Writing versus blogging: Is there even a line to be blurred?

I apologize for not posting in a while, but my thesis on Wallce Irwin's The Love Sonnets of a Hoodlum has been eating up all my time. Now as I finish up the finishing touches and the bibliography, the gears in my head are turning and getting my back in blog writing mode. And this transition itself is the inspiration for this post; there are more blog writers than every but how many of them would actually consider themselves writers?

Of course writing a 30 page literature thesis for a capstone class in college is much different than writing an in depth blog post. A thesis (or any kind of scholarly writing) is researched, analytical, and trying to make a point about what you are writing about. Writing a (good) blog post is typically well researched, approaches the topic in an analytical... wait a second. How different are they really?

Okay, all kidding aside, how similar are the two? With hundreds of millions of blogs, many of which being credible sources for news and information, blogs have reached a state of acceptance and legitimacy. Writing for college classes or academic publication requires a more objective, personally distanced type of writing, while blogs can be more opinion based. Despite the difference in indented audience, length, and form, the two types of writing do both require a substantial amount of intelligent thinking, knowledge or research, development of thoughts and points, etc.

But how many bloggers would consider themselves writers in the same way that someone like myself who is a Literature/Creative Writing major would? I write to make points in my essays, and I write for my own pleasure. Bloggers who have no formal education or background in writing have the same habits, but why not cross the line from blogger to writer? Would bloggers still write if there was no blogosphere?

It's a matter of how you consider your writing habits, and how passionate you are about your writing, and of course, if you started writing before you started blogging.

What about you? Do you consider yourself a writer or a blogger or somewhere in between?

Atlantic City Press Release: Social Networking, Job Networking, and Yours Truly

I received an email last week from a friend at Career Services of my school saying that the Press of Atlantic City wanted to interview me about using social networking as a graduating student entering the job market. I gladly accepted and gave reporter Courtney McCann a call. We chatted about the do's and dont's of using social media to appeal to employers, its networking benefits, and how I as a creative writer and social media enthusiast fit into the marketing and business plans of companies.

But I don't want to spoil the article, so just check it out right here-

AC Press: Social networking is job networking, experts say

I just want to correct a small error in the article when it mentions me heading the social media marketing campaign for a "pet store" in Missouri. This is referring to my work at FURminator Inc, a company that is a little bigger than a pet store ;)

At any rate, what do you think of the article, and the idea that social networking is job networking? I use social networking/media sites to build my online presence and portfolio, aside from the fact that it's related to what I want to do. Do you think graduating job seekers can afford to not acknowledge their online presence? (aka employers looking at their Facebook and other profiles)

Popularity Contests, Conversation, and Buzz for Buzz's Sake

Okay, most Twitter users know there is a clear difference between followers and say friends on Facebook or Myspace. It's been said a million times and this makes one million and one: Twitter is about conversation, not some kind of popularity contest. You get no points if you have a hundreds of thousands of followers, but don't form some kind of conversation or community. If you want further insight to knowing the right and wrong approach to gaining followers and building community, you can check out Jun Loayza's post about that kind of thing here.


But this post isn't about rehashing that rather well made point, it's about another interesting incident I found. This morning, I read this article on CNN's website- Ashton Kutcher challenges CNN to Twitter popularity contest.
Now let me be the first to say I laughed at this. Kutcher telling Larry King that if he beats CNN to 1 million Twitter followers he will ding-dong-ditch Ted Turner's house is hilarious. Larry King's response was equally funny, telling Kutcher "CNN will bury you."

Now all kidding aside, it's pretty clear to me that neither Ashton nor CNN understands exactly how Twitter works. If this was a friend race on Myspace, it would make a little more sense. But Twitter is about conversation, not followers. It's not some social cult networking site where whoever recruits the most followers wins.

This kind of thing, especially on this grand and public scale, makes people focus their attention on numbers of followers, not on making actual connections. As I was writing this post, someone retweeted this: TWITTER WAR DECLARED: @someecards (361,733) vs @MarthaStewart (364,507) to 500k. follow someecards and retweet.
I hope that these popularity contests aren't a sign of a new trend to come. Creating buzz about something is good, but creating buzz for buzz's sake leads to a whole lot of nothin.

There is however a redeeming point in Ashton Kutcher's challenge. His original sentiment that a single person can, in today's media, have a voice as big as an entire news station is an interesting and progressive thought. Granted that calling for a popularity contest might not have been the best way to illustrate his point, I still think his idea has merit.

So what do you think? How much value do you put on your number of followers? What do you think of Kutcher's challenge to CNN and (oh what the hell) do you think he can beat CNN?

Prestopedia.com

The main website is finally all finished! Prestopedia.com is my official website and online portfolio and future source The Prestopedia- an index of quick, easy to understand info on social media and the web. Personal portfolio + quick web 2.0 info + perspective and opinon right here on the prestopedia blog. Yee-haw.

Me 2.0 Out Today

Yesterday personal branding guru Dan Schawbel released his first book Me 2.0. I've personally been waiting for this book to come out, as I regularly read Dan's Personal Branding Blog. I've got my copy already and look forward to reading it and writing a review on it right here. But I don't have to read it to recommend that anyone graduating from college this year, anybody graduating from college in the next few years, anybody who is or will be looking for a job, and anybody who wants to build their personal brand (okay, so basically everybody) check this book out!

Hear what Dan has to say about his book

Check out AwesomeBlogger to see Jun Loayza's(one of my fav video interviewers) interview with Dan.