Emily Hinkson

Writing with technologies Quiz

1) What do HTML & CSS stand for and what do they mean? Offer an example or two.
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language and it is a code for writing a web page
that can be displayed in a web browser. For example- when writing text you can put this <p> in
front of a paragraph and this </p> at the end of the paragraph so the HTML knows that it will
be a separate paragraph and it will not connect to the text that is in front of it or after it. A CSS
stands for Cascading Style Sheets and it is a way of specifying how the web browser should style
or present pages that are marked up in HTML. An example of this is that CSS rule might specify
indentations for the first line of a paragraph but HTML will just leave a space between the
paragraph before it with no indentations. This is where it can differ.
2) What does RSS stand for? What does it mean/do?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a version of a website that allows
computers to easily manipulate the content. Readers can choose to read the RSS version rather
than as a web page.
3) What is Web 2.0? What distinguishes Web 2.0 from the first wave of web developers?
Please offer some examples and explain why/how these are considered Web 2.0.
A second generation of web sites put forward by Tim OReilly and associates. It allows
users to share their own content and using the Web as a platform to do that. It differs from the
first wave of web developers because they can publish their own content of whatever they choose
that THEY create rather than focusing largely on publishing content. An example is Facebook
and YouTube. These sites are considered Web 2.0 because the users can choose what to upload,
what to say, what topics to share and can connect with other individuals. It is prominent
especially on YouTube, where channels are related to beauty, technology, music, etc.
4) Please list and explain the 3 different types of blogs discussed by Rettberg. Explain what
the defining feature of each are and how they are distinct from one another. What category
do you think our niche blog fall into and why?
The three blogs mentioned in the article are personal blogs (Dooce.com), Filter Blogs
(Kottke.org) and Topic-Driven Blogs (Dailykos.com). Personal blogs are exactly what they
sound like, they are personal. They have images about the bloggers life, stories, there is good
color and more personal content for the readers. An example of this could be a blog about
parenting, and a mommys journey to parenthood. Filter blogs are more about the blogger
recording experiences and finds on the web. They create a point of view on the things they find
online. Topic-Driven blogs can be written by a single person or written collaboratively with a
group of people and are usually on hobbies, passions, professions, and especially on politics. A
good example of this would be a blog on the next presidential election, or a blog about teaching.
I think our blog would fall in with the Topic-Driven because we arent writing about something
we personally want to write about, it is more about the class and information that we learn as we
go through the course. The whole topic of our blog is writing with technologies.
5) From where does the word Blog derive? Why is this significant?

Blog derives from the words web and log. It was first used in 1997 and has grown
considerably. It is basically a log, kept on a web, which is where the word blog comes in.
According to the article, log is taken from nautical navigation and is a chronological order of
events during a sea journey. Just like navigating the ocean, you can navigate through a blog
and see the blogs people write based on certain dates, and they are typically ordered
chronologically. Just like navigating the ship, you can navigate the web as well.
6) Rettberg defines blogging by discussing the phenomenon in terms of genre and medium.
Please explain why she does this and how it helps us understand the genre of blogging and
how blogging functions as a medium.
Blogging is a medium not a genre because there are genres WITHIN the blog. A blog
can be diary-style, filter blog or political blog. Like it is stated in the article, a personal blog
would not have links to a political article in it and a filter blog would probably not include the
writers cat pictures in it. It has certain limitations to the genre. Overall blogging is a medium
because the blogger chooses to write within the set of rules and limits. Yet each blog is different
and has its own genre. Just like television is a medium, but there are different genres of
television, such as soap operas, reality tv etc.