tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post5801393201774582710..comments2024-03-22T02:57:20.853-07:00Comments on Center of Gravitas: Inside the Blogging Studio with GayProfGayProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-64343446338847239062009-08-14T19:42:29.589-07:002009-08-14T19:42:29.589-07:00What a lovely photograph of the cup of coffee! I ...What a lovely photograph of the cup of coffee! I adore how the transparent nature of the glass coffee cup and saucer reveal the richness of the coffee. <br /><br />(I couldn't resist)Javahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17377033663576614925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-66823838914988511772009-08-10T08:08:31.791-07:002009-08-10T08:08:31.791-07:00Didn't Nels Highberg post what he said about h...Didn't Nels Highberg post what he said about his blog in his tenure dossier? I thought he put it under scholarship or professional development or something like that. Nels, do you read this? Can you give us a link? I just remember loving how he talked about the role his blog played in his tenure dossier and thinking that I wanted to do the same thing if I'm ever lucky enough to be in that position. Of course, I apparently didn't keep track of the link...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12120872681446326425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-58206295869277704712009-08-06T11:06:51.774-07:002009-08-06T11:06:51.774-07:00I am most definitely interested in how blogging ha...I am most definitely interested in how blogging has given me a community that I wouldn't have had access to normally. I started blogging three years ago (before I went ABD) and reading posts about academia and life after tenure have granted me so many insights into what kind of lifestyle can be expected. As a graduate student, it isn't always comfortable to ask some of these hard questions (even to a mentor you respect). This has been said numerous times in many, many places, but blogging does level the playing field. <br /><br />Not sure if I've commented here before, GayProf, since I tend to be that reader that comments infrequently. In any case, hello!The History Enthusiasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01920472487193649652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-26032809224646384912009-08-05T21:39:29.413-07:002009-08-05T21:39:29.413-07:00Frank--I suspect you have a dirty mind. Besides, d...Frank--I suspect you have a dirty mind. Besides, do you really think GayProf and I are the types to blog and tell?<br /><br />GayProf--Aw, you make me blush. I think you're swell, too. Hope we can meet up again soon. Santa Barbara is lovely in the winter (hint).Dorianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14754097613320749614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-45843764114536131472009-08-05T18:38:36.454-07:002009-08-05T18:38:36.454-07:00US Security has kept up with Web 2.0. Other quest...US Security has kept up with Web 2.0. Other questions include: What social networking sites are you on? If we googled you, would we come up with anything embarrassing? Has anyone ever written anything derogatory about you? [Do bad book reviews count?]<br /><br />Of course, I immediately went home and googled myself. Nothing the least bit interesting came up.<br /><br />In all fairness, I don't think saying "yes" to a blog disqualifies you -- but anything public will be investigated as a potential security leak... And it definitely reminds me about the public nature of blogging.shaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-21776585526090692152009-08-05T17:33:22.621-07:002009-08-05T17:33:22.621-07:00This is fascinating...hopping over to Part II now....This is fascinating...hopping over to Part II now.Dr. Nohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18424071536413273557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-74913532243973186002009-08-05T15:29:16.803-07:002009-08-05T15:29:16.803-07:00Don't worry, GayProf. I still don't know y...Don't worry, GayProf. I still don't know your secret identity. For all I know you really are an Amazon warrior masquerading as a mild-mannered history professor.Old Lurkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-36540995323728094772009-08-05T12:49:27.674-07:002009-08-05T12:49:27.674-07:00Interesting dialogue. Did you email this back and ...Interesting dialogue. Did you email this back and forth or something? I think I blog because old habits tend to die hard. It doesn't seem as fun as it used to, or maybe it's just me who isn't that fun anymore. Dunno. At least you guys get fired up about things, and you, you can go on (and on) about the politics inherent in a hollywood blockbuster. At least I feel somewhat edified when I come here.tornwordohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-54377790814507140312009-08-05T10:35:22.534-07:002009-08-05T10:35:22.534-07:00"I assure you, though, that we followed a str..."I assure you, though, that we followed a strict blogging code of conduct."<br /><br />What the hell is the fun of THAT, I ask! <br /><br />Hope you come back to my neck of the woods some time so we can meet.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03301077496668834657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-60046755986760972802009-08-05T08:54:56.662-07:002009-08-05T08:54:56.662-07:00Frank: You should be jealous. I assure you, thoug...<b>Frank:</b> You <i>should</i> be jealous. I assure you, though, that we followed a strict blogging code of conduct.<br /><br /><b>Sisyphus:</b> It's her invisible jet -- which happens to be powered by two giant glass penises. <br /><br /><b>John:</b> Well, we would have played that scenario, but my power allocation chart wouldn't allow me to divert power to the science lab to collect knowledge points.<br /><br /><b>Shaz:</b> Wow -- That seems like a no-win question. If you have a blog, and say "yes," then you will be disqualified for being too public. But if you say "no," then you will have lied on your security interview. Hmmm.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-77446732953336543292009-08-05T05:30:09.996-07:002009-08-05T05:30:09.996-07:00Shaz--what a nightmare. Did they ask if you READ ...Shaz--what a nightmare. Did they ask if you READ blogs, too?<br /><br />Susurro, as to your question about what makes a blog an "academic blog:" what GP said. We didn't use the term in any proscriptive sense--I didn't even think about that. I use the term "academic blog" to refer to blogs written by academicians who identify themselves as such (whether they're pseudonymous or not.) As far as I'm concerned the content is up to the writer--GayProf and I just wanted to talk about the ways in which blogging may support academic work as well as compete or conflict with it.<br /><br />As you suggest, the fun of blogging is getting to write what you want to write, however you want to write it.Historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-81384852166718993662009-08-04T23:48:32.819-07:002009-08-04T23:48:32.819-07:00Just went to a U.S. Security Clearance interview, ...Just went to a U.S. Security Clearance interview, and one of the questions was: Do you have a blog? <br /><br />Different take on the formalization/public-effect of blogging, academic or otherwise.<br /><br />On the good side, they didn't ask about bigamy!shaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-87779605018364511552009-08-04T22:06:36.406-07:002009-08-04T22:06:36.406-07:00I just want to say there is no truth to rumors we ...I just want to say there is no truth to rumors we played through the "Space Amoeba" scenario with Dorian in a customized Tholian corvette.John Gorenfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04411330127099102848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-69748547609510908322009-08-04T19:12:10.837-07:002009-08-04T19:12:10.837-07:00Great conversation ... is that a ... gigantic glas...Great conversation ... is that a ... gigantic glass/plastic/invisible penis in that one picture? Sorry, I'm too boggled to comment any further...Sisyphushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09880634753539329199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-55473701940699282522009-08-04T17:49:27.433-07:002009-08-04T17:49:27.433-07:00Very jealous that you and Dorian got to meet, and ...Very jealous that you and Dorian got to meet, and now someone else this week, too. <br /><br />So tell us, GayProf, what we REALLY want to know: any blogger-on-blogger action with you and Dorian? *LOL*Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03301077496668834657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-35125761232522297312009-08-04T16:52:07.465-07:002009-08-04T16:52:07.465-07:00ROG: As you can see by my scanty posts of late, I ...<b>ROG:</b> As you can see by my scanty posts of late, I have no discipline. <i>**sigh**</i><br /><br /><b>Susurro1:</b> Aren't we always on the same wavelength?<br /><br /><b>Tom:</b> Well, no matter how great a conference might be, it is really a finite amount of time. We are talking, at most, a long weekend, no? If you become part of a blogging community, though, you can have contact on a daily (or more!) basis.<br /><br />I would also say that the blogosphere is a much friendlier place than many conferences, particularly if one is a bit shy. One can read and comment at one's own pace.<br /><br />But, ultimately, no matter the technology that we have created, nothing can replace the types of intellectual challenges and rewards of face-to-fact conversation. Being able to bounce ideas off of a real, live human being -- in real time -- is one of the best parts of conferences.<br /><br />I guess that I would say that blogging wouldn't replace conferences. It might, though, help various people hit the ground running once they get to that conference.<br /><br /><b>Susan:</b> I echo HisoriAnn. If they could only come up with "lack of service" as a reason to deny tenure, something was transparently awry. What type of service did they expect that he didn't do? Was he supposed to change the urinal cakes in the men's room?<br /><br /><b>Susurro2:</b> Well, I am not going to be the one to come with a definition for "academic blogs." Rather, I would let it include those people who identify their own blogs as such.<br /><br />One thing I forgot to mention in my conversation with HistoriAnn, though, is that I think that blogging also helps break apart the elite control of academics over certain debates. When I said that academics are going to have to take internet publishing more seriously, I also meant that they are going to have to take those who aren't in academia more seriously as well. I know I have had some great exchanges and had my own thinking really enhanced by many people who blog outside academic circles.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-42423954531564622392009-08-04T14:53:06.531-07:002009-08-04T14:53:06.531-07:00finally hd a chance to come back & finishing r...finally hd a chance to come back & finishing reading, & I'm left w/a question I often am when this topic comes up. Who decides what is an academic blog? And if the content does not conform to the prevailing definition(s) is that a failing on the part of the blogger or a reflection that perhaps their audience and goals are different? put another way, isn't the best part of blogging the right to speak unfettered by the expectations of either profession or market rules?susurronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-68863247101458779212009-08-04T14:38:31.524-07:002009-08-04T14:38:31.524-07:00Susan--I think we were both writing at the same mo...Susan--I think we were both writing at the same moment. Great story, BTW. If they say they denied you tenure because you didn't do enough service, you KNOW they're lying. (But, you still don't get tenure. Dang!)<br /><br />Your story about being the go-to person for other people who were denied tenure also makes the point that blogs can serve as important points for sharing information and gaining sustenance--services you provided on an as-needed basis for the people who contacted you. Some of the posts I wrote about tenure and my bad first job still get the occasional comment from people who write, "thanks so much, gee I wish I had found your blog sooner." I'm sure GP has had similar comments from readers who found some of his older posts, too.Historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-74149799587748255522009-08-04T14:33:36.740-07:002009-08-04T14:33:36.740-07:00Thanks for all of your comments so far, Roger, Sus...Thanks for all of your comments so far, Roger, Susurro, and Tom.<br /><br />Tom raises a great question: small RL communities versus bloggy communities--what's the difference?<br /><br />The main thing that comes to my mind is that in real life communities like the one you describe, you have more confidence about your other community members (that is, that people are pretty much who & what they say they are), and there's more integrity and accountability because of that. One of the learning curves for me as a blogger, which mirrors in many ways my learning curve of adulthood in real life, is that I've come to understand (unfortunately) that people aren't always who and what they say they are. And, unfortunately, I put up with some bad behavior I shouldn't have by some commenters last year and this year too, because it endangered the community. Whereas if those people had behaved in similar ways at your small conference, Tom, they likely wouldn't be invited to return (and would be rigorously shunned by the rest of the community for a good while, if not indefinitely.)<br /><br />So by my estimation--although they're MUCH costlier in money and our carbon footprints--as much as I enjoy the academic blogosphere, it's not ultimately the same as, or as good as, those small subfield or regional meetings, or small conferences. <br /><br />GayProf will probably have other ideas about this.Historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-31476911775239242042009-08-04T14:28:00.861-07:002009-08-04T14:28:00.861-07:00I read academic blogs because they do provide a se...I read academic blogs because they do provide a sense of community. . . even for those of us who don't take responsibility for writing posts on a regular basis :)<br /><br />However, just as a point of information: after I was denied tenure at SLAC, I became the person to go to for those denied tenure there for about 10 years... (seriously). The last person to call me was someone who was denied tenure because "he had not done enough service". Now, of course, he had been told not to do too much service.... I must confess that I started to laugh. It was unforgiveable, but irresistable. It made it so clear that it didn't matter what he did, they were not going to tenure him. (Since my only contact with him was this conversation, I have NO idea what else was going on -- gender identity, race, personality, or whatever.)<br />So: SOMEONE has been screwed for not doing enough service.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-48227562892367589512009-08-04T14:16:57.502-07:002009-08-04T14:16:57.502-07:00Long-time Historiann reader (and occasional commen...Long-time Historiann reader (and occasional commentor), 1st time CoG commentor: Having just come back from a week-long (Monday to Friday) academic conference, I'm interested to read you both on the topic of blog as a center of community, as opposed to academic writing (and conferencing) which is less community-centric? It's an interesting conundrum, I think: conferences (especially small, field-specific ones) seem to want to foster community, too, but there still seems to be a real kind of difference. Anyone care to take a crack at pinpointing the difference in communitas between blogs and the rest of the academic life? <br /><br />I'm too busy enjoying a little much-needed solitude to think about it any more.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11838296548128807890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-85209059932465499212009-08-04T11:39:12.128-07:002009-08-04T11:39:12.128-07:00I'm coming back to read this more closely (got...I'm coming back to read this more closely (gotta meet the new TAs today) but just wanted to say, it seems we are all on the same wavelength again.<br /><br />I worry about the policing of blogs by academics now & I know that if blogging becomes a formalized part of my job I'll stop b/c it has lost all meaning.susurrohttp://likeawhisper.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-50781845856987073392009-08-04T11:32:53.693-07:002009-08-04T11:32:53.693-07:00Most interesting discussion of the academics of bl...Most interesting discussion of the academics of blogging. I'm not a prof because I lack discipline, yet I've blogged every day for 4+ years. But it's my own self-imposed discipline, not an academic one.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.com