Blogging About Blogging

With constant news updates about the world’s hottest and most controversial topics, blogs have grown to be one of the most popular sources for news. I personally enjoy reading blogs because they give short descriptions of current events and they can be easily accessed through smart phones. Being able to access blog sites has become as simple as touching a button through sources like Twitter, which is why I find myself visiting these sources more and more each week.

I visit several blog websites each week. These blogs range from world events and politics to celebrity gossip and television shows. As far as current world events, I follow Newsweek’s blog titled, “The Daily Beast.” I enjoy reading this blog because it has a good mixture of important news stories and entertainment stories, such as a recent feature on the Grammy awards. Newsweek is also a credible news source that is respected by many, which allows me to trust the majority of the information presented. As much as I would not like to admit it, I also frequently check TMZ, the celebrity gossip and entertainment blog. I do consider myself to be a pop culture fan and I follow this blog to satisfy that hobby. To also satisfy my entertainment need, I also frequently check T.V. Fanatic, a blog dedicated to previewing spoilers for my favorite television shows like Revenge and The Good Wife. T.V. Fanatic allows me to never have to feel impatient about learning new details about my favorite shows.

I believe that each of my entertainment blogs, although entertaining, are not as reliable as mainstream news distributors because of the fact that they want to produce interesting gossip stories for the public and are not as concerned as gathering facts as mainstream distributors. Gossip blogs like TMZ are concerned solely about producing a story that grabs media and public attention and cannot be trusted for news facts like websites such as ABC News and CNN. I do believe, however, that “The Daily Beast” is a credible blog like mainstream news distributors because it is produced by Newsweek, which is a reputable news source that produces a widely recognized magazine.

If by some chance “Shooting the Bri’s” became an opinion leader blog, I would fully disclose, if allowed by the company, that I am being paid for advocating for the product. The only reason I would not admit this would be that I would be in legal trouble with the company for breaking a confidentiality agreement. I believe that admitting to others the truth helps the public to trust you more because of your honesty. If the public finds out later that I was being paid for a blog, it would ruin the whole reputation of my blog and my company’s image. Being in PR, maintaining a good relationship with my client and public is the key to success.

By listening to Professor Holtz’s lecture, I discovered many useful and interesting things about the craft of photography. I learned about the importance of lighting, as well as the different techniques of framing in photos, such as using lines to draw attention to the subject of the photo. Taking photos from different angles, such as an aerial view, can also improve the quality of a picture. Instead of focusing on trying to get a wide angle of a shot, I also learned that it is more flattering to zoom in on the subject of the photo. I will use this concept, as well as remembering that simplicity is the key to a great photo, to benefit me as I start to complete my interviews of the Middle States members for our class “Builders Project.”