Reflections On My Blog Experience I

Blogging has a real appeal to them. Think about the idea… your own webpage, essentially… For me, it’s a pretty revolutionary idea considering that I did not have a personal web page where I could post poems, comments, and hobbies or thinks related to my academic life. Before that, Tinta y Papel, a literary magazine from Montreal, Canada, was my connection to the Internet and publishing world. Sincerely, I thought blogging was a new form of publishing program with a black background and florescent green graphics. My point here is not to boast about how ‘disconnected’ I was growing up from publishing idea on cyberspace, rather to paint the picture that my interest in online posting is a recent phenomena.

I have always had an affinity for music, poetry, film and photography, yet I purchased my first digital camera last year. Since, I have been increasingly incorporating photography into my blog. Cameras and computers are the tools that have enabled me to blend my life, academics, and adventures together.
Yet, this blog experience has allowed me to use knowledge from all disciplines inside and outside the box of an arts and science education, weaving the disciplines together to share my experiences abroad with others, as well as generate conversation within a community of friends, thinkers, fellow grad students, etc. My speech is idealistic, and I’ll be the first to admit that I did not start an intense online Socratic discussion through my blogging; however, I know that I did start a dialogue with people through other mediums as messaging services that began at the blog.

My blogging is rather personal. I was inspired by some poets’ web pages, bands blogs or by something that for me is interesting, challenging, or unique. I try NOT to get caught up in the "how.original.I.am.com did it…" type of blogging, but I am not immune to the occasional mime. But as soon as I scanned through my archives, I wonder what sort of picture my blog paints about who I really am. In cyberspace, we can be who we want to be, and hide from who we really are.

While reading other blogs, I often find myself trying to paint a mental picture of the person so that I can better connect with who they are. The down side of this is that I know for a fact, that many bloggers just don't paint a complete enough picture to really represent themselves, their lives, and their passions. How do I know this? Many of my friend's have blogs and most of them I have known before their blog fame while others I have become close to as a result of meeting them through their blog. But the end result is the same. There are things you can learn about a person through shared experiences and personal contact with the whole being. The down side to this intimate knowledge is that it makes reading these people's blogs a difficult venture at best. Even more difficult for me is commenting on their posts.

There are no absolutes in life. Things are not always what they seem, and in Cyberspace, the line between truth and fiction is so thin, you will most likely miss it when it's crossed. As my blog experience evolves, it will be my goal to stay not on one side, but both, after all, what’s reality or fiction?. So, please, the next time you stop through for a read, I ask you to think about what this blog says about me, and feel free to challenge or simply ask questions.

Span505
Arguedas

Carlos Antonio Pajuelo