I'd like to add to Stuart's list...
As a means to write collaboratively.
I was commissioned to write a series of 'Geographies of food' reviews for Progress in Human Geography. The third review has just been published, which has 26 authors, who took part in a blog conversation at http://food-afters.blogspot.com/ which was the basis for the written paper:
Ian Cook, Kersty Hobson, Lucius Hallett IV, Julie Guthman, Andrew Murphy, Alison Hulme, Mimi Sheller, Louise Crewe, David Nally, Emma Roe, Charles Mather, Paul Kingsbury, Rachel Slocum, Shoko Imai, Jean Duruz, Chris Philo, Henry Buller, Mike Goodman, Allison Hayes-Conroy, Jessica Hayes-Conroy, Lisa Tucker, Megan Blake, Richard Le Heron, Heather Putnam, Damian Maye and Heike Henderson (2011) Geographies of food: ‘Afters’. Progress in Human Geography 35, 104-120
A new 'afters' team is currently blogging up a 'cultural geographies' of food chapter at http://foodculturalgeographies.wordpress.com/
Some reflection on the use of blogging to write collaboratively was published on a website that I created for a seminar: http://writingcollaboration.wordpress.com/2-myour-writing-2/2f-blog-paper/ where I was able to invite co-authors to comment on what I'd written about the work that we did together. Their/our reflections on the process might be helpful to other considering the use of blogging to write together, as would the following paper:
Sakellariadis, A., Chromy, S., Martin, V., Speedy, J., Trahar, S., Williams, S. and Wilson, S. 2008: Friend and foe? Technology in a collaborative writing group. Qualitative Inquiry 14, 1205–22
I was encouraged to try blogging after seeing a post on CGF pointing towards http://globalhighered.wordpress.com edited by Kris Olds and Susan Robertson (which I've recently found out is also read by people in my University's International Office) . I know a lot of people (academics and students) who have been encouraged to blog, facebook and tweet after becoming involved in the student protests at the end of last year.
So, I wonder if there's room for a wider discussion here about new media/web2.0 and academic work. Many of the reasons to blog are similar to our reasons to make websites (not just to disseminate our work, but to involve others in its creation), use social media, tweet, make and post videos, and combine these things.
Cheers
Ian
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From: A forum for critical and radical geographers [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stuart Elden [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 4:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: geog blogs
Why bother with blogs?
As a notebook, as David Murakami Wood, suggested; as a noticeboard (I post/link to quite a lot of stuff that I think might be of interest); as a place where I can say things that I probably wouldn't work up into publications, but which I think are interesting nonetheless; to publicise my own work, talks, etc.; as place that I can try out ideas and sometimes get feedback... the reasons go on.
Yes, much of it is personal (though there is much I don't write about); and might be seen as self-serving - but then so are personal websites. Nobody forces you to read them. But it's my blog, was set up for my own reasons, and the readership comes as an additional and pleasant second to that. I never expected to get regular readers, and have been quite surprised at the readership, both in terms of numbers, but also from where in the world - over 100 countries on the last count. Nothing I've written in more conventional media has come close to that.
My own blog aside, I completely disagree that they 'add nothing'. I have a long list of blogs in google reader (now that bloglines is defunct), and find them invaluable as a source of information, provocation and inspiration. I now find them far more useful than email discussion lists.
Stuart
http://progressivegeographies.wordpress.com/ <http://progressivegeographies.wordpress.com/>
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From: A forum for critical and radical geographers on behalf of David Crouch
Sent: Wed 2/03/2011 6:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: geog blogs
Hello!
why does anyone bother [blogger?] with blogs?
It seems to add nothing, but gears and joys itself on self-serving romance
David [over 42!]
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