Personal Style Blog Research

Well, Tania of What Would a Nerd Wear asked to hear more about my project. So here we go.

Last semester I looked at Identity and Outfit of the Day Blogs. I interviewed seven OOTD bloggers to hear the story told through the voices of participants, and I followed approximately twenty blogs to watch how the community worked. My research question was: how is identity as an OOTD blogger shaped and influenced by the community of OOTD bloggers? I am a sociologist, so I am drawn to questions about the interplay between self and society.

This semester I am returning to the project and looking at it from a new angle. First, I have changed the terminology to personal style blogger, as that appears to be a cultural trend that has surfaced. Now I have two questions: what influences the personal style blogger's choice to, or not to monetize, and is personal style blogging a feminist enterprise?

A second big difference between last semester and this semester is that my current project is a research proposal for my thesis. My thesis will be due in April, 2011, so I have one year to read tons more books and articles, do more data collection, and do data analysis. This summer I will do a second round of interviews, and I would like to get as many as 40 interviews completed (if you're a personal style blogger and you're reading this, I would definitely like to talk with you). I will also be creating a database about PSBs, like posts per month, ads or no ads, links or no links, blogroll, number of pictures, cross posting, all that good stuff. From what I can tell, there is no centralized data collection of this kind, except probably Blogger and WordPress have use numbers. I suspect that blog companies would be unwilling to share that data, and also, since personal style blogs are not always distinct from personal blogs, mommy blogs, beauty blogs, etc., the info probably doesn't exist for just the type that I'm investigating.

So, what do you think? I have lately seen tons of reflective posts on these exact topics. Those are really cool and helpful, and I want to strike while the iron is hot, before people get tired of talking about why they do what they do. On the other hand, there is no money to do this research; I'm just working on my M.A., so it pretty much happens when I have time for it to happen. Same issues that most grad students face.

OK, so there you have it. Let's talk!
Emily K.

Riff is teh awesum.

Oh my word, I am so in love with this video. Linked by Gelman's Blog, source is Minimum Safe Distance blog, music is Royksopp.

Remind Me from Röyksopp on Vimeo.

Crossposted to LiveJournal.

Lyons

I just got back from Lyons, Kansas. My husband's aunt Mary Kay got married there on Saturday. It was a beautiful event. They're both in their 50's, it's her second marriage, and they were so happy. They held it at the Lyons country club, and put wonderful work into making it inclusive. My husband's dad, who is a judge, did the ceremony, my brother-in-law designed the menu, a family friend did the video-taping, two of Mary Kay's three sons brought their ladyfriends to their first major family function; all of that stuff doesn't come together without someone's careful attentiveness.

Mary Kay is right in the middle (age-wise) of eight children. There were these neat generational lines all partying it up. A couple 80 year olds, a bunch of 50-60 year olds, a bunch of 20-30 year olds, a handful of teenagers, and one baby. The colors were red and black, and Mary Kay was given away by her brother and his partner, Scott. Because, as my husband would say, "Mary Kay never misses a chance to make a statement."

Indeed. :)

Time Management

If there's one thing I'm learning about the combination of being almost 30, a full time grad student and a full time office employee, it's that time management is crucial. One notably important aspect of managing time in a busy life is leaving room for doing nothing.

It is almost true that I should be reading and studying in every spare minute. However, the three-day Labor Day weekend is providing a respite, and I am taking every advantage. Today I mowed the lawn, watched a movie, went for a walk, sat on the porch and yeah, just generally did nothing. I didn't read. I did drink beers. That is it.

Granted, one other interesting thing about my day today is that it is the first day of Kansas football season. I don't care for American football. I love college basketball, and I like men's soccer (the true football), and that's about all the room I have in my life to pay attention to sports. So why would it matter that today is the beginning of KU football season? Because I live little more than a block from the stadium. Heh. It's been a trip.

My husband and I bought this house in February, and we knew it was going to be crazy come this time of year. People have been asking us if we will sell parking spots. It's a small town and a big sport. Folks come from all the neighboring towns and cities to watch the local college football games. The college kids drink, tailgate, act out, and throw horse shoes. It's not my deal, but I do love spontaneous neighborhood parties. They're weird and neat. They don't happen in suburbia. They smell like barbeque. They start at 11 am and go until the game at 6 pm. It's just oddly interesting.

So no articles, no books, lots of blog reading, lots of general whatever. Letting the mind wander. It needed the fresh air.

Dance Party: From 1 to 100

My honey sent that to me. Like he said, you definitely don't need to listen to the music to be able to enjoy the video. Isn't it cool?

My favorite is how people are running up to join. You don't see that kind of enthusiasm too often. But I guess that's the glory of a snowball effect.