Self-Interview And Self Review

Today, I'll answer some general questions about ENIAC Beyond and its enigmatic creator.

What is the purpose of this blog?

  This blog was created for Communicating Science with the intent to create an effective channel of information about computer technologies.

Who is the imagined audience(s) of this blog?

   I would like this blog to reach those interested in computer technology. This interest could range from the history of computers through the generations, future development of computer technologies, a specific field in computer science such as artificial intelligence or robotics, or just a simple desire to learn more about the machines that have become so integrated in our daily lives.

Have my posts matched up with my purpose/audience?  What/who might I be overlooking in defining my purpose/audience this way?

  So far, my posts have been focused on the history of computers and has not gone into any great detail into any one field. This does little for those who already know quite a bit about computers and wish to know more about coming developments and technologies.

What can I do to encourage more reader participation with my blog?

  I could ask more questions to the reader. What do they think about this technology, or what would they like to come about from this research?

How can I expand my audience in this class?  Outside of this class?

  Networking inside the class will happen gradually as we work with each other. Since everyone in the class has created a blog for this class, associating a face with a blog will encourage each of us to read more and more of the blogs.

  Outside of the class, connecting with other similar blogs would be a good idea. Creating a network could help get my blog out there to a whole world of readers.

How would I characterize the tone of my blog?

  The overall tone of the blog so far has been educational with a few lighthearted comments thrown in.

What do I hope to get out of writing this blog?

  I hope that constant use of the blog will enable me to communicate ideas more easily. Moving ideas from my head to paper has always been more of a struggle than it should be. Hopefully this will ease the process and let my ideas flow more easily.

What would I like others to get out of it?

  A greater appreciation and understanding of computers around them.

What are the strengths of my blog/my blogging?

  Computer science is a field that I have been invested in for a long time. Many of its fields are very deep and I hope I can convey that sense to the readers.

What are the weaknesses?

  I have difficulty placing the ideas that float around in my mind onto the page. Often times I'll worry if what I'm writing about is interesting to those reading it or if it comes off an inane ramblings of someone trying to fill pages.

Have I used a deficit model in my writing, or something else?  How would I know?

   Possibly, my first few posts did little to encourage discussion and create a dialogue.

How have I characterized (implicitly or explicitly) science, engineering, and/or technology in my blog? 

  As a rapidly evolving frontier that has a lot of information and history behind it.

How have I characterized myself?

  So far, I haven't placed much personal tone on the posts so currently it is a bit stand offish, a lecturer perhaps.



Self Review

    After updating my blog, I would often go to some of the other blogs to see how they were doing, catching up on the posts and making comments. There, I'd see the level of activity that is going along with that blog. Some look about the same as mine while others look so prolific with their posting and comments that it makes me a little embarrassed at the progress of my own blog. But the point of this isn't to grade myself against other blogs, it is to see how well the blog is doing against the rubric, so let's take a look at some of the requirements.

Number and topic of posts
  So far, I've managed to keep up with the minimum number of posts but not by much. I've generated 5 posts with actual content for the blog. not really a staggering amount. The posts themselves have followed the requirements of what should be posted each week, such as framing a post or relating it to what we read in the book. This fits into the C range of the rubric. Hopefully I'll be able to write more than the minimum as the class goes on.


Content of posts
  My first content post was very long and full of information. I thought that was what every post should look like. I quickly moved away from that paradigm as it took me much too long to write so the proceeding posts were much shorter with more intent to engage the readers to post ideas or opinions about the topic. The posts are written coherently and does not talk down to the reader, it simply instructs. Grammar is not one of my stronger points but I try to keep the errors to a minimum. They pass the C requirement and possibly edge close to the B level.

Readers on my blog
  I've had a few comments on my posts so far, each I've tried to answer each quickly and clearly. The Watson post was fairly popular because it had to do with something people could actually witness instead of being told about. Hopefully more comments will pop up quicker in the future as everyone gets used to the format of the class. Meeting the C requirement and maybe close to the B.

Comments on other blogs
  Following other blogs is easy once you have a face with the name. I follow and post comments in Zach's Technology Complicated and Carlos' ScanMeIn because I sat and chatted with them the first few weeks of class. As the semester rolls along, hopefully I'll work with more people in the class and follow more blogs and post more comments. Around a C in total comments for other threads.

Misc
  I try to link as much as possible to the articles and videos I reference in my blog along with wikipedia pages for concepts or doodads that people may want a deeper background with. Try to use pictures where appropriate but I definitely could use more for my posts. Keeping up with a C requirements.

Overall
  It's been a rather slow start for the blog and keeping up with the requirements of the class is proving harder than I thought. I'm really hoping that as the semester goes on the blogging process becomes easier to do and I spend more time posting than worrying if something is interesting to the audience or not. I think the blog has meet the requirements for a C but that really isn't good enough. I need to kick it into a higher gear for the next evaluation and grow as a blogger.