This whole episode was so angst ridden, to an extent, it's hard to get past that. However, there were a few things that stood out for me. First of all, and I'm sure I've mentioned before that I have another blog about my son's surgery back in 2008. The whole time I was reading this, I could not help but wonder if random people on the Internet came across this, particularly if they were aware of Kaycee blog hoax, would they read my blog with a critical eye and wonder whether this was a hoax? I never received comments from anyone outside of my circle of friends, family, or community, so I suppose I'll never know.
I'll have a little fun here, I liked on the first page how the author made a reference to one of his earlier articles; I spotted a couple of other self references. I like this move and have taken to using this in my most recent papers for school, referring to other papers I have written. I'm doing it primarily to be a good student and following school rules as mentioned in each and every syllabus. You can get dinged for reusing your own work without proper citation! So, I like this move and use it, making sure to also use proper A.P.A. citation of course.
I think our professor has done a good job of research in finding articles like this and connecting them to the text, in wholly unspoken terms. On page 202 at the bottom the author talks about "how identity is performed;" this is exactly the stuff Burkitt covers. I like this a lot because it connects the concepts and in effect serves as an example of what Burkitt is talking about. Props Professor Perez.
Finally, I'll note one other item that caught my attention; on page 209 Jordan states, "although their efforts struck at the center of their community, the skeptics and their supporters rhetorically reinvented their efforts as signs of community strength." Perhaps this seems a foregone conclusion, but what is a community to do when faced with a reality that is not what they knew moments before gaining this new knowledge? It seems a protective effort, if having opened yourself to love and you are hurt. It's happened to most of us, right? It's the price of love, as stated so poignantly on page 212, "I followed my heart. Sometimes that requires an optomisim [sic] tax." I whole-heartedly concur.
I feel you make some excellent points about who is able to view our blogs and read out comments. It seems that while out information is posted on the web and technically anyone could potentially gain access to this information, our "voices" seem to be only connected to those whom we already maintain a connection. I find this a bit ironic that we post information on our web pages and only to have the same people comment on our perspectives that already know our thoughts because of a previously formed relationship. If the web is supposed to be the forum for us to express perspectives to all people, but the only people who are following are those we know, then what impact are we having except distancing ourselves from the physical relationship we already have for virtual relationships we seek to develop?
ReplyDeleteHi James,
DeleteThank you for the comment.
Daniel.