PhD/PsyD Should I Start a Psychology Major Blog?

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

Hello All You Awesome Psych SDNers,

I have been thinking a lot about possibly starting a blog on like how to do great while in your psychology undergrad and how to survival the psych program. What are you guys (and gals!) thoughts on starting this? What topics do you guys (and gals!) think should be mentioned in in the possibly blog? Also what are your opinions about having real undergraduate professors participating in the blogs (like interviewing different professors on what they do and how they got to where they are)? What are some good blog sites to create this blog? The reason as to why I want to do this is because after I do all my homework and projects each week I have a lot of time to have fun and all but I wanna feel productive at the same time so I thought "what the heck, I'll start a blog"

Thanks for your inputs,

PsychUndegrad18

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[WisNeuro]

You can, just not sure how much traffic you'll get. Will it be appreciably different from APAGS blog?

http://www.gradpsychblog.org/

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

I am hoping it would be different than APAGS blog. I am hoping to focus more on introducing fellow students to the different subfields of psychology while talking about general topics in undergrad like how to obtain research experience and how to shine while a undergrad. I am hoping that APAGS doesn't have a lot of these posts but it seems like their do. Maybe I could possibly get involved in posting on the APAGS blog?

 

[WisNeuro]

. Maybe I could possibly get involved in posting on the APAGS blog?

That would be my recommendation. You have a relatively niche audience that is already fairly well served in this area. Either join the team already doing it, or do it differently enough to make it interesting. Otherwise, you're just replicating, without the resources.

 

[Peacemaker36]

I'm not sure of your background, but I think there is a real need for this kind of blog for foreign students, particularly if you can write in another language.

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

I only speak English but maybe I could work with one of the foreign professors at my school to have them translate it into different languages. So instead of just having a English section I'll have a couple different languages

 

[WisNeuro]

Seems like a terribly niche market at that point. What's the n of an audience for something like that?

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

It was just a idea. But probably something small but to add that to the English population it would be larger. But I think I'm gonna start by posting in the psychGRAD blog first a couple of times. But do you need to be a member of APAGS to post on it?

 

[Aestheticism]

I think this is a great idea because there are plenty of undergraduate students who are clueless to certain things in psychology. High school does not provide them with correct resources and college advisors, sometimes, do not do their job correctly.

Speak about general requirements for most B.A in universities, such as: Statistics, 2 Psychology Courses, Biology/Zoology/Chemistry, etc. Different fields, career choices, pros and cons.

I do not know of any other blog sites except Tumblr which receives plenty of people daily on there. Maybe try and find a social science or psychology blog on there and look at how they are formatting everything?

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

Good idea Aestheticism!! Thanks!!

 

[Peacemaker36]

Seems like a terribly niche market at that point. What's the n of an audience for something like that?

Good point.

 

[deleted656923]

It was just a idea. But probably something small but to add that to the English population it would be larger. But I think I'm gonna start by posting in the psychGRAD blog first a couple of times. But do you need to be a member of APAGS to post on it?

Don't even pay attention to WisNeuro's jaded comments. I think it's a good idea and you should do it if you feel passionate about it! Regarding your audience, perhaps you can reach out to your university's psychology club or their psychology honor society (Psi Chi) and see if they'll let you write an undergrad advice column in their email newsletters?

 

[smalltownpsych]

Psychology is one of the top undergrad degrees in the country so the n for that is huge. Most don't want to be psychologists though. I would say to go and start it and see where it goes. I was designing a website quite a few years back in the early days of the internet. It was a great experience for me although I never got very many hits. It helped me develop a greater inderstanding of the whole process and how challenging marketing can be especially. It's analogous to the importance of psychologists conducting research even if we don't continue in research as our career.

 

[WisNeuro]

Jaded comment? Simply pragmatics, friend. Sure you can do it, and maybe it will make you feel good. But, is it doing anything new, and will you have an audience? Isn't that the point of a blog? What's wrong with the recommendation for getting involved with the APAGS blog? You know, the blog that already does all of this, and has a buttload of resources and already has an audience?

 

[smalltownpsych]

Jaded comment? Simply pragmatics, friend. Sure you can do it, and maybe it will make you feel good. But, is it doing anything new, and will you have an audience? Isn't that the point of a blog? What's wrong with the recommendation for getting involved with the APAGS blog? You know, the blog that already does all of this, and has a buttload of resources and already has an audience?

APAGS is geared toward grad students so his idea of a blog for undergrads would be a bit different. Whether or not he is able to get traffic depends on many factors. Regardless of whether it is successful or fails, the experience would likely be of benefit.

 

[deleted343839]

I don't see why not. Blogging isn't easy, but compared to most hobbies it's pretty cheap, and it can be a good exercise in honing your productivity skills as a writer. I agree that you have a potential audience, given the popularity of psychology as an undergraduate major. (Savvy undergrads might read the APAGS blog, but they're obviously not the primary audience.)

A few things to think about while you plan:

(1) Check out the other blogs and web sites out there. Think about what you can offer that isn't already covered in depth by the other sites. Of course, you will also inevitably cover some of the same ground as other blogs, so think about how you could approach similar content from a unique angle.
(2) Become a reader and follower of other blogs and web sites for psychology students (both small blogs with a more personal feel and news sites or organizational blogs that have a more "corporate" feel). Leave good comments (make sure your blog URL is in your user profile) and cross-post to build relationships with other bloggers. Say something real, though, not just "hey, I posted on that too, come read my blog."
(3) It's a great idea to line up guest writers, but don't use them too early on. Get some of your own content out there first and try to build a small readership first. Have a queue of posts ready to fire off from the start. Mix up longer pieces with shorter, more "re-postable" pieces (lists, tutorials, infographics, etc.).
(4) Brainstorm a list of topics to post about and sketch out your content a couple of months in advance. Some will be one-off posts, others will be recurring themes. When you need to publish something, go back to your list. Set aside regular time for writing and for brainstorming. Both are important.
(5) Decide what you want out of the blog. For most people it's a hobby, and if they help a few people along the way, they've met their goals. Don't let someone else's vision of a successful blog define yours.

 

[WisNeuro]

APAGS is geared toward grad students so his idea of a blog for undergrads would be a bit different. Whether or not he is able to get traffic depends on many factors. Regardless of whether it is successful or fails, the experience would likely be of benefit.

APAGS does a ton of stuff geared towards undergrads. Check out their headlining article at the moment "Obtaining Clinical Experience Through an Undergraduate Applied Experience"
I mean, do whatever makes you happy, just don't expect a huge audience give your demo and redundancy. I guess it just depends on what your goal is.

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice and the pros and cons of starting a blog. I'm gonna talk to the psych club psi chi and also my department chair to see if i coukd work with them. Personally, i thinks its a good idea for me to start one. Just like how a lot of people on SDN tell potential grad students to speak to current grad students, why cant their be a blog or like JoePianist said a advice column from upper classmen in psychology to give advice to underclassmen and other students

 

[CampDeeds]

I thought about this idea too. Just speaking on the musing of Psychology what I am learning all the different options there are and I think as everyone else is saying maybe concentrating on something specfic might helps. I am part of The Blues Project at my school which is like a peer ed group dedicated to discussing the awareness of Depression and I have learn things outside of the definition that I wouldn't have learned anywhere else so I was thinking of including things I have learned regarding depression and different people. I hope this idea goes well for you PsychMajorUndergrad18 =D