To blog or not to blog
<p>As someone who has conducted research in artificial intelligence, I have been interested in the human construction of meaning in order to find inspiration for creating better artificial systems. I look to philosophers like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a> to help me understand how we come to understand the meaning of a word. I understand Wittgenstein to say that <u>the meaning of a word is in its use</u>. What does this have to do with blogging? </p><p><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" color="#ffffff">As a new member of the Communication and Media Studies Department, I am interested in the social construction of reality, given our increasing reliance on Internet-based communication. I view this as a large-scale version of Wittgenstein's perspective. Society's meaning (reality) is in its collective communication.</font></p><p><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" color="#ffffff">If we wish to construct a healthy, realistic, and inclusive view of reality, the more democratic our forms of communication, the better. In this age of intense concentration of media ownership (very few corporations own the means to communicate), it is critical that the world's citizenry have a voice, and blogging is an important way for individuals to express themselves to the world. I want PSU graduates to play their role in creating our collective reality by being heard on par with other individuals. Please invest in our students' voices. It's the best investment you'll ever make!</font></p>