The Facebook group "Rethinking World Literature" hosts a series of interdisciplinary discussions around the topic of what constitutes "world literature."  The Evolving Systems project on Serendip hosts a series of interdisciplinary discussions exploring the common usefulness in a wide array of contexts, academic and otherwise, of emergent and evolving systems ideas.  The conversation documented below is archived from a discussion on the Rethinking World Literature Facebook site and will be added to as that discussion continues. A second discussion archive on "From Evolving Systems to World Literature and Back Again" is available here. 

Today's class revolved around determining the difference between originality and authenticity. In order to do so, one must define what it means to be original and authentic. 

 Anne pointed out that "if you're doing something new with something old, do we agree that anything you make is a mixture of something old(if everything is a remix a product of everything that's already made)

So today's conversation about blogs, audiences, and interactivity or lack thereof got me thinking.

A lot of us wanted to be more drawn in to a blog, to be more able to have a conversation with the writer. The questions asked by GeekyMom, once we'd identified them (read: once Anne had shown them to us) seemed to appeal to several members of the class.

On "Serendip's Evolving Web Principles":

 We began class with a short, yet involved, discussion on plagiarism and the values of originality and authenticity. Someone claimed that plagiarism is not a new issue, but that the Internet makes it more evident and possibly augments the problem. Some of us worried that plagiarism taken to its extreme will limit the flow of ideas, but this was countered with the argument that if everyone plagiarized, there would be no new ideas. We also debated the difference between authenticity and originality. It was suggested that authenticity requires effort and individual thought. Some of us suggested that a work is only authentic if it somehow reinterprets or builds upon others' ideas rather than directly taking them without further contribution.

After reading through the other posts, it seems that I was the only one who thoroughly enjoyed reading the Geeky Mom blog, hence my "FTW" (for the win).  The blog is similar to other blogs that I read on a regular basis, such as Margaret and Helen.  Geeky Mom spends the bulk of her time discussing topics I enjoy learning more about or I'm also interested in.  Specifically, I bookmarked most of the recipes she shares with her readers and thinking about which ones I can share with my family when I graduate.

I'm in agreement with the general opinion that "Geeky Mom"'s blog was harder to relate to than some other things that we've read, due to its content.  However, the references to WoW did grab my attention, because it reminded me of the video game obsessions of my brother and guy friends. It was odd to read about role playing online games and what to cook for dinner in the same blog, but I guess that reflects Geeky Mom's description of what a blog is..."The author's voice is more of the defining factor."

SUGGESTED READING below, provided by Julie Booth of Temple University, who will facilitate the conversation.
Snacks will be served in CAMPUS CENTER 200.

Geeky Mom's blog was filled with a plethora of subjects: some personal, some related to family and motherhood, some on technology, education, careers, etc. As some others have mentioned in their posts, I found it difficult to relate to much of the subject matter of the blog. Her blog seems to cater to a particular audience: mothers, people with an intellectual bent and familiarity with technology, with an interest in the mundane and personal.

-I agree with your allegory of a blog as a benevolent dictatorship as opposed to the democracy of discussion boards.  The comment immediately following your post disagrees, and the author of that comment brings up good points which illustrate how blogs can foster discussion (threaded posts)

-WoW talk turned me off