Group J: Elisa

Hi!! I'm sorry for being so late but I was abroad and I couldn't use the computer.

After having spend a lot of time on the blogsphere I've chosen these two blogs:
d.i.y. naturally and travelblog.
The first one is a blog about environement and netural products. It contains lots of ideas for doing daily things avoiding chemical products which, in many cases, are not good for health. It contains some interesting categories in which I spent a lot of time, for example "10 Way to use salt as an healy and beauty product", "Baking soda" (how many ways to use it!), "pet care" or "Do it yourself - organic skin care for oily skin" and many others. I found this blog interesting! The style is neutral, it avoids too informal expression but it uses rhetorical questions and contractive forms. The language is simple and clear and, when there are articles, there is always the link to the original site. The layout is simple but pleasant, it uses colors but only different shades of green.
The secon one is a collection of comments, photos and recollections of travels from around the world. It is a blog for everyone who wants to travel: here he/she can find information about everything connected to travels and can easly serch the information which he/she is looking for because there are links to every part of the world. The style is quite different from the firt blog I've analysed because here the layout is bit more "heavy". The language is neutral and there are lots of photos.

See you soon, Elisa

Group J: Giovanna e-tivity 2

Hi everyone!

I’m ready to tell you about some interesting blogs I found on the blogosphere, and I hope you will enjoy visiting them. At the beginning I had difficulties in finding the blogs, but then I tried to focus on my interests and I managed to find two blogs.

In order to find the first blog, I searched for ‘travel in Japan’, because I love travelling and I also love Japan and its wonderful culture. In this way I had the opportunity to take a look at many travel blogs, but one caught immediately my attention. Its title is AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE! Who said I was too small to be a globetrotter! and it is written by an English guy that decided to sell his house and start travelling around the world. I recommend you to visit this weblog because it is very interesting, fun and clearly structured.
As regards the structure, there is a brief introduction of the author, a map with the author’s trip route, and then the posts, which are divided according to his stops; for example, the second post is entitled ‘First stop China’ and the tenth post ‘Hiroshima’. There are also many pictures in the messages, so you can see the places mentioned. On the left side there are some links in order to contact the blogger, and at the top of the page there are links which direct you to the welcome page, the entries, and the guest book. As the pictures in the posts are little, you can see them better through the hyperlinks put by the blogger. The language used in the weblog is quite informal; it is like spoken language. For example, there are contracted forms, slang words, pauses given by the use of dots, and many expressions used in conversation, such as the exclamation ‘arghhhhh!!!’ The comments on the blog are very informal and colloquial.

The second blog I’d like you to visit regards creativity, and it is entitled Yourcre8tivity.com – Creative Adventures. When I found it, it drew my eye because its name is extremely vague, so I started wondering what it is about, and I found out that the blog is written by two authors who want to help others increasing their creativity in everyday life. In particular, the bloggers suggest some interesting activities, such this one: lyrically speaking #16. Although this blog could seem weird at first sight, it is not, in fact it can be very useful and it can help you to express yourself. What I like the most is that the bloggers don’t give you the right solution, but they just want you to open your mind and find your own way to be creative.
The structure of the blog is clear and eye-catching: on the left side you can find ‘the quote of the moment’, which is quite interesting, and some lists of links. You can select the posts you want to read by clicking on the calendar, or on the links put in the lists entitled ‘Archives’ and ‘Categories’. The language used is usually neutral, even though sometimes it is more informal. For example, there are contracted forms or interrogative clauses. Sometimes you can also find some conversational expressions, such as ‘hey ya gang’, but the style is usually less colloquial.

As I understood from the blogs I analysed, the style used on the blogosphere goes from neutral to informal, and this depends on the topic of the blog –which can be personal or not- , on the target reader, and on the blogger’s skills. However, the aim of every blogger is not only to write a diary, but to interact with other people and to create a place without limits, thanks to a large use of links.

I hope you will visit the two blogs I suggested you,

See you!

Giovanna S.