Caveat Emptor

Caveat Emptor
Mary Hamilton

I sincerely enjoyed writing these posts because I could see my post on my blog and then I could read and compare my classmates' posts. I found it very interesting that all of us would have a different perspective on the same article.

One of the downsides of blogging is that it's time-consuming. I not only had to write the post, but I had to carefully decide what I wanted to show of myself on the Web.

Since my posts were public, I felt I had to cater to a public audience instead of just my teacher and my classmates. This is what Thompson describes in his piece: "knowing who you're writing for and why you're writing might be the most crucial factor of all."

I not only enjoyed reading my fellow students' blogs, but what they wrote influenced me as well. Since other blog posts were very opinionated, I felt I could put more opinion in my pieces. Hence the reason my blog gradually became more opinionated.

My definition of blogging has not changed. Since I'm in the habit of reading blogs, blogging forums, and even live blogs, I have a very defined image of blogging. It's a medium or form of communication that allows anyone to publish his thoughts and read the thoughts of others. Of course, you have to employ 'buyer beware' when reading blogs. Is the writer trustworthy? Does she know the field or the topic? What are his qualifications? If you do a little research and choose qualified, knowledgeable bloggers to read, then you can become a very informed, literate reader.