Yeah. I've been on here for awhile. I have no idea what to do. I'm trying to get this scholarship thing; I'm trying to "Build up my reader base" like the website says. But it's been a month since my last post, no one's reading my blogs (that's most likely my fault, so advice on writing would be greatly appreciated!), and I still can't think of anything. I'm not going to give myself up to abusing this point system just yet.
I've read a few blogs and commented here and there, but what I've been seeing has been confusing me. At first I thought that the whole point of the "Progressive University" thing was that all posts had to be all smart, relevant, thought-provoking, philosophical, and, well, "progressive" stuff that was meant to show off one's IQ, but then I've seen many posts that are just regular posts (including the occasional grammar sloth) or are downright stupid. Is it okay if I just rant on here?
I don't have anything really interesting in my life to write about.
I'm a 17-year-old guy.
I'll be at the top of the food chain this coming year.
Can't wait for college. I'm definitely picking somewhere out-of-state, simply because I crave the cliche'd freedom of college.
Don't have a job.
I've argued with my parents, of course, but they're not abusive, and when life seems unfair I know that it's probably to prepare me for something in the future.
I'm a Christian, and mostly conservative, and I doubt that anyone here wants to hear another ignorant bible-thumping hypocrite, so I'll try to avoid politics altogether.
I'm a 17-year-old guy, and I've never even had a girlfriend, never kissed anyone.
I'm a guy, and I've struggled with lust for a long time from my perspective.
I wish I could get the willpower to do the things I've always wanted to do.
I like to swing dance, and I've been taking WCS lessons for a couple of weeks now.
I could have been an A student, but due mostly to laziness I'm now scrambling for my grades.
I like Chemistry, and math, and maybe physics too.
I like to act (I certainly hope I'm good at it, or I've been making a complete idiot of myself for quite awhile) and I also like to sing (sameissue here). I've been a Bass in choir for 5 years now.
I have dreams, but I don't know if they're attainable. I have my own American Dream, but I doubt things will turn out the way I hope (If anyone's life has gone exactly the way they planned, please tell me your secret!) and above all, I just wish God will give me my chance to change the world *for the better*.
Is there anything to write about in that?
Belated Welcome to ProgressiveU! :-)
You're doing the right thing by building your reader base right now. Not a lot of people are using the site each day right now since the scholarship contest doesn't start again for a while. This is good because your blogs don't have to compete with hundreds of other blogs for reads. It also means not a lot of people are actually here in order to read the blogs you post. But the ones who are here read what you write and, theoretically, will continue to read your blogs once the contest starts.
I know I have a tendency to read the blogs on my buddy list before going to any other blogs and, sometimes, there are just too many of the other blogs to start reading them. So, keep writing. Add people to your buddylist. You will have that advantage once the contest starts again.
I noticed on your earlier blogs you've already got quite a few comments on some of them. That's great! You don't need to reply to each comment, but if one is asking you a question or promoting further discussion, responding to those comments will work in your favor.
It's also good that you are commenting on other people's posts. This may be the best thing you can do to get people to read your blog. You can also add a signature to your comments by editing your account. My signature, you can see, links to my own ProU blog. It is a great tool for self-promotion.
I've read a few blogs and commented here and there, but what I've been seeing has been confusing me. At first I thought that the whole point of the "Progressive University" thing was that all posts had to be all smart, relevant, thought-provoking, philosophical, and, well, "progressive" stuff that was meant to show off one's IQ, but then I've seen many posts that are just regular posts (including the occasional grammar sloth) or are downright stupid. Is it okay if I just rant on here?
To be eligible for the scholarship, blogs need to stay on topic, and relate to one or more of the 5 Progressive Principles (Broad Prosperity, Shared Responsibility, Effective Government, Personal Freedom, Better Future). These terms are pretty open to interpretation, but if you see a blog you feel is not at all progressive, or violates the Terms of Service, you can flag it for one of us moderators to take a look at.
You can just rant on here, if you can make that rant into something progressive. I've seen it done a few times.
For additional tips on how and what to write in your blog, I encourage you to check out the FAQ site, in the About Blogs and Writing section.
All of these pieces of you have potential to be progressive blogs. Take some time to think about writing on them, and post back here.
Good luck!
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The Sex Change: A Nursing School Story
*squee* I love our new mods. They're so wonderful.
I pretty much agree with what sawaboof said.
Yes, there are a lot of crappy blogs on this site. We're trying to get rid of some of the older ones (which were really really crappy), but it's a long process, and we don't have nearly as much help as we'd like. Combine that with trying to get you all things you might actually like... it's a difficult task.
If you're totally stumped for things to write about, I suggest checking out the news feeds (you can find a link to those at the top of this, and any, page on the site, but the address is www.progressiveu.org/news) to see if you can find something interesting there. If you can't, try looking at the Topic of the Week (www.progresiveu.org/weeklytopic ... link to that can be found on the sidebar on most pages). There's a link to the archive on that page as well, so you can find quite a number of questions you can answer for blogs on those pages.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
I tend to like writing about the news or current events the most. Even though there may be some people who disagree with you, that shouldn't stop you from posting your opinion on a political matter. I don't think you'll be able to get around on this site without getting into at least one good debate :D
I also think it's helpful to look at the blogs of people who are on the ProU faculty. They've been around a long time and have lots of great posts that you can look at to see how they do it. They're really the ones you want to emulate.
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Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. --Mahatma Gandhi
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