Story by Elaine Elizabeth Walker '07

  “It is always hard to return from a trip and answer the famous question ‘how was it?’ By keeping friends and family informed throughout the trip, we weren’t so overwhelmed when we arrived in the States,” says LaPoma, a 2008 magna cum laude graduate with a double major in Spanish and Journalism. Harper is also a ’07 graduate with a degree in Anthropology. (read their blog here).
     These days everyone is scrambling to get a piece of the blogosphere. So what is a blog exactly? A weblog, or blog, is “a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer,” according to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, which named “blog” the word of the year in 2004. According to the BBC, researchers have estimated that a new blog is created every second of every day somewhere in the world.  
“Anything you could possibly write about or want to read about is floating in the blogosphere,” says LaPoma.
Most schools of journalism offer classes on blogging .  There are a number of SOJC blogs by students and faculty.
“We are still in the early adoption phase of blogging,” says SOJC Assistant Professor Tiffany Derville, whose own blog, the pr post, was designed for her PR Writing class. “Many executives are worried about the vulnerability that accompanies blogs. Giving others a place to air their comments about you in a place where you need to respond can be a risk. As people learn more about blogging, we will see more adoption of blogs, open dialogue with stakeholders, and increased transparency.”
As the journalism world evolves and changes rapidly many SOJC professors are using blogs as communication tools for public relations writing, travel writing and more.
“The SOJC (School of Journalism and Communication) is all about being on the leading edge of media practice and theory, so we're very interested by the blogging phenomenon. We have students and faculty in numerous classes engaged in writing blogs, and studying their impact on mainstream media content,” said Al Stavitsky, Senior Associate Dean and Director of the Turnbull Center.  
LaPoma credits most of her blogging savviness to her professors.
    “I owe my intial blog exposure to the J-school. Classes and [the student-run PR agency] Allen Hall Public Relations (AHPR) taught me what a blog is all about, its various uses, and how to develop a theme,” LaPoma said. “I think blogging is a valuable tool for any business.”
    She learned how to blog with Allen Hall Public Relations for Birth to Three, a Eugene-based organization that provides support to parents and infants ages 0-3. In her Advanced PR Writing class one of the assignments was to build your own blog.
    Professor Tiffany Derville, who taught Claire’s Advanced PR writing class, believes blogs are a useful way to build relationships and trust with stakeholders.
“I want my students to not only study the benefits of blogging and the rules of engagement but to also have first-hand experience with blogging,” said Derville. “The blogging assignment shows employers that students are trained in social media and are engaged in the industry.”
However, LaPoma was especially excited to try blogging outside of academics. Once “Wandering through the Wonder” was up and running, it required some practice at establishing a unique voice and style.
    “We aimed to write posts we’d enjoy reading if we were searching through blogs, even using bits from our personal journals. The writing definitely became more natural and less stressful once we got used to the thought of people reading it,” said LaPoma.
    Their journey becomes real for readers with vivid descriptions like watching the clouds part on top of the Wiñay Wayna.  At ruins known as little Machu Picchu, she writes: “Blue sky with spots of grey clouds met jagged peaks abruptly turning to jungle before slamming into the river valley where the mighty Urubamaba flows.” Accompanying every post are pictures to document the trip and links to more photos for interested explorers and onlookers.   
    This trip to South America was LaPoma’s third visit to the region. Although she feels adjusted to Ecuadorian culture, the scariest moment was when she and Harper escaped a volcano eruption at 5 a.m.
    “When Mama Tungurahua began spewing and rumbling louder than ever on the final night of Carnival, we decided to book it for Quito,” said LaPoma.
    The trip was full of excitement for Harper as well.
“We were excited to help out by doing some volunteering, to interact with the diverse range of cultures there, and also to work on my Spanish which needed some serious improvement,” said Harper of the trip, his first to the region.
 The adventure was also a good excuse to take a break from post-graduation stress.  
    “Best yet, we’d avoid the dreaded question all college graduates are bombarded with: ‘so what now?’ For a few months, anyway…” LaPoma says.
Harper and LaPoma were co-pilots while creating the blog; he took most of the pictures posted and she took on grammar.  Although they didn’t bring a laptop, LaPoma assures potential travel bloggers it’s very easy to use computers at internet cafes and find time to catch up on your blog. Through the blog tracking site, www.statcounter.com, they learned about 10 to 20 people loaded their page per day. But it wouldn’t have mattered if anyone read it.
“Writing the blog was such a treat – a breather from the often hectic world of hostelling. We’d find ourselves saying it wouldn’t matter if no one was reading it – we’d still write it,” LaPoma said.
She believes she’ll blog again while traveling and is planning to write about her summer adventures in Oregon.
    And besides educating other travelers about the region, LaPoma hopes the blog will help her journalism career. For now she is working for a Eugene marketing and graphic design firm called Dual-Sided Media, and both she and Harper are heading to Spain in the fall to teach. Catch up on all their adventures at their blog: http://claireryan-ecuador.blogspot.com.

Click here to see other blogs by SOJC faculty, students, and alumni  

Claire playing with students at El Placer, were she taught beginning English.

Ryan playing fútbol with children on the playground.