When you think “blog”, what do you think of? Some may think of Perez Hilton, some may think of angry computer nerds typing out their inner feelings from their parent’s basement, and some may even think of this RCC blog. Regardless of what comes to your mind, here are a few good reasons why college students ESPECIALLY should use the “art” of blogging.
1)The First Amendment
We all know we have a right to free speech, but how often do we use it to its full potential? Although we have the right to say whatever we want (in a public domain, of course), it’s not like all of us are parading through the streets proclaiming our beliefs and ideas for all to hear.
Consider your blog to be your virtual “street”- or open field, or mountain, or pedestal… or WHATEVER you want. Keeping a blog will give you the opportunity to express your ideas and opinions FULLY without worrying about what other people think.
For example, I’ve been keeping a blog for almost two and half years now, and it helped me to give my opinions about social, political, and other news-worthy issues. I enjoyed using the freedom of the internet and the informal atmosphere of a blog because I knew that, unlike a face-to-face conversation, no one could interrupt me or mock me while I spoke my mind. I felt like I had control over the virtual “floor,” and because of this, decided to name my blog “Shh! Heidi has the floor right now!”
2) Comments, Criticism, and Compliments
Wow, I didn’t even mean to do another “3 C’s,” but one major part of the blogging process is recieving feedback from people all over the world. For example, I’ve been able to connect with people in my town, people from BSC, and even people from as far away as Norway, Korea, and Israel. Getting feedback from such a wide variety of people will help you to see situations from another person’s point-of-view.
Just beware that not all feedback is nice, sensitive, constructive criticism. As a matter of fact, “nice” feedback is a very rare occasion. As we all know, the internet allows complete anonymity, meaning that ANYONE can pretend to be someone and write whatever they want while hiding behind a computer screen. Because of this, bloggers are often “flamed.” The act of “flaming” is when a person posts rude or vulgar feedback to a blog post and offers no constructive criticism.
Regardless of what you choose to write about in your blog, you will be subject to all these kinds of feedback which also gives you the right to go compliment or “flame” any one of the billions of internet blogs.
One of the best uses of feedback I’ve seen is actually right here on the RCC blog. Initially, this place is designed as a “discussion” board where students can share their ideas and try to relate to each other, so don’t forget to post a comment when you’re done reading!
3) You can get PAID for this stuff?
Why yes, yes you can. Sure, it’s not much (actually, it’s not anything unless you’re getting major traffic to your blog), but for a college student, anything helps.
Some blogging sites (such as Google’s Blogger) let users post sponsored ads on their blogs. Depending on how much traffic the site gets and how many times visitors click on the ad links, the owner of the blog will get paid. Unfortunately, unless you’re getting 20 million hits a day like Perez Hilton, your chances of making more than $1 every month are slim to none, but some bloggers (such as myself) independently sell advertising space on their blogs to local friends and businesses.
Starting a blog as a college student is a great idea. It gives you an opportunity to publish your thoughts in a free, public forum for anyone to read and give feedback on. And with possible financial gain (not to mention that internet fame is easier to achieve than it has ever been in history), what reason do people have NOT to blog?
Write about your home life, your job, your memories, your opinions, and even your experience here at Bridgewater State! Advertise it through Facebook and Twitter and encourage your friends to join in as well.
So how about you? Do you have your own blog? Why or why not?
The BSC Campus Center Blog 
I do have my own blog. I use mine as a journal more. Some of it is what I’m thinking about or things going on in my life. I like having the freedom of meeting new people in the blogging world. I like being able to relate to them and discuss things that we have in common. It’s a great release from the hassles of classes too!
Heidi, I agree with your post today and also think that blogging allows students to reflect regularly on their collegiate experiences. I don’t think students do that enough and it goes a long way in your overall growth and development.
And who knows, someday, it may serve as writing samples for prospective employers and graduate programs! 🙂
Great post!
I do have my own blog, but I rarely update it, and probably should update it more…
Blogging as a great way to hone your writing skills. I think at some point, everyone will have to write something for their job whether it be a grant or a press release. And unlike journaling or diary-writing other people se what you publish and can give their opinions.
I started a blog as a way to vent when Im pretty sure my friends were sick of listening to me (although they never said they were) and its been very theraputic. However although I still like to vent from time to time my blog has kind of evolved into a narrative of my life as a commuter student who lives on their own and works full time. I think this post is right, everyone should have a blog, we all have something to say or a story to tell so why not get it out there.
Good post, thanks a lot!