Blogs help college students discover new things, advance careers

According to the New Business Blog, most people spend up to eight hours a day on the internet. All those hours can add up to a
staggering 56 hours a week.

That’s almost half of one’s week devoted to being online.

While Facebook, Instagram and Twitter consume a lot of that time, the new big player is the blog-o-sphere. 

Blogs have taken off. The format of the media allows no limits. One can write or read about any topic at any time. Blogs you have no guidelines to follow.

They have also taken off due to their popularity in many top
television shows. On MTV’s “Awkward,” main character Jenna Hamilton writes a blog about her life and all of the drama she has to endure each day. Shows like Gossip Girl promote blogs with
someone following around and detailing the lives of socialites Serena Van Der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf.

Blogs can be useful for college
students to help them learn more about what they are interested in, meet new people and even advance their careers.

David Yanich (freshman, business) uses blogs to help him in the future.

“I like to read a variety of stock market blogs just to see what markets are big,” Yanich said. “Also, I feel that it will be beneficial in the future. The blogs I’m into now pretty much are Trader’s Cove and Phil’s Stock Market.”

Blogs can also help one become active in their college community by helping students meet new friends and get involved in different clubs and activities.

Shawn Rooney (junior, geography) follows blogs about IUP to gain
awareness of what’s going on around campus.

“It helps you get to know some people,” Rooney said, “as well as be aware of everything that is going on around you.”

For those interested in getting involved at IUP, blog.iup.edu can
connect students to blogs about history, as well as IT support, blogs abroad from students doing
international studies, English blogs and the Hawkeye, a civic- and
community-journalism project of
students in the IUP Journalism
Department.

Blogs can also help students find their style. Garret Rodriguez (junior, fashion merchandising) follows trends on Chictopia.com, a fashion blog that features trends in various categories, making certain styles easy to find.

The site boasts as the “people’s online fashion destination” and allows
followers to vote for photos for a style gallery and gain “Chic Points.”

“You can search by body type like height or weight,” Rodriguez said. “I can see how other guys around the world wear certain things like
sweaters or work different trends.”

To find new blogs dealing with a variety of subjects, go to blogs.com/topten, a website that lists the top 10 blogs for topics ranging from DIY
renovations, to advancing one’s career and even money blogs to curb
spending.