Confessions of JOUR1111 Student

This is a blog. My blog. And seeing as I no longer have to suffer sit through another semester of this subject, there's a few things I'd like to get off my chest.

When I first saw blogging was one of the assessment items I thought 'swish'. I was wrong. I never knew how painfully hard, and time consuming it is to blog about something you're not particularly passionate about. I wonder why there's no world famous lecture bloggers out there...

And while I appreciate that this was just an exercise to try and get us 'into' blogging, I can't help but feel like it's had the reverse effect on many of us. Blogging should never be a task. And you shouldn't feel like you have to meet a standard. It's about the expression of a passion. And any blogger will tell you, as selfish as it may sound, it's about writing and posting for yourself. If the readers come, then they do, but if they don't... eh. It's not about writing for them. And I think I lost that point here a bit.

Also, I don't think I've particularly learnt 'how to blog'. If there is such a thing to learn. Maybe I'm just over thinking it... I tend to do that a lot. I wish I could vomit out more of my thoughts onto this blog post (nice imagery), but unfortunately there's another thing I tend to do, and that's leave things right until the last minute. I need to send off this link really soon.

So guess its bye bye JOUR1111. You've been eye opening. I have learnt from you. But don't expect me to be posting back here anytime soon. I'm off to try my hand at another blog. Something a bit more me. Cheers guys.

Mother Monster

I wasn't always this way. A little monster that is. I used to be a music snob. I'm not afraid to say it. Though many of you probably still are. Turn your nose up at anything that's got main appeal. If it's played on commercial radio then you choose to look dumbfounded and say 'nope, never heard of it'. Well, I am a convert. At least for Gaga (RiRi, you're going to have to try harder).

I never really thought much about Gaga. And if I did it was something along the lines of 'attention-seeking', 'bad influence', 'distasteful', etc. Until I heard words of praise spoken about her by someone who I admire greatly, Stephen Fry.

Now what started out as your stock standard interview, by the end turned out to be a friendly conversation between two of my all time favourite people. She's more than the surface performance. She gets it. She's young. She's smart. She's creative. She's actually doing something positive for the world.

Her music makes a lot of people happy. Her theatrical performance, well it makes art and theatre accessible to millions. And then there's her 'Born This Way' message, which is an anti-bullying initiative in the US. She oozes love, acceptance, and dreams. If you really want to fall in love with Gaga watch her interview with Oprah. Two of the most influential women in the world. Using it for good.

Sorry if this is a bit too over the top on the Gaga praise. But after seeing her concert (a must, even if you're not the biggest fan of her music, go for the show... she came out on a horse. Worth the ticket price alone). And so last night I waved goodbye to any indie cred with my paw up, and just went Gaga.

refLECTURE XII: 'My Own Way'

I want to be blogger. That was the conclusion that I had come to. Blogs have always been a massive part of my media diet. Apart from Facebook and ASOS, the remainder of my favourites bar is blogs. I like fashion blogs, music blogs, photography blogs, celebrity blogs (both ones about them and by them), art blogs, crafty d.i.y blogs, and your more general 'anything goes' blogs. Fine, I'll say it. I love blogs. (I also love the word 'blog', hence the repetition.)

But more than anything I love the idea of being a blogger. Not one who blogs about lectures. No I'm talking a 'real' blogger. One that's driven by passion. My only problem: I'm passionate about a lot of things. A lot of things that probably wouldn't make for the most coherent blog. Fashion. Music. Comedy. Television. Video Games... and well, too many more. If there's one thing blogger's can't stress enough when talking to potential bloggers, it's find your own thing. Make your own market. Do your own thing. Go your own way.

I wish I could quote verbatim something our guest speaker Steve Molk, who started his blog Molkstvtalk less than two years ago, said. But honestly, my mind was just running overtime. Too much excitement filled me. Ideas of what I could and would do if I had that amount of internet traffic... or more. What I could do. Who I could meet. How I could present it. I was just too intrigued by the life of a successful blogger to really store things into the long term memory.

While I left with a million questions- what should be my niche, how often should I post, how should I structure my blog, how personal do I want it to be, how can I build my 'brand'- there was one certainty. I want to give this blogging thing a go. A real go. So I did what anyone else who want to do anything ever does. I Googled it. And after trawling through web page, blog post, and video after another, I found the key to being a successful blogger. And that's where I'm starting.