2 posts tagged “web2.0”

Is web 2.0 my friend or enemy? 

Today I sat down to take notes on Matt Brown's book and to begin revising my book prospectus. Within moments, I found my mind wandering back to the web -- other academics' blogs that I have begun following, this blog, my Goodreads page. Mind wandering, I contemplated the potential for these social networking sites to provide a scholarly community for someone writing on the fringes of academia. Or can blogging make the private work of writing more public, and therefore help me to stay focused and responsible to my schedule?

Meanwhile, I was not writing, or taking notes, or doing research.

Writing is HARD.  Thinking is HARD. The mind seeks distractions, and finds them. Writing is not a solitary process. It requires the support of a community. But it also requires time apart -- quiet time, alone time. Here's to finding the courage to sit alone for a little while, every morning, doing the hard work I love.

Today I begin what may be a short run, may be a very long run, of writing out loud.  I am a virgin blogger, unsure of myself and feeling a little naked. But I will begin by making my intentions towards you all (anyone?) clear.

This blog is about:

• blogging
• writing, and in particular turning a dissertation into a book
• while fitting scholarship into a nontraditional academic career
• figuring out that career
• while running (and biking or swimming) long distances each week

all while

• being a 30-something woman with a brain, a runner's body, a career, family & friends, creative ambitions, and a thirst for a full, balanced life not wholly dominated by any one of these elements
  

I'm not sure to whom I'm writing. Who is out there? Hello!  Who are you?  Welcome, whoever you are, and thanks for reading. If you can help me figure out how to do any of this, I will owe you my firstborn. . . .