Note to Student Bloggers: (blog post is after my critique and explanations)

This blog post critique is part of the student blogging tutorial. This is an example of my own blog post written at an earlier time. I have no clear idea at all, looking back, what prompted me to post this. It seems unconnected; the concept of slow blogging is indicated, but there is no connection to my other posts. What sources did I draw upon? What events triggered me to post this? It appeared to a quick post, done without editing, more of a pause-point.

I have returned to the first iteration, and edited out glaring spelling and grammar errors, added some structure such as a bulleted list and revised the paragraphing, and added a new tag. The revised post is what is found below.

I would improve this post further by adding a photo, for example, and inserting hyperlinks to my own posts connected to this topic, to external sources, to others' blog posts, and to academic articles, if any. I would give more of a context, so I can recall the circumstances for why I posted what I did when I did.

I mentioned the term, "slow blogging" without any definition, and I did not introduce quotes from Barbara Ganley's blog that gives myself, and others, more of an insight into what she means. I also mention how I would like to maintain a walking journal without elaborating further, and referred to useful gadgets in passing without any explanation. I also hint at potential new topics to develop, such as blogging as a form of self-care, itself an interesting follow-up topic. But then don't elaborate further and explore a couple of questions for further investigation. At the end of the post, I refer to praxis without explaining in what sense I am using the term. What are the origins of my thinking? I should include a source.

With such details added, the use of tagging becomes more precise. Currently In this case, I have used the tags personal blogging, and reasons for blogging, (notice the use of the change in colour, to provide reference points, which helps you determine the tags you might want to use) 

However, these tags are not descriptive, and they don't describe the content in any meaningful way. Eight months from now I will not remember what I wrote in this post, so if I plan to make use of my own blog's tag cloud for aiding me to retrieve information, it has to be more specific.

The Blog Post

When Barbara Ganley wrote about slow blogging as an alternate method for recording the idea-making process, of intentionally seeding our minds with possibilities, I was intrigued. How could I make use of "slow blogging", the idea that the development of perspectives can take years, decades even. It seems a daunting prospect.

But after looking over the artefacts of the portfolio, and having done an extensive case study of my own development as a blogger in Me2U, I realize my blogging will continue to also expand to areas not concerned with academic pursuits. For example, I look forward to maintaining a walking journal, reporting on my observations as I develop my interest in walking for fitness and hiking. I want to start looking about for useful gadgets that help me record the process over time.

So here is a germ of an idea, an idea for a personal perspective on how I engage in self-care:

1. Logging my walking activity, including the paths I have taken, and taking photos of the things I see, the people I walk with, the animals who join me for part of the way (like the deer who walked alongside the road for a bit before munching on breakfast the other day) - all these seemingly trivial matters, all captured on the walking blog.

2. Logging my feelings to encourage me to start listening to my physical body more, and noting down observations, ideas, and insights. I can ask myself questions, suggest possibilities, and then act on my hypotheses, then note down my observations. The personal blog is useful for recording inner conversations involving praxis.