User generated content,modding& gaming communities

Blogging as a research tool and the task of creating content.
Before attending this course (interactive media masters) i had little or no idea what the concept of user generated content blogging, twittering, moodling etc were things that i had never consciously encountered. I did surf the net for research and i am sure i was looking at blogs during this time but was unaware of how they came about or the power the can hold as a method of research on there own. I was solely a voyeur in the space.
The discussion for me this morning set me thinking about how i could educate myself in the task of creating content and what formula could i apply to this new media. Thinking about this it occurred to me that the battle with the blog is not unlike the the artist faced with the blank canvas.And that really when i stripped it back to the main problems this was something that i had encountered and overcome before.I do believe that we can get too tied up in figuring it all out before we start(an despite being aware of this i still find myself increasingly falling in that trap). In art college i was trained to develop ideas in an extremely experimental manner. This experimentation was recorded in personal sketch/scrap books where i hoarded anything that i felt related to what it was that i was doing.I would then go about the task of filtering and editing what i would present as my research for what it was that i was doing. The time it took me to filter the information was a huge hold up for me.On the odd occasion that i did show a sketchbook to a close friend the feedback i got back was often quiet surprising for me as a different individuals perspective broadened my thinking and sometimes spurred a eureka moment which, had i not shared with that person it would not have happened. Putting your ideas and interests up for the world to see is daunting. But then even if i do post something that is a bit strange are people really going to remember me for that one post or will they remember me for the other relevant things that I put up.The opportunity of getting different perspectives on whatever it is that i was working on could be a rich reward in exchange for the threat of embarrassment.