G1 Leading Class Discussion

G1 Leading Class Discussion
Wednesday, April, 1, 2009

Our group chose Campus Coffee to discuss the three essays assigned this week. Campus Coffee provides a big and comfortable place for groups to talk. Unlike being in the classroom where No-Food-No-Drink rule has been set, people are able to drink and have some snacks when they are sharing their ideas. Also, Campus Coffee offers a good shelter. Since the weather is quite changeable these days, we think that Campus Coffee would be the best place to hold Group Discussion this week.

The first essay is written by Jimmy Sanderson,
The Blog is Serving Its Purpose: Self-Presentation Strategies on 38pitches.com.
The essay is discussing about three strategies of blog: "Critic," "Committed individual" and "Accountable person;" meanwhile, the present work demonstrates that ICT provides celebrities with a self-presentation tool that can assist in managing their identity and counteract their portrayals by the mass media.

The first discussion:
Have you ever commented the recent news on your blog?

Group 2 commented the news about Edison Chen took some sexual pictures and stored in the computer, Tanya commented that taking pictures is his habit, Edison did not make any mistakes, and however, the man who took responsibility for repairing computer is the troublemaker of the whole news. Though three strategies mentioned in the essay, Tanya utilize the “Critic” in order to appeal to the specific group.
Group 5 discussed about the “Cat-abuse,” Sharon chastises the abuser on her own blog, therefore, Sharon might use two strategies; one is “Critic,” the other one is “Committed Individual.”

Group 3, they talked about the new policy of Japan that working-travel. When the policy declared at the first, the authorities of Japan wanted every applier to have the basic language skill. In the long run, Japan canceled the prohibition. Doris criticize the policy at the first, she worried about the policy will cause only the students major in Japanese will pass the investigation. In conclusion, Japan didn’t set the prohibition. But Doris still thought it is not suitable for each applier.
Group 4, Melisa did not comment the news on her blog; instead she posted her review about the performance of the Department of French. She not only praised the hardness of actors and actresses, but also pointed out the shortness of the plot and the background.

Above of all, each one will make use of the strategy “Critic” on his/her own blog because it is the most explicit way to emphasize the position of the writer. Moreover, some others might employ “Committed Individual” so that they can arouse the particular group’s affection. Yet, “Critic” is the strategy which used by most people.

The second essay is written by Sarah Pedersen, Caroline Macafee,
Gender Differences in British Blogging.
The article is trying to make a confirmation of North American’s study on gender difference on the Internet (or Blog) by their own method. In this study we can see the difference and the similarity of gender of blog in the UK.

The third essay is written by David A. Huffaker, Sandra L. Calvert,
Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Teenage.
The essay is to examine gender similarities and differences among weblogs created by teenagers. By using content analyses of weblogs they randomly chose, they examined how adolescents present their identities online, as well as how they use language to express their experiences and feelings.

The second discussion:
Do you leave your personal information in your own blogs? What kind of information do you choose to/not to reveal in blogosphere? Where is the bottom-line when you are asked to leave personal information? What are the reasons behind your decisions?

Group 2: They would not reveal their real identity. They think that bloggers usually tend to say things much more personal and subjective. Sometimes bloggers debate controversial issues on the Internet. Sometimes bloggers would use certain words or phrases in order to attract those who have the similar opinions to read their blogs. Sometimes bloggers choose to put links rather than their personal lives on their blogs.

Group 3: They won’t disclose their personal information because, for the one hand, it is much more interesting to remain mysterious on the Internet. Besides, they are aware of harassment. They think that using nickname is a better choice as a blogger. They won’t leave msn, age, etc. Yet, disclosing signs and birthday are ok for them because they think it’s interesting to meet people with same birthday and signs on the Internet.

Group 4: They only leave contact information to reliable people on line since they don’t think it’s a good idea to reveal their private things for everybody; it might cause some people to use this information to commit crimes.

Group 5: They think it is not safe to reveal the true identity on the Internet. Yet, information like nickname, favorites, height and weight are acceptable to put on blogs.