Grad student bloggers

[booksnlooks]

This thread is for finding new blogs as well as sharing blogging tips and experiences.

I've been blogging about my journey to grad school since Aug 2011. I talk about academics, student life, personal finance, health, and style. I like to use my blog to 'think out loud' about important topics in my life and hopefully it'll be a good resource for other people who are looking into grad school or looking to read about someone in the same boat. Can't wait to expand my blog this fall when I start my MA!

[Dal PhDer]

I would LOVE to blog...but I honestly don't think I am interesting enough.....heh heh!

I will check out your blog! It looks great!

[Cici Beanz]

Great idea! I will check out your blog (later, when I'm not at work lol) and I hope you'll take a look at mine.

[booksnlooks]

I would LOVE to blog...but I honestly don't think I am interesting enough.....heh heh!

I will check out your blog! It looks great!

You should totally give it a try! Anyone who goes to Dal is definitely worth reading about. My mom went to Dal, so maybe I'm a little biased haha.

[booksnlooks]

Great idea! I will check out your blog (later, when I'm not at work lol) and I hope you'll take a look at mine.

Reading your blog right now! Looks interesting...I don't know anything about biomedical anthro (or bio or anthro lol) so I'm looking forward to learning a thing or two.

[Cici Beanz]

Reading your blog right now! Looks interesting...I don't know anything about biomedical anthro (or bio or anthro lol) so I'm looking forward to learning a thing or two.

I'm trying to add you to my Google Reader but for some reason it's not working...again, after work. Work ruins all my fun. ;(

[EquationForLife]

Very cool, I will add myself to the list as well

[lydibird]

This was the kick in the rear I needed to get going. So far I only have one post and a placeholder title, but keep checking back. It will get there and I'll blog more regularly once school actually begins and I have something to write about.

I forgot to add the link! Hahaha. http://lydiahowes.wordpress.com/

Edited July 11, 2012 by lydibird

[booksnlooks]

Great to have some more bloggers join us!

Question for everyone: who is your favourite grad student blogger?

Mine is Martina from The Life Academic (http://thelifeacademic.wordpress.com/). She's really nice, real, and easy to relate to. I also like her fashion sense!

[postapocalypso]

Despite having multiple accounts on various social networking sites, I'm a notoriously unreliable correspondent, but I've decided to giving blogging another go this summer at http://mlischiefafoot.wordpress.com/ Hope to see some of ye around!

[hejduk]

I think the the one thing all must realize when blogging (just like using any form of social media), you must be VERY careful of the content you post. "The Adventures of Notorious PhD" http://girlscholar.blogspot.com/, is a blog I absolute love and follow, but she's very careful to protect her identity. I would start a blog too, but I'm too afraid I'm have some rant where I completely disclose who I am, and therefore have this permanent record of said issues.

Employers, yes even academic ones, are trolling websites, google, etc, anything they can find to mine data in order to complete a profile of you as either a potential student, or potential employee. Basically, if you wouldn't say it in front of your momma, don't post it online!

Edited July 12, 2012 by hejduk

[lydibird]

I think the the one thing all must realize when blogging (just like using any form of social media), you must be VERY careful of the content you post.

Employers, yes even academic ones, are trolling websites, google, etc, anything they can find to mine data in order to complete a profile of you as either a potential student, or potential employee. Basically, if you wouldn't say it in front of your momma, don't post it online!

This is an excellent point, and a major factor in my deciding to create a new blog rather than tacking grad school and LIS issues onto the personal blog I've had forever. In my field of choice having an online presence has become more and more common, even often encouraged. In fact, many potentially game-changing conversations about the industry begin online! My plan is to include my blog in the personal website/ePortfolio that I've been advised to create to further my future career. I may repost some of my "professional" blog posts on my private blog, but never vice versa.

My personal blog, where I may occasionally rant, is set so only invited readers have access and is not searchable by search engines. My family (including my mama!) and close friends read it and that's it. Even so, I've been removing any last names, really specific details, etc in order to protect myself. I don't think I've ever written anything that would make a current or potential employer/professor/coworker change their opinion of me; I save anything specific or mean spirited for my (paper) journal but you never know. It's definitely better safe than sorry!

Edited July 12, 2012 by lydibird

[EquationForLife]

This is actually the reason I chose to have my name in my blog so there is absolutely no false sense of security. I put thought into everything I write about but at the same time, I try to approach things from an objective standpoint. It's a delicate balance.

Now if a future employer wants to reject me based on religious beliefs or political views I express in the blog...not much I can do about that.

[wildviolet]

OK-I've been meaning to start a blog for some time and now seems like the right time. Here it is:

http://wildacademicwoman.wordpress.com/

I've subscribed to the ones already posted on this thread. Thanks for sharing, y'all!

[toasterazzi]

Oh hi everybody! I started my blog almost a year ago, and I finally really picked up my writing over the course of the last month or so. I don't start grad school until the fall, but I have written a bit about my preparation for school. Otherwise, I write about things I like/don't like, politics/news, entertainment, etc. Feel free to check it out. The link is in my signature.

[Dal PhDer]

http://ramblingsofaphdstudent.wordpress.com/

Well...I finally did it! I had extra time tonight and thought it would be fun...hopefully I will make it past 1 post...

[amandacarol1215]

Super excited to find more grad student bloggers! I blog at Life According to Amanda and would love to see some fellow GC-ers over there!

[user_name]

not really about school but: autonomyandsolidarity.wordpress.com

[Cici Beanz]

I love that this post has gotten so many replies since I last checked in! Fun stuff. I'm gonna check out everyone's blogs now.

[mandarin.orange]

I am going to start a blog. So, this novice wants to toss out a question to the more experienced ones:

Do you identify yourself - and your work - or do you maintain anonymity? I've realized that most of the ones I read regularly (UnlikelyGrad, Ferule and Fescue, Female Science Professor, Girl Scholar) use pseudonyms so they can discuss some of the deeper issues of academia.

However, I keep thinking that I would like to identify myself, and link it to my webpage on the dept server. I want some sort of writing outlet that's a little more informal, but would still end up writing mostly about my work, what I read, what I think of current scientific topics.

So: anonymity, or not?

[Dal PhDer]

I dunno...I know there are times when I think about what I've said on here and wish I was a little bit more 'mysterious'.

I think if you're going to host it on your school's server, it won't be as anonymous as you might want it to be. I also think that if you're looking to de-construct academics and think that what you say in the blog might come back to hurt you, maybe keep it anonymous.

I do think people are going to have to start considering their internet presence more (and when I say people, I am included). I don't normally think of my internet doings impacting my 'real life' ...so with that said, even though I don't do it, I might keep it anonymous.

[wildviolet]

My blog is sort of anonymous. I give my first name, state which region of the United States I live in, and what general field I'm studying. I also talk a lot about personal stuff.

I've seen other bloggers not remain anonymous, mostly because they stick to academic topics. So, I suppose it depends on what kind of blog you want to have and whether you care if random people on the Internet decide to look you up.

[toasterazzi]

I tend to keep a fair amount of the details somewhat vague. I might refer to my state, but not necessarily a specific city. I don't generally name people I actually know. I'm pretty open, but I don't necessarily want it to show up in a search if someone looks for my name, not because I'm ashamed of what I say, but because I know people will judge me for it regardless.

[EquationForLife]

I make it completely non anonymous so there is no false sense of security. You should be careful because of how easy google searching makes it to track down someones identity, especially if you are mentioning anything personal on a blog.

[mandarin.orange]

Thanks, everyone! I am liking this idea of having the blog be non-anonymous more and more, but I appreciate all the input. My advisor and a labmate have blogs where they discuss academic topics and fieldwork, so I plan to model on that someone (though neither have updated in over a year).

Also, I'm gradually visiting the links in many of your signatures...great stuff!