Do I Write Only Upon Insight?
I would imagine this is the dilemma every blogger faces when trying to write down something interesting about their life: Do you write only upon insight?
What makes a good blog entry? Humorous quips? pictures and links? A laundry list of what one did during the day?
Are our collective blogs a bit like digital sermons, trying to relate some insight or life parable for an anonymous readership?
In short, does a blogger have any kind of responsibility to anyone other then themselves?
No. I went over this before. This digital space belongs to me, it is my Doogie Howser laptop where I write my little Doogie Howser life lessons. I even turn on the Doogie Howser theme song when I type this stuff up. It's supposed to be my electronic diary.
But, if that is the case, why do I look at that annoying page count at the bottom of the web page (keep scrolling, you'll see it...)? Why do I censor my entries because this person or that might be lurking on here? Why do I feel so happy when friends e-mail me saying "hey, I like your blog..."
Why? Because. Because this medium isn't the one-way street it originally promised to be. There is always a hope that not only am I ventyping (new word) but I am communicating Even in a setting as self-serving as my tar pit there is a responsibiltiy inherent in communicating.
And, perhaps, it is in trying to rise to that responsibility that one finds the real theraputic value in blogging. The quest is to find an interesting blog entry. The prize is finding insight in one's day to day life.
So, apparently, I must forget the question "Should I write only when I have insight", and recognize that most of the time I have the insight because I try to write.
What makes a good blog entry? Humorous quips? pictures and links? A laundry list of what one did during the day?
Are our collective blogs a bit like digital sermons, trying to relate some insight or life parable for an anonymous readership?
In short, does a blogger have any kind of responsibility to anyone other then themselves?
No. I went over this before. This digital space belongs to me, it is my Doogie Howser laptop where I write my little Doogie Howser life lessons. I even turn on the Doogie Howser theme song when I type this stuff up. It's supposed to be my electronic diary.
But, if that is the case, why do I look at that annoying page count at the bottom of the web page (keep scrolling, you'll see it...)? Why do I censor my entries because this person or that might be lurking on here? Why do I feel so happy when friends e-mail me saying "hey, I like your blog..."
Why? Because. Because this medium isn't the one-way street it originally promised to be. There is always a hope that not only am I ventyping (new word) but I am communicating Even in a setting as self-serving as my tar pit there is a responsibiltiy inherent in communicating.
And, perhaps, it is in trying to rise to that responsibility that one finds the real theraputic value in blogging. The quest is to find an interesting blog entry. The prize is finding insight in one's day to day life.
So, apparently, I must forget the question "Should I write only when I have insight", and recognize that most of the time I have the insight because I try to write.
posted by Ed at 12:06 AM
1 Comments:
I use Nedstat to track comings and goings of my blog. Most people who visit are friends and family. However now and then I get some completely random people visiting... and I do a quick lookup on how they stumbled, or more likely more confused than using an on-ramp for the first time, to my page. Usually it is search engines who point them to my page because of a combination of words... which has nothing to do with the true posting!
Oh well, keywords be damned... I will post my own little world and the rest of you be damned! (until I need something from you of course)
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