FamiLee Life

Wages of Blogging is Death!

The biblical headline is a bit over the top but I don't think too far off the mark given the latest news on the perils of blogging. For example, a dental student at Marquette University recently was suspended from school for posting comments about professors and classmates on his blog [see Kansas City Star article]. And a while back, I had read on the Freakonomics blog about a political science professor at Chicago (Daniel Drezner) who was denied tenure and there was speculation that perhaps his blogging was a contributing cause [see Chicago Tribune article]. As reported in the Tribune article,

The concern, as elucidated by Drezner on his blog and in an August Tribune article on the dangers of blogging, is that maintaining a Web log will be seen as a diversion from the real scholarship an academic ought to be doing. It could also be viewed, a widely discussed opinion piece published in the Chronicle of Higher Education argued, as a sign that this person, once tenured, is likely to tell tales out of school. And it could allow one's other work to be interpreted, in light of the blog, as glib or frivolous.

Hm. This all gets me thinking about the purpose and function of blogging (and indirectly about the first amendment). Read on for more musings...

Why do I blog? Honestly, I began to blog out of curiosity. As I mentioned in my first blog entry, I was prompted by my senior colleague and mentor, Hal Grotevant, who has blogged for a while longer than me [see Inner Geek]. At first, I thought I would use blogging as a means to get out extraneous thoughts that clutter my mind. The blogging process and purpose has since evolved.

First, I have always fancied a second career as a newspaper columnist a la Dave Barry from the Miami Herald. Writing a blog on a daily or semi-daily business, however, has somewhat assuaged me of this dream, but I still don't rule it out.

Second, I have discovered that my students (or some of them, at least) enjoy reading my blog. In this regard, I have learned that blogging can function as another means to educate and mentor students. If I can teach a life lesson through my own life experiences, then great!

Third (and related to my second point), blogging is a way to encourage students to think critically and socially. Too often, formal education emphasizes a career and less and less emphasis is placed on using education to build character and citizenry. I think a balance is necessary and blogging is another means to encourage the latter goal.

Fourth, blogging is a great way to reach out to the public which is especially relevant for a land-grant institution. My research interests and study findings can get communicated to a wider audience over the Internet. I know that some adoptees and adoptive parents, as well as children of immigrants, have visited my website which means a lot to me because my work is meant to advance the welfare of these very people.

Fifth, I am hoping that blogging will be a very efficient means to attract and recruit applicants (particularly minorities) for graduate school. By posting a link from my department webpage , I provide visitors to my website with a way to learn more about me as a person and as a researcher-scholar. A bit of truth in advertising.

Last, to blog is to live. Okay, a bit melodramatic. I just want to make sure you are still following me. More accurately, blogging has sparked my curiosity about life and renewed my love for what I do, what I study, what I teach. It gives me a creative outlet to generate new ideas and perspectives in psychology and its application in everyday life.

All said, I hope my department and college view blogging in a similar way. I know some of my colleagues read my blog from time to time, so it would be interesting to hear their perspectives. Oh one last thing...people often ask how long it takes me to write a blog entry. On average, I spend about 30 minutes writing a blog entry. To me, this is time well spent given it's multiple functions and utility. I see it akin to holding office hours electronically.

Posted by richlee at December 7, 2005 11:31 AM