For another one of my writing classes (WRT 235) we needed to chose any topic for a blog that we could write endlessly about for the course of the semester (Fall 2010). As you can already see through my blogger account, my main focus was on the obsession I have for my kitty, Simba. Silly, I know. The main reason for this chosen topic was because I am devoted animal lover. During this course of Public Writing, I will incorporate my passion for animals and take a stand against animal cruelty. Not only will it fit with the topic of my already blogged about cat, but will give me the chance to honestly express my opinion on such an important issue. Since my first blog was for entertainment purposes, this blog will give me the opportunity to prove why I feel SO strongly about this issue.
1.) I can remember after 9/11 when the news was so depressing and negativity filled the American people. People were at a loss for hope, and in mourning of the horrifying events. I was about 14 years old when I thought about writing to the local news station. Typically, news shows the negative in our world and how it is changing for the worse. I was young, but I wanted more out of the news, something to lift people’s spirits and veer them away from all the bad. I decided to write a letter to the news stations offering news that included a positive outlook on America. I suggested that incorporating something hopeful each night during the 6 o’clock news, so the American people could look towards the future and help lift their spirits to make America a stronger country. Although my intentions were out of mere anger of the current issues arising in the world, I thought a letter from a young citizen could in fact make a difference. I didn’t hear back from the news station and ended up letting my idea fall beside the waste line. This depressing time was far before the rise of social media, so today I regrettably say that if I had made a further initiative to change the way public writing was being distributed, I could have made a difference.
With my story above being focused on my own personal will to change the way the public viewed the news, another instance where public writing was important in my life was at my internship for the fall semester 2010. I worked at the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities (GCD) where public writing was a major influence on current issues found in Rhode Island. I worked as an administrative assistant where I assisted the commissioners in developing their 2011 legislative package. Public Forums were held over the summer of 2010, where the general public came to express their concerns for people with disabilities. The issues ranged from accessibility, transportation, health care, and education. With all of these issues addressed, my job was to sift through hundreds of pages of testimony and find what the most important or reoccurring issues were. After I found the most important issues, I put together working groups with the commissioners, where we came up with recommendations for these issues. We then brought these issues to the GCD legislative meetings where we incorporated them into our 2011 legislative package to be submitted for approval from governor and other elected officials in the state of Rhode Island. This was one instance where public writing had a huge impact on the political laws made in the state of Rhode Island, and I am proud to say that I was an assistant to this movement.
2.) There has never been an instance where I reluctantly or did not write to an editor or an elected official upon an issue I found important. I think today, with our generation being so adapted to technology, the way we express our opinion is mainly heard through social media and networking sites. Because people have the freedom of speech and availability to address current issues in their own time with social media, current mainstream problems are being talked about amongst the general public. With this movement of technology, the use for writing personal letters is becoming obsolete. Blogs, and other public websites, are taking over the traditional way of communicating, and with these websites people are personally addressing issues they find to be an important aspect of our society. With this form of public writing, anyone can follow someone who decides to post their writing publically (And mentioned in the reading, all writing is considered public). Anyone can become a public writer in today’s society and I think with the rise of blogs and personal websites, the idea of a public writer is becoming more leisurely. Although, these personal websites may not be considered “official” ways to protest an issue, it is still giving the chance for people to express their opinions about certain topics (and people to follow them). I think the web is a great place to address the personal opinions you have about current issues, BUT if someone really want to change the way public writing is being distributed, than blogging may not be the best option. One must be persistent in getting their voice heard to elected officials, which is where a letter or personalized initiative may be best way to get heard. The only way to make a change is to change the way you go about it.
3) Question three makes some good points about the current generation and their use of technology. For me personally, I am informed about the news from online websites (phone apps) such as NYTimes. I also receive my news from generalized others. Occasionally I will watch the news on television, but my main source for news is social media websites. I think by having the news online the level of interactivity between individuals is much higher. Although with this, I find that the stance on these public messages may becoming more skewed. By this I mean that because people are entitled to their own opinion, news is becoming more biased. Social sites allow people to state their own opinion, but are we actually taking this initiative? Or are we conforming to the general public? Although social media is evolving at a rapid pace, I think media influences the way the public thinks about something.
The younger audience, such as myself, have the option to be informed by world news from such a modernization media channel, but if we don’t take this advantage of the limitless information we can access at our fingertips, the ability to understand what is going on in our world will be lost. I think that because the younger generation grew up with the internet, they have the ability to abuse the online world. Becoming so wrapped up in their personal profile, they are deteriorating the ability to access and understand the multiple genres of news (science, technology, political, health, etc). The amount of information we can access is extraordinary, and the possibilities of what we can do with this information is endless. Depending on how the younger generation is using social media, will depend the future of our society. I do think the younger generation is becoming more involved with the world news because of online social media. If our future politicians continue to feed into the way we receive news (through websites such as Twitter and Facebook), than I think our future is going to be OK. We can even see with the election of Obama back in 2008 where he made the initiative to post most of his politics online so the younger generation could access this information. This is proven to be effective because he was elected our 44th President. Depending on how we receive our news, could ultimately depend on the future of our country.
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