I’m either lazy or informationally overloaded. The MIT blog survey has been around for more than a month and I just noticed it (via Netwoman). I think I saw signs "I broke the power law" somewhere but just didn’t pay enough attention to figure out what it meant.

The goal of the survey is “to understand the way that weblogs are affecting the way we communicate with each other.” I’d say the survey may tell more about bloggers than blogs and how we communicate with each other. The sample consists of those who have blogs and most questions are about patterns of use, which seems to be a bit different from communication or interaction.

May be I don’t see the whole picture (so far one gets only partial results after filling out the questionnaire). But it seems that to be able to say how weblogs affect the way we communicate with each other, it is necessary to survey non-bloggers as well as to ask exact same questions about other types of communication (including off-line communication). It can be argued that bloggers are affected by blogs the most and that patterns of use can be revealing. Besides, I don’t know research questions. Still, I think there is some discrepancy between the goal and the way the survey was designed.

I’m not sure it’s possible to get to this solely by using the survey method but I’d probably like to get answers to the following questions (to name a few):

• If people spend more time on blogs, does it mean they spend less time on other kinds of communication (including f2f)? Do they become more isolated, confident, talkative, empathic?
• If people blog about personal matters, does it mean they stop writing about it in e-mails?
• For a non-blogger (as well as for a blogger), what does it mean to read other people’s blogs every day?
• How do people feel about commenting? What makes them to leave a comment? How many people prefer to remain anonymous and why?

It seems that the response rate was quite high for this survey, so it’s probably one of the first large surveys of bloggers. Regardless to the goal, full results and interpretations should be very interesting.

Almost a year ago Lilia (mathemagenic.com) had a post about why it's hard to blog in Russian. Among other things she mentioned the language of one's own professional community and the difficulties of writing for a non-existent audience. Clearly, I have the same problems. The language of my professional actitivities is English, the audience for sharing and exchanging is mostly English-speaking.

Nevertheless, I decided to start a journal in Russian. The idea behind my blog (journal?) in Russian is trivial: I want to keep up with what's happening on Russian internet (or Runet as we call it). And I hope that some kind of a community with similar interests, however small or invisible it may be, is out there.

I named it (simply and unpretentiously :) "Publichnaya kartoteka", which can be translated as "A public index card file." The word public ("publichnaya") in Russian contains the word "personal" (lichnaya), so it's a kind of public-personal card file. The idea of taking notes on index cards, filing and organizing them became very special to me because of two things:
- "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco
- Nabokov's method of writing on index cards and keeping them in a shoe-box (I read it in some interview with him but some people think it's Nabokov's evasive teasing)
Anyway, the medium might have its own effect but the inspiration comes from good old index cards. We'll see how it goes.

Blogging; Theory and methodology

Browsing weblogs and digesting summer classes, I came up with another idea of why people blog.

According to Habermas, the social evolution can be characterized by the uncoupling of system and lifeworld. Initially conceptualized through the division of labor, systems are functionally specified domains of actions that contribute to the maintenance of society as a whole. Market, law and bureaucracy can be considered such systemic domains. The concept of lifeworld is described in Habermas’ “Theory of communicative action” as a cultural milieu, an implicit resource we draw upon to understand, communicate and act. It is “the intuitively present, … familiar and transparent, and at the same time vast and incalculable web of presuppositions that have to be satisfied if an actual utterance is to be at all meaningful, that is valid or invalid.” (p. 131) Habermas constantly emphasizes the “backgroundness” of the lifeworld, its taken-for-grantedness and the unquestionable nature.

During the social evolution lifeworld is not only uncoupled with system, it becomes an environment for system. In other words, it’s treated like a subsystem (e.g. like economics or politics). Power and money (called “media” by Habermas) replace language in communicative actions eliminating the chance to negotiate and criticize. Jobs and schools are parts of the system where power and money replace linguistic communication. We are paid for our work, placed on some step of a hierarchy and are obliged to follow formal rules. All decisions are made on the level of contracts, handbooks and formal policies and not through actual interaction and understanding.

The lifeworld is cut off from the system, it is mediatized and colonized by it. With the lifeworld cut off and colonized, the crises of meaning, identity and solidarity arise.

Blogging can be considered an attempt to reconnect with the lifeworld and a way to deal with crises. In some way, it is an attempt not to loose something important that can not be codified in regulations and laws but still can be misused and violated. Some unspoken lifeworld norms that promote mutual understanding and make individuals less alienated and hostile.

To generalize, do people blog because they miss authentic communication in some spheres of their life?

Quite recently I realised that doing research for the sake of research is selfish and unproductive. It doesn't mean that all research should have immediate practical implications, but it has to be somehow valuable to the society. The most obvious value of research is in educating others. Through activism, writing, teaching, etc. Can't say I really do these kinds of things but teaching seems more and more appealing in this context.

Chronicle of Higher Education gives some practical advice on how to be better prepared for talking about teaching during the job interview. It is a nice starting point even for those who didn't have a chance to teach so far (like me). In addition to doing your homework and studying the universities you're applying to, at least four issues need to be prepared (thought of) in advance:

• Prepare to teach a variety of courses in a discipline, not a particular course. Thinking about course design, grading and debates in the field is as important as knowing what texts to read.
• Promote student learning. How to engage students? What kind of technologies, assignments and assessments to use?
• Remember about sensitive issues. Discussions about race, class, gender, religious or ethical issues may result in big arguments or conflicts. How to manage and lead them in a civilized manner?
• Balance teaching and research. What parts of one's own research can be used in teaching undergraduates? How research can help teaching even at introductiory level?

At some point of their studies most PhD students need moral and social support so it's nice to know that a group like this one is out there...

PhinisheD: for those who cannot seem to finish their dissertations or theses. Description from the website:

*This discussion and support group is for you if:

• You are sick to death of people asking you "How is your dissertation [or thesis] coming?" (but you really would like to talk about your troubles in finishing -- with anybody except those who keep asking, no matter how genuinely concerned they may be, or may seem to be).
• You have vague fears about finishing, but don't feel you have a safe outlet for discussing whatever it is you seem to be afraid of.
• You're having organizational problems or blocks.
• You are not getting the kind of support you need -- from your university, your employer, your family members or friends. Maybe you don't even know what kind of support you need, just that you don't have it!
• Face-to-face support groups offered by your university don't suit you, for whatever reason.
• You've been in this stagnant state of incompletion, and want to help those still plugging, or flailing.

Worth browsing for any graduate student.