Crimson Wife Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Inquiring minds (aka a smart aleck 9 y.o. girl likely in the very early stages of puberty :rolleyes:) want to know: do you personally consider a blog post to be a genre of writing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 No. I would classify the blog post itself by content. If the blog is just detailing the happenings in her life then it would be a personal narrative. If she is posting her opinions about various issues then it could be classified as persuasive writing (maybe). If she's just putting up photos of herself with friends (and the occasional caption) . . .well . . . I'm not sure that even qualifies as writing at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 In this day and age? Yes. Is it always GOOD writing? That's another story. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Kinda. There are blog-specific conventions - instead of just citing facts, you ought to link to your source/proof, for example - and you structure blog posts differently than essays, certainly. I don't know if there's as much uniformity b/w blogs on wildly differing topics as there is with, say, essays. I mean, some blogs are more like photo essays than essays - while there are still differences in online photo/picture-heavy blog posts and the same in print, they are definitely closer together than a photo-heavy blog and a text heavy blog. But imo blogging is distinct enough from existing genres to be considered a new animal, and if you want to blog it's worthwhile to analyze quality blogs and learn the genre. Now, whether it is worth *school time* is up for grabs ;) - but I do think it qualifies as a skill of its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burfhe Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I would say a blog post is the platform on which the writing is delivered. The content of the post could be a personal narrative (journal entry), a personal opinion (persuasive writing), or a procedure (how to make a lapbook :001_smile:). It could probably be one or two other things as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsplaymath Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I said "Yes" because a well-written blog post follows style guidelines (frequent breaks for headings or bullet lists, lots of white space, short paragraphs, generous linking, etc.) that do not work at all for other genres of writing (such as narration or essays). Bloggers who approach blogging like essay writing end up with horribly unreadable posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 What an insightful question! I lean towards no, I think there are different types of blog-writing that fit into existing genres. I think one might make an argument for it though. Perhaps you should ask her to choose a side and defend her opinion (orally or in writing)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 It has its own conventions, so I say yes. I don't think most blogs are well written though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 I wanted to get some opinions before giving the background to this poll- thanks everyone for answering! :) The discussion arose in response to an exercise in Figuratively Speaking. For those who are not familiar with that particular book, it teaches about various literary analysis terms. The lesson we were working on the other day was about "Stream-of-Consciousness". The question that provoked the discussion over whether a blog post constituted a genre of writing was: "Stream-of-consciousness style creates an artistic piece rather than a formal-sounding literary work. Certain story lines, characters, themes, and moods especially benefit from use of the style. Describe three genres that might benefit from the use of the stream-of-consciousness style." My DD wrote: Poetry Journal Blog The first two I had no problem with, but the inclusion of the third prompted the discussion and poll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 No. A blog is a medium, just like a magazine would be, it is not a genre per se. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 No. You can write a journalistic blog, or a popular science blog, or a blog wallowing in personal feelings, or a travel description, or a literary analysis blog. A blog is the medium used to deliver the writing, but the writing itself can be of different genres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 No. A blog is a medium, just like a magazine would be, it is not a genre per se. This is what I think too. Just like magazines can use different types of writing, so can a blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) In this day and looking forward? Where people can use blog content to generate INCOME? Absolutely. Don't look at it right now, think about it in 30 years, and the long tail of content. What's going to happen to newspapers in 30 years?If the majority of them go online, how is that going to change the 'free' access of blogs? Then there is serializing the content, to later bundle and sell with added unpublished content. This is only the beginning. Edited January 21, 2012 by justamouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 No. A blog is a medium, just like a magazine would be, it is not a genre per se. I voted no as :iagree: with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I'm undecided. If I was writing an essay, I would use much more formal diction, phrasing etc, than in a blog post. But I guess that depends on the blog. Hmmmm... Interesting question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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