blog.
The benefits of the academic blog, largely a private matter and fortunate if it takes off more than that, is you do not have to worry about some of the things you may want to as a “professional blogger.” Want to use livejournal or blogger? Great! Go for it! You don’t need to worry about getting your own domain and installing software and maintaining it - go to wordpress.com and just sign up and get started! Or heck, even a Tumblr blog is great for this (and personally, I think this may actually be the best way to go. You don’t get caught up in so many of the distractions that a normal blog provides.)
So, how do you get started? Well, the first step is aquiring information. Find blogs, magazines, news sites that discuss your topic and then create an easy mechanism to deliver the information - the academic homepage, RSS feeds, you can even just customize the Google News page to search for specific keywords. After that it’s simply a matter of reading, thinking, and commenting. Make it a daily process, or even a weekly one (though in that case, I’d recommend keeping track of articles through the week and saving the best ones for review at that time.) Other blogs on the subject are your best resources - as they’ll help you find good information, and then you can join in the conversation by responding to them and they you. They can also help you find, via what they link to, other good sources on your subject matter.
When I’ve finished re-building my study site, I’ll let you all know. In the mean time, do any of you do something like this? Share your links in the comments! Need help getting started? Feel free to ask for help, I’m happy to answer any question I can.
Here’s some helpful links on getting started:
08/02/2008 at 2:37 pm Permalink
I look forward to seeing your new academic/Religious Studies blog.
Specifically, because I used to be a Christian but now would consider myself a Zen Buddhist. Well, maybe not Buddhist. I’m 100% behind Zen but I still have problems with certain aspects of Buddhism. Anyways, I thought you were more on the Judeo-Christian side of things, but I see you have an interest in Zen as well.
I’d like to see some posts on Zen. I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts (maybe we can have a discussion about it, Living in South Georgia there aren’t many people I can discuss Zen or Buddhism with.)
08/02/2008 at 6:13 pm Permalink
I’m kind of a Jewbu…. :grins:
I have theistic leanings, but I believe God to be such a noumenal entity that relating to him in any significant way is virtually impossible aside from the occasional religious experience. So as far as that part of my beliefs go, it’s encapsulated in Isaiah very well…
But I think Buddhism provides a great manner to live as far as an ethos and behavior structure that best helps establish healthy living patterns.
I’m kind of holding off on the Buddhism stuff until I figure out a good way to approach it. Nothing irks me more than reading some productivity blog and having someone who doesn’t know anything start telling me about enlightenment. :Grins: So when I start dealing with it, I want to make sure I handle it tastefully that is both respectful to the belief and to my readers.