To share my digital media production, I had originally
wanted to create a post on my photography page on Facebook. My photography page would have been the ideal setting because
I already have over 500 followers and it would have reached a lot of people who
are interested in photography, especially my
photography (which I use in my production.) Having my production within my
Facebook site would have been perfect, but when I went to type a “note,”
however, I learned that I could only attach one picture to a note, and my
production had several pictures, and relies on each of those pictures for a very
functional purpose. So clearly, that wasn’t going to work.
I needed a place to house my digital media production that
could hold several photos with a post, so I decided that creating a blog and
posting my production as a blog post would be a fitting location.
First and foremost, I had been contemplating creating a blog
for my photography for quite some time (hyperlink), but just hadn’t gotten
around to it. So I decided this production would be a great starting point for
me to use as the beginning of a new photography blog. It serves the purpose of
introducing myself and my business to the blogging sphere by sharing my ethical
beliefs on the use of photography editing programs. This can set a context for
the viewers to view all my photos that I’ll post on the blog as time goes along
and that context will help station me as a reliable, moral photographer who
clients can trust. For logical reasons, my production serves a purpose on my
blog and therefor makes the blog a fitting location.
Aside from my logistical reasons, my blog is a fitting
location for other reasons as well. A blog can be considered a form of Web 2.0
because of its interactive nature. People can comment on my post, share my
blog, be linked or directed to other websites, and ultimately “be in the flow”
of the information my blog creates. The article, “Streams of Content, LimitedAddition: The Flow of Information through Social Media,” says, “The goal is not
to be a passive consumer of information or to simply tune in when the time is
right, but rather to live in a world where information is everywhere. To be
peripherally aware of information as it flows by, grabbing it at the right
moment when it is most relevant and valuable, entertaining or insightful.
Living with, in, and around information.”
For many functions on my blog, a gmail account is needed,
(since Blogger is owned by Google.) My blog I created to host my production/my
photography is linked to my Michigan Tech email, so any viewer can navigate
from my photography blog to my blog for Digital Media class with ease. If a
viewer were to find his way to my Digital Media blog, he would find insights of
mine that helped create my digital media production, and would have an even
further context as to how to read my production, and blog as a whole. Blogger’sTerms of Service states that, “You may need a Google account to use some of our
services.” A person wouldn’t need an account to view my blog, but an account is
necessary to comment on a post. Having an account gives a level of credibility
to the person making the comment, because anyone can use that account to see
what else that person has commented on other things.
Bloggers who read my blog will have the opportunity to
interact with my website, and through their comments, can be considered editors
of my blog, in the same regard that I can be considered its author. I am not
creating information for the audience to just take at my word. I am, through my
blog and digital media production, merely posting something that should spark
discussion and/or thought, and the comments along
with my production (and not the production alone) are what make my website
dynamic and participatory. My blog may be a creation that I made, a
“do-it-yourself” concept, but it cannot be considered a “complete” or “whole”
blog unless I have audience interaction of some kind. After all, if I’m not
reaching anybody through my blog, I might as well not have a blog at all.
Because as Jenkins said in his article on Participatory Culture, “Do It
Yourself” rarely means “Do It Alone.”
Resources so far:
Why Participatory Culture isn’t Web 2.0Streams of Content…
Blogger’s Terms of Service
(I still need two more…)
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