After looking back at the posts on my blog, I still feel as though the beat that I have chosen is the right one. The connection that I have with the topic has grown stronger through the research that I have done. Along with that, I learned more about the world of nerd culture and gender politics. Before, my passion was based on personal experiences and research from past projects. However, now my new knowledge has brought to light more information that strengthened my bond and passion.
At this halfway point, I still like my blog. The design is one that I enjoy. And the posts that I have made are ones that I think adequately represent my research. The only critiques that I would have on my current blog is to go back and do extensive re-edits of some of my posts. This would be in order to push them closer to fully realising my research. Along with that, I would want to add a few more researched posts. I have developed my voice on Twitter, but I still feel there is some development to had on my blog.
My experiment is one that's working well. By focusing on a particular sect of nerd culture for each week, it has enabled me to narrow down my efforts. I am able to research and find credible resources. I am also able to give all of my attention to the particular sub-sect of that week. However, I think that I might be changing my experiment for the remainder of this semester. Instead of working on a sub-sect a week, I might extend the time that I focus on the sub-sect for two weeks. This would allow me to research more on the topic and explore the sub-sect even more.
Just as with my reasons for choosing this beat, my reasons for sticking with this beat is because of how much it means to me. I have seen harassment and bigotry in nerd culture since my middle school years. I have experienced many injustices towards others based on gender and the backwards morals of nerd culture. And my personal experiences aren't the only ones that have happened. Through my research, I've read about other people -- of all genders and sexes -- and their experiences with bigotry in nerd culture. Through their stories, I have been inspired even more to research and bring to light the morals and ideals of nerd culture that perpetuate prejudice and intolerance.
I have struggled to keep my posts objective. Yet, with such a strong tie to this subject, the struggle came with the territory when I chose this beat. It's something that I'm going to continue to struggle with, but it's a struggle that I want to overcome. I want to overcome it because I want to learn as much about this beat as possible and relay the information and research that I have found in a reliable manner.
