I follow many blogs online. I cant help it. I’m an addict. And so I found it so completly interesting this week when one of the blogs I read had her concept/ideas stolen. This caused quite the stir online, and so a discussion began. I thought it was quite interesting….so read on anyone who had questions about copyrights and blogs!!!
http://clevergirlgoesblog.blogspot.com/
I’ve been missing from the class blog for a few weeks now, which is completely my fault. I even have failed at keeping up to date my own personal blog to keep friends and family up-to-date with my life so I don’t constantly have to write the same email or have the same conversation thirty times a week (how’s THAT for being lazy!). Now, I’m sure if I spent as much time working on this blog as I do on Facebook each day, I’d be the A+++++ student. Actually, I blame Prescott for much of this because she introduced us to the evil blog that requires me to check atleast five times a day and then discuss with coworkers and friends via email/phone or by the water-cooler. But truth be told, my work schedule is crazy. And just like school teachers, fall is the busiest time of the year for us. I’m meeting with middle school and high school history teachers to create brand-new programs to meet their curriculum that was changed this summer. Our town is also celerbating our 375th anniversary this week (Go Windsor!! Booo Wethersfield!!!) so our schedule is even worse. Actually, as I type this…I’m sitting at my desk at work. Tonight is our annual meeting that Walter Woodward, the State Historian, is speaking at. So as head of Education at our museum, I must be here to meet members, beg for money…the usual. But I’ve also been here since 8am…so that’s 13 hour day for me! Did I also mention that I was also the manager on-call this past weekend so I haven’t had a few days off in a while. That doesn’t excuse me from doing my classwork. But I find it interesting that this goes hand-in-hand with blogs! Somedays, you have nothing to say, and somedays you feel you can write 4 – 5 blog posts. So really, my lack of participation up to this point is really just me exploring the field of online journaling.
What do you say dr. prescott?
I’m sort of a technology nerd. I have a blog. I belong to many social networking sites. I’m the coworkers who constantly teaching others in the office how to create excel spreadsheets. I’m the first to talk about technology as a way to move our museum forward. I also have a crush on mac computers (I promise this is going somewhere). On July 11th, I found myself inline at 7am outside a AT&T store waiting for the new iphone (yes, I’m that person). So what do people who’ve been up all night talk about when they’re hyped up on coffee and waiting for a brand new piece of technological history talk about? Technology of course. Somewhere down the road it led to libraries. At the time, my hometown (Suffield) was looking to tear down the current library and built another one. This caused quite the bit of controversy in town between preservationists, the old people with money and the library staff. I could believe…no, no…I was shocked…no, that’s not right either…my heart literaly stopped when one man in line actually said, “I don’t know why they would build another library. Do people actually go to them anymore? I can get everything I need online“. Now, I hadn’t really made up my mind on the new library idea, but I just couldn’t believe what this man was saying. I knew people were thinking this, but I didn’t actually know they were saying it…out loud…in public!
The idea of digital books or E-books can cause a great stir either in excitement or nervousness with people. In this weeks readings, one of the articles Scan This Book the author talks about the need and excitement for the (final) coming of the centralized digital library. Now, being as my blog post is so late (for which I will explain in another post) I’ve had the chance to read others entries before I wrote my own. Now, I may get burned at the cross for saying this…but while I disagree with Mr. Burn-down-the-library man with the iphone, I’m excited for the digital age! Some classmates commented on the need for fingering through old manuscripts, diaries and documents as a source for research. But really…when was the last time you were allowed in a (research) library and were able to touch those things? You certainly cannot in my museum! You’ve got to have those fun plastic sleeves and even with objects, the gloves…so the idea that my perfectly manicured hands are touching a piece of history is actually false anyways.
The idea of having all the tags and bookmarks linked (imagine reading an article about the Charter Oak and then clicking on a tag which links you to an image of the actual Charter!? Well, really a “copy” of the Charter since no one has proof that the one hanging in the State Library is the original of the three copied.
Maybe it’s just the way I think…but I don’t tend to get “scared” of this new technology. I’m more scared to end up like many of my volunteers who don’t know how to use a simple calculator. So instead of fighting it…I tend to embrace it. Sure, my book club would be a little less thrilling if I was reading Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman on my macbook, but I’m still reading the book…arn’t I? oooo…I can already imagine all the tags and links to art museums that could accompany that book.
In the post Professor’s, Start Your Blogs on Dan Cohen’s blog, it has become quite obvious that the world is slowing becoming obsessed with blogs and sharing details about our life with anyone who will “log-in”. Today, there are blogs for almost to satisfy almost any reader or topic; from finding out what the Connecticut Historical Society has in its collections to what party the cast of “The Hill’s” recently went to this weekend. Many people have even managed for make some money off of this type of technology including three major websites (blogger, live journal and WordPress) and a Celebrity Columnist (Prerez Hilton). However, Cohen wants us to move beyong to impression that blogs are written by “self-involved, insecure, oversexed teens and twentysomethings.” He is urging his audience to encourage the development and use of blogs in academia. While there are many academic blogs out on the internet, there are still some historians who shy away from this type of techonology because of its perceived reputation of style and credibility.
I agree with Cohen that Professors should use this technology to their advantage. Blogs are a great way to connect with people who have similar (or completely opposite) views. No longer do you need to shop your views from publisher to publisher in order to justify your research. There’s a simple (and free) way to get your ideas out to a wider audience.
My own experience with blogs has had a profound change on my lifestyle, while clearly less academic. I subscribe to different blogs around Hartford that keep me up to date with the latest local politics (Hartford Undercurrents), bicycling (HartfordBeatBike) and I even write my own blog to keep my family and friends updating with my life (and providing them with a little bit of humor just to make them feel a little bit better about themselves). I even connect with museum educator blogs from around the world to see what other museum education departments (like myself) are working on.
Hi everyone in History 511!
A little bit about me: I’m working on my Master’s in Public History. This is actually the last class I need to take and will hopefully be walking in May! I got my B.A. in History from CCSU as well. I love museums and have been working in them for 4 years now. Currently, I work full time as the Director of Education at a medium sized museum. I’m taking this course because in the museum field, we are using a lot of different technology these days (including blogs and Facebook accounts). The museum field is EXTREMELY competitive and its very important to be on top of all the latest museum theory and practice if you plan on moving up the ladder.
Outside of work and school, I enjoy riding my bike, painting and learning how to play the guitar.
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