This blogosphere craze is simply fascinating. Everybody seems to have a blog and I'm convinced that those who don't have at least once in their life dreamt of starting one. I've never personally met most of the bloggers whose blogs I follow, but peeking into the virtual rooms called blogs is like dropping in for a visit. Like our homes, our blogs reflect our personalities - they reveal a lot about what's going on inside of us. And it's not just the words we write - it's the design which we choose that makes a difference and shows who we really are.
Anna Loseva's blog is painted white. I associate this colour with purity and virtue. Anna might have chosen aggressive red or striking green, for example, but she didn't. Although she is a very creative writer and I find her posts little pieces of art, she chose a very simple template for her blog. Nothing disturbs the reader - eyes just skim the white plains without being distracted by loads of images or conspicuous colours. I guess it's because Anna doesn't want to be intrusive - she wants us to create mental images for ourselves.
Rose Bard's posts and the accompanying images are telling - they reveal a lot about her and her humanistic approach to teaching. She looks so content, natural and compassionate being surrounded by her happy students and family members, even though she often talks about some really worrying issues on her blog.
Roseli Serra's blog is colourful and friendly. From what I know about Roseli, it perfectly reflects her personality and it's exactly what her home looks like (as far as I can tell from her Facebook posts). If visual styles hadn't been abolished, I'd say that Roseli is definitely a visual type learner and teacher :-) And yes, she loves coffee. That's not really surprising; she comes from Brazil, after all.
Dear Vicky Loras and her wonderful blog... It's so neat - everything is in the right place, absolutely flawless. I suspect that her teaching is the same. Judging by the current cover photo, she adores books and reading. Yes, she does. And she loves poetry!
Like Anna's space, Mike Griffin's blog is not too embellished. But I suspect that Mike chose the design for strictly pragmatic reasons. Mike doesn't need pictures to tell his story - his weapon is eloquence. I love Mike's uninterrupted-stream-of-consciousness-like style of writing, and one has to be alert not to miss a tongue-in-cheek remark.
Divya Madhavan's blog is dressed in deep red - my favourite colour. I would have chosen it for my blog as well, had I had the courage. I think the shade perfectly sits with the topic Divya passionately discusses on her blog - critical pedagogy - as well as with the image of the Eiffel Tower on the right. I don't want to promote stereotypes but I associate red with Paris and France in general.
When I heard Sandy Millin speak for the first time, I thought: this woman speaks briskly and to the point. Now, whenever I read her blog, I imagine Sandy reading the lines out loud for me. Sandy seems to like images a lot - but again, they are always to the point - not just a means to decorate.
David Harbinson's blog is well-arranged and uncluttered. Nothing seems redundant. The graphs and images he chooses reveal his interest in technology. The way he writes is transparent, professional and restrained - his blog reminds me of a renowned broadsheet, and I think this is the way David wants to be seen by his readers.
I love coming back to Josette LeBlanc's cosy space. I go there when I need to calm down and recharge batteries. The colour which seems most dominant is orange, even though I have no proof of that. It must be the energy that feels orange - the colour of candle light and flames. For me orange is about harmony, aspiration, sociability, contentment and intelligence. I've never met Josette but I imagine she's just like that.
There are bits and pieces of green in Vedrana Vojkovic's space. Not too many, though. I'm trying to figure out if it means anything at all. Is it mere coincidence? I hear that researchers have found that green can improve reading ability. This may be related to the fact that Vedrana teaches writing and she does everything in her power (maybe subconsciously) to make her own writing intelligible and reader-friendly. Also, green is thought to relieve stress and it has a calming effect. And that's how I feel when I visit Vedrana's space - relieved and relaxed. :-)
Finally, Anne Hendler's blog .... it's a puzzle for me. It seems that it's hiding more than it reveals. When I look at the design, I imagine a square. I have no clue why but I do. Squares represent the natural (structure) order of the universe. I think of foundations, like building and homes. Yes, it's a humble home - pure and simple. But I know that apart from being modest, the owner is also very sensitive and perceptive, something that she can't hide behind the imaginary straight lines.
They say that we shouldn't judge the book by its cover, but I believe that the way our blogs look may reveal a lot about us - they may show whether we are serious, humorous, creative, playful, reflective, honest, open, reserved, chaotic, cynical, sensitive, organized or sloppy.
That's how I see it but I wonder how people perceive me through my blog :-)
