With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, human society exploded both socially and economically; the current technological revolution involving the Internet is so dramatic that we run out of metaphors. The novelty and sheer volume of new applications and their affordances are so overwhelming that we often take them at face-value and tend to forget how we can shape our careers with them One of such powerful technologies that are emerging today would be the “blogfolios,” which, as the name indicates, is a professional portfolio that is combined with a blog. After reading two articles on the “blogfiolio” this week, I was inspired to think about presenting my ideas, sharing my ambition and hopefully inspiring others, and influencing prospective employers by showcasing my skillsets through this blogfolio.
In Blogfolios: Remidation of Ethos as a Dwelling Place in the ePortfolio, Cynthia Davidson speaks of how old dogma is examined and subsequently changed into a more productive model. Each day, there are new skills and experiences that enhance our lives in general. In the professional writing course for which I wrote this and other blog posts here, the teacher described how documents, such as blogfolios, are ‘dynamic’. When you think of something dynamic, you picture continually boiling evaporating into the air as steam. Such a transmutation, can be compared to the boiling water. Acquired skillsets and formative experiences converge to merge into a transformed person as a whole. With the information highway at our fingertips, we can share our experiences with organizations and individuals that will benefit from our expertise.
Another point of interest with blogfolios (as Davidson states), is that the ‘ethos’ of an individual is displayed to those interested in certain types of issues and/or beliefs. In this manner, information exchange is expedited and available for the masses. The presentation of ‘ethos’ brings like-minded individuals to pool together resources to solve complex issues. As an example, Y presents a tenet on habitat destruction. Party X, an environmental awareness company, views the blog and the members are intrigued by the ideas presented by Y. Finding that Y’s ideas will become an asset for the group, X requests to meet with Y to discuss a possible job opportunity with the company.
Davidson also presents how “Cordova’s multimodal literacy” applies to ePortfolios. Of particular note, I took into account how the interface melds with the other aspects of ‘fragmentation, modularity, articulation, circulation and dissemination and convergence’, to display an overall picture of an individual. The adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, is very true in this instance. Therefore, the way a blogfolio is presented will remain in the minds of viewers everywhere. Graphics, links to related materials, and the facility of site navigation allows to form a picture of the essence of the individual.
In the field of actuary science, this is an invaluable skill. For example, if a consulting actuary (which may or may not be an independent contractor) posts a blogfolio on a known domain, he or she can post up projects they have worked on and how the experience enriched their understanding as a whole. In the process, recruiters note the exact projects that will benefit their organizations. Once contact is made, the assets of the consulting actuary will be right there to solidify confidence organizations will have in his or her capabilities.
Blogfolios are next generation tools that have limitless applications. We are ‘dynamic’ in nature and will continue to be so until the last day on this planet. Blogfolios capture this dynamicity and brings us to the forefront of information exchange and the conveyance of individual ‘ethos’. So, what are you waiting for? Blog on!
Remidation of Ethos as a Dwelling Place in the ePortfolio, Cynthia Davidson