What kind of Blogger am I?

After reading the article Becoming a blogger: Trajectories, norms, and activities in a community of practice by our very own professor Vanessa P. Dennen, I realized that I haven’t been contributing to my social network adequately. The article has improved my understanding in what I can expect from my community of practice and how I should interact with the group. It was helpful to look at other individual’s social paths and identify for myself what kind of trajectory best suits my blog life.

The old internet has created digital spaces for communication and support for individuals in need of information and community. Social media is connecting people who otherwise would have never met. On the web exists environments for discussion that previously did not exist. The article takes a fascinating look into defining these social spaces. The article examines user stories to understand the connection between content and space. I’m constantly aware of my online presence and enjoyed the articles consideration of the variety of spaces and interaction that happen in digital spaces. By recognizing “the office may be a suitable place for discussing the frustration of receiving a revise and resubmit decision on a journal article for the third time, but is not an appropriate place to discuss one’s love interests, and the reverse is true of purely social environments, the blog community is a space where topic is not confined,” (Dennen 2014) then we understand environment is a significant factor in appropriateness of content and character. And somewhat importantly that the blog space is the wild wild west.

The game then with social media, is to understand the appropriate identity for each domain. Knowing when, where, and what to contribute on social media platforms is a very important social norm to be aware of. These situations can add unneeded stress to process and production strategies. I am reminded of a recent situation at work. I was stuck in a revision cycle that went on for months and production was in full swing. Nearer to the deadline, daily production meetings became necessary. Reports on our progress and a quick review of the tasks to come first thing in the morning. I found out the hard way that no one likes to talk about process recommendations in the middle of such production style meetings. It’s not well received criticism because the time and space are wrong. The same thing is true for communities of practice in online platforms. Finding a shared repertoire among users in a community of practice is key to contributing meaningful content to the group. Great article!