Our genre is educational blogging, a work that simplifies complex topics for a general audience. To develop our model, we first looked at the works that inspired our genre choice; these were the edutainment blogs xkcd: What If and Wait But Why. Due to the consequence of the free writing style of blogs, not all blog entry topics are strictly complex and technical. The majority of posts were, so selecting relevant examples was not difficult. We reviewed roughly 10 posts from each source. In order to understand the writing process, we also emailed the authors of these blogs using the contact information available on their websites. We made the decision to include video media, like YouTube channels, that took a similar approach to conveying information. We drew primarily from the popular Vsauce, Veritasium, and MinutePhysics, watching two or three videos from each. Inherent to the entertaining presentation style of both of these mediums, and from viewing the community interaction by fans, it seems that the communities using these two resources have significant amounts of overlap. We briefly attempted to visit online forums like the Reddit subreddit pages r/askscience and r/explainlikeim5, but decided that they were members of a related but different genre, as they follow different conventions. We also explored more typical “newspaper” science blogging as featured on sites like Wired.com or IFLScience.com. We felt that in these instances, however, announcement of technology takes a front seat to the entertainment and community building aspects to the genre we are focusing on.
We divided our team in such a way that two members focused on videos, while the other two reviewed blog entries. Given we could all access sources using the internet from our own homes, there was no need to meet as a group. After researching, we reconvened and first discussed the patterns we found common between the different blogs and the different Youtube channels, and then we highlighted the similarities between the two mediums. This seemed like the most natural and modular approach, allowing each team member to focus on differences in delivery of sources without the distraction caused by medium change.
The most observed pattern apparent in both media was the broad-to-narrow approach taken in tackling each topic. While each source had a slightly different flavor in their approach (Wait But Why used the broad position to give historical background, while Youtube channels tend to go directly to overarching concepts) the importance of the approach to provide the audience with context was identical in all instances. Additionally a heavy use of visuals and an enthusiastic and non-professional tone was common to all sources. In tandem with imagery, the blogs also depended heavily on analogies in order to make important topics digestible for the casual reader. Of note, Veritasium, whose creator has studied the learning process, often includes misconceptions people have about the topic before diving into the science and dispelling the myths. Lastly, all sources ended with direct references to different studies and topics referred to within the post.
During our research, Oliver received a response from Tim Urban, the writer of Wait But Why. Urban was unable to respond directly to our questions, however he directed us to an article that gave insight into his writing process. In this article he specified that he seeks out an important topic that he doesn’t have a clear understanding of, and does top down research to educate himself. Gradually, he will stumble across “foggy spots” where he dives deeper uncovering more and more “fog” until he “hits the floor,” or the core of the subject to be studied and taught. Once he believes he has a foundational understanding of the topic at hand, he reflects on how to give life to that research process.
At the forefront of our genre is its entertainment value. Without light, casually worded, graphic heavy and analogy laden material, the backdrop of educational content would lose its luster and the genre would be indistinct from any of the other educational outlets. Although this entertainment comes at the cost of brevity, the true value of this approach is that a welcoming and indiscriminate community forms around important topics that can otherwise feel mundane and exclusive to an impenetrable community. Visuals and a flexible structure both work extremely well in breaking the mold of typical dry explanatory texts.
In order to accommodate the flexible nature of the blogging structure, we have only three primary required structural tags. These are: ‘background’, ‘answer’ and ‘sources’. The ‘background’ tag has two required tags that can appear anywhere within it. These are the ‘question’ and ‘technical_principle’ tags. The ‘question’ tag is responsible for conveying in a simple manner what the question — and reason for the post — is. The ‘technical_principle’ tag is provided for any point in which a particular salient point with regard to technology or science is being made. In our initial genre design, we had two other tags which could only appear within the background section. These were the optional ‘misconceptions’ tag and the required ‘scientific_principle’ tag.
Within the answer section there are three required tags: ‘technical_principle’, ‘specific_topic’ and ‘conclusion’. In our initial design ‘question_relevent_topic’ and ‘fundamental_science_involved’ were also required elements within this section. ‘Technical_principle’ is the same tag available in the background section, being useful for fundamental topics (i.e. Explaining what a chemical reaction is.), while ‘specific_topic’ accounts for more exact instances of a topic (i.e. Explaining how the chemical reaction to form water occur.). Lastly, ‘conclusion’ is the area in which the author hones in on the question put forth in the ‘background’ section.
In making changes to the ‘background’ section, we decided that there were enough instances in which misconceptions might be brought up at various points throughout the post as opposed to all occurring within one particular location. As a result, we made the tag global, and renamed it to the singular ‘misconception’. Additionally we changed ‘scientific_principle’ to ‘technical_principle’ as it broadened what we found might be a misleading tag name. (For instance in Oliver’s computer science article, not all important topics were critical principles, although not “scientific”.).
The changes made to the answer section were as follows:
1) Remove ‘fundamental_science_involved’.
2) Rename ‘question_relevant_topic’ to ‘specific_topic’.
The first decision was made as its purpose was largely identical to the ‘technical_principle’ element, and as such the two could be conflated. The second decision was the result of internal team confusion due to the name choice of ‘question_relevant_topic’. We felt ‘specific_topic’
During our research, we found that educational blogs vary greatly in content and structure. To accommodate for this flexibility we had several “anywhere” tags for ‘section_header’, ‘visual’, ’ analogy’, and ‘list’. A ‘section_header’ is a short phrase or sentence intended to divide the post into modular sections allowing for ease of understanding. The ‘visual’ tag allows for visuals that are present across all sources we assessed. This nomenclature leaves the tag broad enough so that an author might use comics, graphics or any type of visual media. Visuals are intended to clarify and break up the text it directly precedes or follows. These visuals can be especially useful when used in conjunction with analogies. The ‘list’ tag we initially notated as ‘roadmap’, thinking it would be used to steer the post by giving the reader foresight of the sections to come. After reviewing our drafts however, we decided that changing the name to ‘list’ in conjunction with the creation of an attribute of ‘type’. This attribute accommodates the specification of ‘roadmap’ or ‘generic’. Not only does this allow for the initial goal we had in mind, but it also creates a way for the author to use lists in a multipurpose manner. (For example in dictating the step by step manner by which a mathematical proof might be solved.).
The ‘sources’ section comes at the end of the blog post, and allows for a multipurpose means of citation. This includes the more professionally stylistic MLA and APA options available through attributes, or for a more casual hyperlink approach.
Initially, we included a tag following the sources called ‘community_interact’, representing an ask-box or a comments section. This section is typical in blogs and is important in creating a responsive audience. It gives readers a way to interact with the writer to gain clarification and prompt new posts. However, we removed this in our schema to focus on the content of our post because we felt fabricating a non-existent audience would be a distraction during our own writing processes.
