Looking back and summing up

Completely new field

When we were informed at the start of the first semester that we would be required to blog, I was perplexed because this was something completely new to me that I had never experienced before. I realised I’d have to write lengthy texts not only for the teacher to review but also for other people to read, which scared me a little. Writing has become much easier after several posts, but I encountered some nuances while completing these tasks.

Expected and unexpected challenges

The English language is the most obvious problem. I had some difficulty writing posts in this language since my native languages are Romanian and Russian. It is sometimes difficult for me to express the breadth of my thoughts using the English lexicon that I am familiar with as I am accustomed to telling myself using a much larger vocabulary in my native languages. Another issue arose as a result of this: in order to choose better words to express my thoughts, I spent far more time publishing posts than I should have, reducing time for other tasks. As I practiced my skills more and more, it became easier to express myself, so English is only a temporary issue.

The public’s fear is the second, no less important nuance. As I previously stated, I’d never blogged before, and I’m sensitive to criticism, so it was a little nerve-racking for me to write something that dozens of people would read and evaluate. Furthermore, these are people from various cultural backgrounds, so I was afraid to write anything that might offend someone. After getting to know my classmates better, writing became less intimidating because it no longer seemed as if complete strangers would read my blog.

Time management turned out to be another critical task. To be honest, I’ve never been particularly good at it. It was difficult for me to incorporate blogging into my life since it was something completely new to me. To be precise, I still succeed with little effort, but it is easier than before as it has become more of a habit.

The most recent issue I encountered was a lack of interest. As a result, it was difficult to select a topic and write a post on time. I believe the reason is not in the subject itself, but in my personality, because I prefer live communication, so conducting a monologue was unusual. Furthermore, it’s unusual for something to be so appealing that I don’t lose interest in it for a long time. Finally, I couldn’t think of a better solution for myself than to try to generate interest in a lecture that I want to discuss by reading additional information about her.

Some general conclusions

There were numerous benefits to participating in the blog. First and foremost, we learn to communicate with the general public, which is unquestionably important in our profession. Furthermore, the ability to blog is useful knowledge in today’s world. It also served as excellent practice for me to express my thoughts on a specific topic in writing, which, as I previously stated, is less comfortable for me than live discussion. It should be noted that Dilan Ozkan and our other mentors assisted with posting. Without their explanations and reviews, I would continue to be sceptical of the importance of what I post.

Finally, the ability to blog is critical for me and my colleagues. Our lives are being shaped by the rapid development of digital technologies, open communications, and the exchange of experience. A blog’s basic concept is content-based. Clients of any company (not necessarily an architectural firm) want to know how it lives and grows, so this “digital journal” is the most useful and important marketing tool. Customers are sometimes wary when there is a lack of information in open access. A blog not only increases public trust, but also lowers advertising costs, quickly builds an audience, eliminates some contact problems, and increases customer loyalty.

For these and many other reasons, I believe that this practice has been extremely beneficial to all of us, and I hope that my blogging skills will continue to improve so that blogging will become a daily routine for me in the near future, contributing to my success.