Blogging and the new administration

With the recent inauguration of President Barack Obama, and the new administration, my attention has been drawn to how new media is impacting how we interact with our government. The internet has certainly provided our society with many new ways to communicate with each other, but the government has never really seemed to grasp the new media. As we talked in class about how Barack Obama's campaign utilized the internet to a much larger extent than in years past, it seemed only natural that he would continue this into his presidency, and he has.

One of the cool features of the site is that a blog is set up. detailing every executive order, signed bill, and other related action taken by the president, along with a press release. I think this is an amazing step forward in creating openness in the government, as it really makes all of these documents easily findable right on the website of the White House.

A post and apology (Postology?)

So this is my first real blog post of the term. And why does that matter? Well, this is the beginning of the third week of classes. Therefor I am behind. Chalk it up to a new school, procrastination, what have you, but really there is no excuse for it. So, my apologies, I will be posting much more frequently from this point on.

That said, I have a few reactions about the interview by Rebecca Blood with Jason Kottke. I found it to be a very unique insight into the blogging life. I've been reading blogs for a few years now, and never really gave a thought to how this activity is viewed by bloggers themselves. I also found it inspiring. I now have a desire to keep my own blog. I am also a new reader of kottke.org.

I really liked how Kottke treated blogging as a representation of himself. That is, he blogs about his interests and thoughts. His links represent who he is, and his hope is that a piece of himself comes through in his writings. I think this is a key for success in blogging: make sure you enjoy what you're writing about.

I was also blown away by how much time he spends working on his blog. It truly is a full work day spent on the blog. Considering that the general view of a blog is as a hobby or means of entertainment, the fact he was able to make a living from his blogging is both interesting and inspiring.

First Blog Post

In the beginning, Russ created...