Such a wide range...

First, some questions that arose as I read "Valpo Vida" : 1) I noticed that you apologized to your readers/noted that this was your personal log. Did you feel this was a duty? An unconscious decision, or was there reasoning? 2) Your blog was very much a log, and you did not mention personal details as much as events. Was this conscious? How do you feel about bloggers who do put feelings and more 'intimate' details on their sites? 3) Your blog was a travel journal, and I assumed that you began it as a way to keep in touch/keep your family and friends up to date on your time abroad. Is this true? If so (and please correct me if I am wrong), how do you feel about our class reading it? Does your blog suddenly become more academic or less personal because we are using it as an example of a 'travel blog'? If this is true, how do you feel about the changed 'purpose' of your blog?

Today I found myself sketching webs and arrows for the relationships between the function, content, readers, and structure of blogs. If function is the purpose, broadly assumed to be dispensing information, then content would flow from this, a more specific division of blogs into 'personal' or 'political' topics. The structure is placed outside this realm, floating close enough change if needed, but not flowing from one or the other. The readers then create a loop between content and function, using the content as it was meant to function (or something like that, as their comments also bridge this gap). But does this work? Is this an accurate picture of the connections between the aspects of 'blogging'?

Intriguing to notice the wide range of definitions for genre, especially as we ask if blogs are a genre. I would say yes if the definition of genre is that of an organizing principle, such that 'books' and 'foods' would also be genres. But I would have to say no if the genre definition was more equal to the genre of 'sci-fi' or 'mystery'. In the scheme of genre metaphors, blogs, like books, are closer to the trunk of the tree than specific genres such as 'mystery'.