Academic Blogger - Me?

Since the intent with this blog is to deliver it in a more academic style, I thought it might be a good idea to find out what, exactly, an academic blog entails.

According to Lohnes (as cited in Aselin, 2011), an academic blog should include the following aspects:

• "Quality of posts: blog posts should be original, well-crafted, well-informed
•  An authentic purpose for maintaining the blog
•  Point of view: a blog should offer a window into the author's identity and community
•  A blog should take advantage of the medium to offer a sense of immediacy and intimacy" (p. 12)

An academic blog allows for interaction to occur between an individual and the public - to anyone who has access to an Internet connection. This means that what, at one time, might have only been read by other intellectuals in a given field is now open to the public domain. In this context it can be read, reviewed, criticized, admired...really anything goes. Goodacre (2007) recognizes the potential of the 'immediacy' aspect that blogging inherits which allows researchers to get feedback and support with both their polished and unpolished work. This in turn, eliminates the long peer review process as being the only means of feedback.

Blogging also allows for a network of both academics and non-academics to connect in a shared space - creating a context in which researchers gain access to a more diverse audience (Asselin, 2011).

It is also interesting to note that a blogger's identity can shift depending on what they are writing, and the role they assume influences their tone of voice, objectiveness, style etc... (Estes, 2012). This allows an individual to have control over what is said, how it is said, and, in a way, how it is interpreted. Having a venue where an individual can share with a large audience their innermost thoughts and feelings - whether it be in academic form or not - creates a network of 'thinkers' and 'reflectors'. Basic skills in life of an informed and engaged society.

Nackerud (2008) states that "academics view blogs as a form of academic production or a vehicle for scholars to become public intellectuals" (71). Although this sounds a little pompous to me...academic blogs are an important tool by which the intellectuals of the world can share their ideas as a means of contributing to society's knowledge democracy. Pompous or not - that seems like a great idea to me.

                                                  
Here is a link to an academic blog that gives 30 tips on academic research and writing.                 

Here is a link to a blog that is all about coaching someone on how to write an academic blog.

...and apparently, this is a link to a list of the "Top 100 Best  Blogs and Websites for Innovative Academics"


References

Asselin, K. (2008). Blogging: The remediation of academic and business 

         communications (Master's Thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest. (1452706)

Estes, H. (2012), Blogging and Academic Identity. Literature Compass, 9: 974–982. 

         doi: 10.1111/lic3.12017

Goodacre, Mark. (2007, April 10). Blogging and Tenure 2. [Web log post]. Retrieved 
         from http://ntweblog.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html 

Nackerud, S. and Scaletta, K. (2008), Blogging in the academy. New Directions for Student 

         Services, 2008: 71–87. doi: 10.1002/ss.296

Images retrieved from:

http://justpublics365.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2013/09/11/illustrated-blogging-advice-for-researchers/


http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/tag/academic-blogging/