Blog 2

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Blogging, page 2
by david glisczinski

Jacobi censors his commentary, however. He does not let his emotions spew forth via his blog; the incident with his student is all the evidence he needs to justify this self-restraint. “I refrain from commenting on particularly politically-charged issues, such as abortion, religion, or the war in Iraq [because] posting for anyone to see is the ‘public domain,’ and that’s what so many people don’t realize,” he says.

Political commentary can be offensive to some and cast an undesirable stigma on a blogger, which can, in turn, damage a person’s reputation or worse, his or her career. Or, political “ranting and raving” can simply annoy the few readers a blogger somehow manages to attract.

This sort of criticism caused Nick Bubb to alter his blog’s content. Bubb, a senior at UW-Madison has learned a thing or two about appealing to an audience as a mass communication major. He dropped his blog’s heavy political rhetoric to appease a vast portion of his readers—his brother. His newly revised blog serves not only his interests, but also those of his close friends and family. When asked why he started blogging, Bubb replies, “I thought…well, since I don’t often get to talk to all of my friends, and I don’t always have the time to call my parents, I could just share my experiences online and they’d be able to see them all.”

Adam Jacobi just so happens to be one of those friends. Bubb, also a forensics coach, uses his blog to convey forensic news to Jacobi, among others. For example, Bubb announced the start of his new blog, Wisconsin Forensics Daily, via his second blog, njbubb.net. Along with Jacobi, Bubb also hopes his blog is a reflection of himself and his accomplishments, something he can show potential employers, so they can get a sense of who he is.

Blogs, like any other mode of communication, can be harmful to a career or reputation if used inappropriately. Used in their proper context, the plethora of personal blogs can serve the purpose of promoting an individual’s beliefs, careers and relationships, so long as authors remain cognizant of their audience.

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online diary: blogs often contain political slants, which may or may not help a blogger's reputation.
photo: derek montgomery

blog: david's blogger guide...in the form of a blog
the do's & don'ts of blogging

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