Manifesto By Jennifer Moyes

Photograph by Jennifer Moyes

I am he
As you are he
As you are me
And we are all together
The Beatles

I am Jennifer Moyes and we are all together.

The other day I had an epiphany on why we decided to do the blog Revolution Readers (and it was not only because we were being forced to).
I had just spoken to one of my most beautiful friends who was in much pain because she believed herself to be fat. Not only was she not fat, but next to her, I resemble a small cruise-ship. I was really boggled as to how a 13 year old boy’s figure had become the new sexy. If Justin Timberlake had truly brought “Sexy Back”, he would have told everyone to be bodacious instead of boney. It was then that I started thinking: “why does the media impose unrealistic expectations? And more importantly- Why do we buy into these silly ideas?”

It wasn’t long before I realised that was I going to answer not only these questions, but many other questions about the media too.

You see, Revolution Readers (well, er, excuse the cliché’) literally reads between the lines. In a society that is more focused on the latest partner of a celebrity rather than the starvation of third world countries, Revolution Readers intends to go beyond what is presented at face value, which is something that I do in my writing anyways. Analysing modern media in a way that nobody has ever done before, I intend to break the boundaries between what people ought to be receiving and what they are actually receive. Never viewing an argument from just one side, my writing shall always come to a logical answer. However, I am not afraid to say my opinion, although I’m ready to take criticism and listen to other’s opinions. I cannot describe how long I have spent thinking about telling stories in a way that would open people’s minds to the world around them- this blog is an expression of that.

Follow my tweet here

Blogging Manifesto by Wilhelmina Maboja

Every writer's interests,musings and sub-conscious concoctions are somehow reflected in what they write. As a young journalism student in a tiny area called Grahamstown, South africa, I want to cater to my fellow small-town-dream-big future journalists. At the same time, there are thousands of interests and expectations that the journalism student has that cannot always be catered for. The blog name Revolution Readers embodies the young student "journo" who does not limit themselves to reading only news texts, fiction, biographies, magazines and others but attempts to place their finger on every pulse of various reading texts. As a writer, I see the world as a collage of all sorts of images, people and stories that range from the macabre to the down right side-splittingly humorous. The thread Revolution Readers will follow is that of perception of the media and media texts, among other themes. Because the media is made up of a bunch of witty, cut-throat and sarcastic bunch of individuals (affectionately known as journalists, of course) the internet is the perfect source where individuals of the global crucible smelt together. With a society driven by consumerism, babies in prams throwing rattles at unsuspecting bystanders and instant gratification, it is enough to pull one's hair out when a tabloid channel is the replacement of a news channel. The Revolution Reders's blog will not only read news texts but also stick a scrutinising eye in as many magazines, novels and newspapers as possible. The aim of the blog is to show a revolutionised way of not only thinking but of media consumption. It is expected that we are to willingly construct ourselves into walking and talking information consumers but I want to remind budding journalists out there that there exists another side of the microphone-brandishing and notebook-scribbling individuals at a press conference, cell phone always on standby. Much of our media consumption is done on a large scale at the peak of our smouldering youthful selves before it becomes centred and customised according to whether you're a Bloody Mary and biscuit sort of person in the morning. This also means that much of one's perception of the internal and external world is shaped during this time period amid the turbulence of terrorist attacks, anti-clockwise flushing toilets and boring lectures. With websites such as Twiter and Eblogger, revolutionary readers such as ourselves are slowly demolishing archaic concepts of information consumption and revolutionising our world as young and critical future journalists or simply students with a broader knowledge beyond Perez Hilton and price hikes. With knowledge of the past, present and a vague but vivid idea of the future, this marks the beginning of a reader revolution.
sneak a peek on my tweet, you know you want to.

Mission Statement

by Danelle Wessels

Let’s start off by getting the admin out of the way. My fellow bloggers and I are journalism students. We call ourselves the “Revolution Readers”, which sounds sort of like a group of bookworm superheroes who want to save the world through their obsession with words. If we were into clichés, our motto would probably be something dreadful like: “the pen is mightier than the sword”. But we’re not. So it isn’t (thank heavens for that).

The analogy of a superhero is a marvellous one. Can’t you just see us there, eager journalists-in-the-making, armed with our glistening pens and sturdy notepads, our capes billowing behind us in the wind as we strike a pose that says “bring it on!”. Ah, we’ll be revolutionaries. That’s what I dream about. Practicality is for the cowardly, the old in spirit, and the defeated. But I cherish my dreams. I love to believe in the silly ideas of inexperienced youth; they keep me going and convince me that things can change. I can make a difference, even if it’s just from my keyboard and I don’t get to wear one of those cool-looking superhero get-ups made of leather. It’s literature, dear readers, in which dreams come alive the most. Sometimes it’s so much better than reality. And the written word, in all its forms, moulds reality. It changes mindsets.

We must be aware, of course, that this makes it a dangerous weapon in the hands of our enemies. Perhaps it’s just a conspiracy theory that almost everything we read is the construction of a patriarchal, capitalist society; and if it’s not a construction of it, then it’s a conscious reaction to it. But conspiracy theories make life interesting, even if they’re formed from a bout of paranoia best suited for a mental hospital. You see, the world is just one big loony bin. Everything’s crazy and jumbled up and sometimes I look at Picasso and think that there’s a fine line between genius and lunacy, and I’m not sure that I always trust people to make that distinction. I’m not here to prescribe my opinions to anyone but to offer them as a platform for creative thought. If you agree with what I say, that’s great. But disagree with what you read and it’s even better. Challenge everything you read. Be paranoid. Don’t accept a single fact, a lone syllable into that lovely little head of yours without questioning why it’s been written, what it’s trying to say, what perspective it’s coming from. In summary, don’t give in to the Jedi mind tricks of the media. Think fresh, think innovative. Think revolutionary.

(And follow my tweets to keep up with me)

Blog Writing Assignment: By Sungeni Chithambo

I intend to contribute successfully to this blog by openly expressing my opinions about Journalism and anything relevant to reading. As a group, it is essential that we draw readers from all around the globe. One of the most crucial aims in regard to our blog is to interact with a wide range of individuals in order to consider things which may not have been considered before. I aim to engage in effective peer to peer relationships – sharing ideas and opinions is the way to acquiring knowledge and understanding. I am a creative individual with a belief that the world has a great deal to offer. Engaging with other critical Journalism students will allow me and others to view Journalism in new and different ways. Because this blog aims to deal with various forms of media other than mainstream media, it is important for us to encourage others to apply other literary genres to their lives.

I take my hat off to African writers with genuine African stories to tell. We can incorporate so many aspects of the issues dealt with in these stories to our lives as Journalism students. This can only be a benefit. I would like to use this blog to question forms of media that I am not generally exposed to or those that I take for granted. This is what our blog is for – a medium for expression and interaction. As a young blogger, unlimited by my thoughts and attitudes, it is important to take the initiative to give myself and others a voice.

My identity as a young African woman, unsure of her Journalistic future, is just one aspect of my personality. I am still to discover more. There may be others who relate to my situations, goals and desires. This blog can give me access to the educated contributions of other young Journalists. Life as a Journalism student is not the same for everyone. Learning about others, and through them, can only influence my own experience. Life is one great trek full of exploring and seeking, and for a Journalist – transforming and informing society. I am not a dynamic reformer but my colourful personality can impact other budding Journalists even if just for a short while.

Journalism deviates from other fields of study – the public and unrestricting nature of this study attracts open-minded individuals such as me. There is so much opportunity in this field. Hard work required yes, but hard work (as most of us have learnt), reaps rewards. We are still to discover the rewards that Journalism brings – including positive changes in our identity. Change begins from small things like blogs and our group blog, Revolution Readers, is here to start a revolution indeed!

Follow my tweet on http://twitter.com/sungeni

50 Thoughful, Funny and Polemic Blogging Quotes

by Daniel Scocco
1. “Breathe. Know that the Internet has no eraser.” (Liz Strauss)
2. “I’ve long advised that bloggers seeking to make money from blogging spread their interests across multiple revenue streams so as not to put all their eggs in one basket.” (Darren Rowse)
3. “All you future Google Whores might want to pay attention to what I’m about to reveal.” (John Chow)
4. “The fact of the matter is, if you can start up a local blog about the independent hip-hop scene in Seattle or the financial side of the restaurant business or the intersection of immigration and entrepreneurship, you’ve got a far better shot at becoming a leader in your field.” (Rand Fishkin)
5. “I think I am about 5 for 500 when it comes to successful ideas vs flops.” (Jeremy Schoemaker)
6. “Readers subscribe to blogs when they provide an informational or entertainment value so great that it would be a loss to not subscribe to it.” (Maki)
7. “I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.” (Scott Adams)
8. “And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing — writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.” (Simon Dumenco)
9. “When it comes to building your business, there are 4 words that should be echoing in your mind throughout the day; they are Do it Fucking Now.” (QuadsZilla)
10. “Without the New York Times, there is no blog community. They’d have nothing to blog about.” (Malcolm Gladwell)
11. “I am, in full disclosure, a member of the Media Elite. I’m a Conde Nast editor, run a glossy mainstream magazine, spent much of my career at The Economist and consort with known journalists. But nothing annoys me more than the oft-heard assertion within media circles that without us blogs would be nothing.” (Chris Anderson)
12. “Making money from blogging requires you to do only two things: drive a lot traffic, then maximize the income from that traffic.” (John Chow)
13. “Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on producing a blog that’s great for your readers.” (Brian Clark)
14. “OK, I’m starting a blog. Why shouldn’t an officer of a public company start a blog? Hey, life is short. At some point, take RegFD to its logical extreme, and this is how we’re all going to be communicating anyways. Think about it.” (Jonathan Schwartz)
15. “People have often described me as a blogger. I generally shy away from the term because, to me, bloggers are boring, self obsessed narcissists who use their website mainly as a means to discuss the inconsequential minutiae of their day to day lives.” (Anonymous writer)
16. “I believe the term “blog” means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume.” (Michael Arrington)
17. “It’s funny that when people reach a certain age, such as after graduating college, they assume it’s time to go out and get a job. But like many things the masses do, just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.” (Steve Pavlina)
18. “But there’s a bigger trend I’m seeing: people who used to enjoy blogging their lives are now moving to Twitter.” (Robert Scoble)
19. “I guess my point is, if you’re one of these people considering giving up on blogging in exchange for paying more attention to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace, or whatever they throw at us mere mortals, bear in mind you are giving up on something rather unique and wonderful.” (Hugh Macleod)
20. “When I started writing this blog more than 3 years ago, it was in response to traditional media’s habit of twisting interviews to fit the headlines they wanted to create.” (Mark Cuban)
21. “I’ve developed some deep relationships over the past couple of years blogging and I realize that those relationships manifest themselves in the links I find when I do my 28x a daily ego search over at Technorati.” (Jason Calacanis)
22. “The Lazysphere – a working definition – is a group of bloggers who I won’t name by name, but you can spot them a mile away. Rather than create new ideas or pen thoughtful essays, they simply glom on to the latest news with another “me too” blog post.” (Steve Rubel)
23. “Game changing innovations are few and far between. They are usually simple concepts to describe but when they arrive it takes time to fully realize their importance and impact. Television was a game-changer, mobile phones were a game-changer, and blogging is also one.” (Collis Ta’eed)
24. “While some bloggers in networks are making pennies per the hour the network CEO’s and support staff are raking in huge salaries and getting VC Money to help furnish their homes. I don’t like it. It smells funny.” (David Krug)
25. “The bottom line is that blogging is like sex. You can’t fake it. You can’t fake passion. You can’t fake wanting to engage with the public. If you do, it will ultimately be an unsatisfying experience for both the blogger and their readers.” (Kevin Anderson)
26. “Blogs, social networks, newspapers, any other form of publication – all have social aspects to them. It is a spectrum really, with social networks at one extreme and a 19th century novel at the other. But there’s room for all types of social publishing platforms.” (Richard MacManus)
27. “I read blogs every day, for all sorts of reasons, but I turn to blogs especially when I want to hear alternative viewpoints — for example, information on a particular medical treatment from the viewpoint of patients receiving it, rather than doctors administering it; reports from the battlefield seen through the eyes of soldiers rather than politicians; thoughts on a particular technology from the standpoint of engineers rather than executives.” (Jim Buckmaster)
28. “In truth, the real opportunities for building authority and buzz through social media have only just begun. You simply have to look and see where things are going instead of where they’ve been.” (Brian Clark)
29. “Blogs are already moving upmarket and improving. The term “Professional Blogger” is no longer an oxymoron. Some in the traditional media realize this – ESPN, for example, recently purchased the popular basketball blog TrueHoop.com to complement its other online news offerings.” (Luke Langford)
30. “So forget about blogs and bloggers and blogging and focus on this — the cost and difficulty of publishing absolutely anything, by anyone, into a global medium, just got a whole lot lower. And the effects of that increased pool of potential producers is going to be vast.” (Clay Shirky)
31. “It should feel genuinely good to earn income from your blog — you should be driven by a healthy ambition to succeed. If your blog provides genuine value, you fully deserve to earn income from it.” (Steve Pavlina)
32. “The Internet destroyed most of the barriers to publication. The cost of being a publisher dropped to almost zero with two interesting immediate results: anybody can publish, and more importantly, you can publish whatever you want.” (Dick Costolo)
33. “The more popular a person thinks he is in the blogosphere, the thinner his skin and the thicker his hypocrisy. This should be exactly the opposite: the higher you go the thicker the skin and thinner the hypocrisy.” (Guy Kawasaki)
34. “If this prinicpal thinks blogging isn’t educational, he needs his head examined: he should be seeking out every student blogger in the school and giving them special time to blog more — and giving them extra credit besides.” (Cory Doctorow)
35. “Blogs can help bring humanity back into the workplace. We have become so concerned with communicating numbers and processes that employees have forgotten how to build relationships. How can companies ask employees to provide superior service and innovative thinking when everything they see and hear flies in the face of that? Blogs help create a culture that supports those behaviors.” (Michael Wiley)
36. “The sad truth is most bloggers, even those who incessantly work on monetization strategies, end up sitting around the few dollars a day mark and find it difficult to rise above this level.” (Yaro Starak)
37. “Just as we don’t spend a lot of time worrying about how all those poets out there are going to monetize their poetry, the same is true for most bloggers.” (Seth Godin)
38. “One company I work with showed me how the traffic on his company’s site doubled since they started blogging. In fact, the blog (inexpensive) has more visitors and views than the corporate website (expensive). Well, there’s some measurable ROI in that case.” (Mike Sansone)
39. “I found myself declaiming, full flower, for an hour on the “utmost importance and urgency” of Blogging, telling him in no uncertain terms that, especially in a high-end niche business, Blogging is “the premier way” to have “intimate conversations” with his Clients. Funny thing, I believe it!” (Tom Peters)
40. “In China, blogs enable millions of citizens to express their opinions with reduced political risk simply because of the sheer number of like-minded opinions online. Facing these independent voices, the old ideological machine starts to crumble.” (Xiao Qiang)
41. “The currency of blogging is authenticity and trust… you pay folks to blog about a product and you compromise that. I would almost care about this, but it’s so obvious to everyone that this is either a joke or an idiot that there is nothing more to say.” (Jason Calacanis)
42. “Looking back on the event, I find myself thinking there are three approaches to journalism represented here. One is the “cool” approach of traditional journalism, including network broadcasting (in which NPR is no exception). One is the “hot” approach of talk radio, which has since expanded to TV sports networks and now Fox TV. The third is the engaged approach of weblogging.” (Doc Searls)
43. “Some blogs have become the best check on monopoly mainstream journalism, and they provide a surprisingly frequent source of initiative reporting.” (Harold Evans)
44. “Yes, blogging is entertainment. It is performance. Each blog post a show, sometimes an opera, sometimes a 30 second commercial. Like a show, it may start with a bang, lead you along from song to song, have a great climatic moment, then leave the audience wanting more.” (Lorelle Van Fossen)
45. “As I have repeatedly written in one form or other, blogging is not about writing posts. Heck, that’s the least of your challenges. No, blogging is about cultivating a mutually beneficial relationships with an ever-growing online readership, and that’s hard work.” (Alister Cameron)
46. “The reason blogging is often put into the passive category is because if you use direct monetization through Adsense, banners, etc, you earn while you sleep.” (Chris Garrett)
47. “Unless you restrict your reading habits to a really small segment of the blogging population, or you are a blogging machine like Robert Scoble, a feed reader is only going to give you a small window of what is happening in the blogosphere.” (Andy Beard )
48. “To be sure, the blogosphere is subject to all of the same risks as the Internet itself. Many blogs are loaded with vanity posts, half-truths, rumors, and even intentional distortions.” (Christopher Cox)
49. “In at least one way we are atypical bloggers. That’s because we just keep on posting. The typical blogger, like most people who go on diets and budgets, quits after a few months, weeks, or in many cases, days.” (Stephen J. Dubner)
50. “Blogging is good for your career. A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field.” (Penelope Trunk)

This story was found at: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/blogging-quotes/

Blog Plan

Revolution Readers, our chosen web log name and identity encompasses all our deep interest in reading novels, magazines, newspapers and all that we feel is relevant to our lives as young journalism students grappling to balance social, academic and global issues. As revolutionary readers we aim to create a blog on issues and subjects that affect the young, 21st century man or woman aware of popular and changing trends, their country’s historical background and the power of media. The media itself and its portrayal of peoples, subjects and issues will be our main thread of the topic-based blog. Delving into at least three media texts and at the same time being aware of one’s surroundings is what we aim to do. Much of the youth’s perception is contributed by the media, therefore giving no room to the individual’s very own opinionated and self-constructed perception of what ahs been portrayed. Many popular blogs are centred around the entertainment, ‘techno-gadgets’ and fashion genres, focusing on a materialistic world, which is not a reality for many. Our second thread of focus for our topic-centred blog is on the intelligent young journalism student tackling aspects that directly affect them through knowledge gained from fiction and non-fiction novels, newspapers and magazines.

Our blog is aimed at Journalism and Media Studies students, although we also wish to appeal to an older and/or more mature audience that wants to keep attuned to modern society and the views of young journalists. We realize that our audience does not only appeal to Journalism students at Rhodes but other interested students studying elsewhere. Our blog aims to attract an open-minded and critical audience with people sharing intelligent opinions. Because our blog has an eclectic, modern and somewhat sociable feel to it, we believe that it will not be a difficult task to attract such an audience. Our blog aims to critically engage the target audience.
Journalism students would like to be involved in subject matter that applies to them – we are interested in the implications that certain genres of literature have for us as students. Exposing our audience to more than just mainstream media will make them think carefully about themselves as journalists. Being in contact with only mainstream media is limiting – we would like our audience to gain knowledge of other literature forms, such as classics, and most importantly, African/South African literature. Because this blog is centred on Steve Biko’s “I read what I like”, South African literature is most applicable. Providing this exposure to other media forms will broaden the horizons of our audience members.

We would like our blog to relate to our audience in terms of being a peer, more specifically a well educated peer, sharing controversial ideas and opinions. We would like a sense of being on the same level even though we do not intend on being too personal because this may somewhat restrict our audiences in terms of members having conflicting opinions.
It is essential that our blog be host to an audience of diverse students in order to introduce a range of differing views.

There are many different blog genres that we could base ourselves on, however, there is one genre of blog that we were absolutely sure that we would model our blog on, and that is the Issue based blog. We have modelled our blog around the theme “I read what I like,” exposing the issue of the psychological and social effects of accepting certain forms of modern media at face value. Through this issue, we shall expand upon forms of media that we have read as well as the themes or issues that are held within that certain story.

There are a few blogs that we have taken inspiration from, but there are two in particular that we take inspiration with regards to the style of writing. One website is Hayibo.com, a South African political satire website. The sarcastic, metaphoric and humorous tone of the site is perfect for some of the points we wish to make with regards to the hypocrisies of society. However, where Hayibo keeps a constant sarcastic, metaphoric and humorous tone, we plan to only use such styles intermittently as opposed to throughout out blog. The other website that is a great influence on our writing and our content is Social Hallucinations.Com. The name itself relates very much to the topics that we are going to write about. This blog is a great influence because it attempts to expose the illusions created by society. The blogger addresses many issues throughout the world, but also within the media.

The character of our blog will be funky and modern, with an eclectic mix of different kinds of literature and influences that reflect both the different personalities writing for the blog and the mix of media and written works that we are exposed to in our lifestyles. We want to combine classics with contemporary literature and media to see how the two may complement each other. The writing style used will be relaxed and easy to read so that students like us can relate to it and won’t be scared off by inflated or overly academic language. At the same time it is very important to us to post entries that are not flippant or dull but provide concise ideas that are intelligent and may spark debate. Our aim is to be direct and to the point, giving strong opinions that are well thought-out. We want to make our readers think. With regards to appearance, our blog will have a youthful, dynamic presentation. Using Andy Warhol’s silkscreen-like effects as inspiration for the design, we intend to create a blog that is visually striking and colourful with bold and fluorescent colours. The Revolution Readers’ blog will aim to cover as many genres of literature as possible and remain open to new, radical ideas and perceptions. Our goal is to reform and change the tired, used ways of viewing the world as it is shaped by the media and look for fresh and critical ways of analysing what we read and how it affects us.

We hope that you enjoy our blog. =)

With Love,

Jen, Dan, Sush and Mina

The vision for Revolution Readers

Scenes from Grahamstown Part 2

Photograph By Jennifer Moyes

Scenes from Grahamstown Part 1

Photograph by Jennifer Moyes

Meet the Team: Jennifer

Jennifer Moyes- Naughty but Nice

Hi my name is Jennifer and I'm an alcoholic... No really.

Born in Johannesburg this crazy girl has discovered just about everything there is to discover in life. Arriving at Rhodes after already taking a gap year, I was a year older than everyone else but unfortunately none the wiser. I decided to study the degree without a soul- a Bachelor of Commerce and I had to find out what I loved the hard way. It was only through a year of total misery that I discovered that Journalism was my calling. So this is how I arrived in first year as a granny, albeit happy that I had gone through my mid-life crisis, at well, the quarter of my life.

I'm a very friendly person once you get to know me, although I do have a tendency to be rather insane at times. I'm usually found in the company of the creatures I call my friends, reading my favourite blogs, or pondering the mysteries of life over a coffee and a cigarette. I also have the annoying habit of putting alot of smiley faces in my non-academic writing =) I love fashion- although I'm more inclined to Coco Chanel than Kimora Lee Simmons. I'm also passionate about creating awareness about mental illnesses, especially depression and bipolar disorder, as well taking every day as it comes and taking the time out to appreciate my friends and family. (Yes I sound like a Hallmark card, but trust me, this girl is anything but saccharine sweet.) I also believe in looking at things from every angle, which is why I'm always open to every side of the story. But shit, what do I know? I'm just a first year =).