Interviewing & Evaluating Myself

xkcd.com/833/

This is the first of three personal evaluations with a personal survey included!  This is for the class, but I will try to make it easy to read for those you who want to just skim through it.

Now an exclusive look behind me and what this blog is about.

What is the purpose of this blog?

The purpose of my blog is to discuss whether or not the science in books, movies, or on the television is realistic.  And in doing so facilitate an interest in accurate science portrayal in these forms of media.  Though I covered a cartoon, I do not believe the science has to be "good" in them.  I'm talking more about something like the movie The Core, or 2012. Just to put to rest the worries you had about the world ending due to neutrinos, it wont happen. Like Jack O'Neil says, "Nintendos pass through everything....  Everything."

Who is the imagined audience(s) of this blog?

I imagine my audience to be people who have read books or watched movies/television shows and wondered whether the science was possible.  Along that line, I'm looking for people who are interested in discussing how the science could be possible.

Have my posts matched up with my purpose/audience? What/who might I be overlooking in defining my purpose/audience this way?

I believe that my posts so far have, mostly, achieved my purpose.  I am looking for more science discussion.  I suppose I am overlooking people who are not interested in the science in books, movies, and television shows.  I, also, though unintentionally, may be looking over those uneducated in a science field.  I'm trying to provide enough background when I introduce a topic so that people of all backgrounds can discuss it.

What can I do to encourage more reader participation with my blog?

I can ask more focused questions at the end.  Provide more videos.... People really seem to be liking those videos.

How can I expand my audience in this class? Outside of this class?

For those in the class, I think I need to come up with catchier headlines/titles for my blog that stand out more.  For those outside the class, I may need to get my blog name out there.

What do I hope to get out of writing this blog?

I hope to be part of a community interested in and willing to discuss science and entertainment.

What would I like others to get out of it?

I'd like others to enjoy being a part a that kind of community.  Additionally, I hope to facilitate an interest in science and how it is portrayed in the entertainment world.  And, maybe, learn some new science-y things they didn't before.

What are the strengths of my blog/my blogging?

I think the strengths of my blog are:  simple layout, attached videos, and that each topic is open for discussion.

What are the weaknesses?

I think my weakness is in the lack of creative writing.  I'm very literal and dry.  I'll be attempting to write more like I talk so that it's easier to read.  I'm attempting for the Dickens approach, not the text book.  For those of you who may not get what I mean, probably everyone since I made up the term, Dickens is an easy author to read, at least I think so.  He narrates his stories like he is actually telling you the story.  So it seems like you're listening to a story rather than reading.

How would I describe my tone?

I think my tone is dry and uninteresting. Super sad day T_T. I have always been a literal writer with sentences that don't necessarily flow together.  Like I just mentioned above, I'll be working on that.

Have I used a deficit model in my writing, or something else? How would I know?

I don't believe that I have been using the deficit model.  I am attempting to have all my topics as discussions with readers.  Honestly, I wouldn't know I was using the deficit model until someone told me.

How have I characterized (implicitly or explicitly) science, engineering, and/or technology in my blog?

I think I have, so far, characterized science to be useful, as in the vitamin commercial post.  And that it can be fun to think if wacky things, like the shrink ray could be possible.

How have I characterized myself?

I think I have characterized myself as nerdy and thinking about things too much. I may have come off as a "know-it-all" with my in-depth science-ness, but I really just want to have fun with this blog.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now the critical self evaluation

Blog Format and Design

I think my blog is simple and easy to read.  The background is not overwhelming or distracting from the content.  The link colors are different enough from the regular font to be highly visible.  I make use of font syles to give emphasis or to make things easier to read.  I believe that the layout is simple and makes it easy to navigate my blog.  My posts are being categorized with labels to make it easy to search for only one type of media.  I'd give myself a A here.

Posts

My post may not boast in number, but I feel that they reflect the amount of thought that went into them.  I make sure to embed videos when possible.  I include images to clarify topics or jazz up the post.  I ask questions at the end to lead readers into a discussion; it helps me, so I thought it'd help others.  I am cycling through different forms of media in order to engage a variety of people.  My posts remain on topic, or at least cycle back around to topic.  I admit that I had trouble relating my blog topic and the readings in a readable fashion.  I'd give myself a C+ here.

Commenting on my blog

I make sure to read comments on my posts often and try to respond to them in a timely fashion.  I feel that I am having a good amount of interest in my posts since a good number of people are commenting.  I'd give myself an A here.

Commenting on other blogs

Though I am reading a lot of posts, I am not commenting on each one.  I don't like my comments to be compliments.  So I only really comment when I have a question or something, that I feel, contributes to the topic at hand.  I still think that this adds up to an ample amount, though.  I'd give myself an A here.

Engaging with blogs/publications of similar topic

This is a no go on my part so far. Though, I just found out that Michio Kaku had a show on the Science Channel called "Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible" and will be seeing if I can incorporate his stuff into my blog.  I have connected to websites that are useful to my blog, but not other blogs.  I'd give myself a C here.

So, I give myself a B overall.