Whasssuuuup with Blogging?

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"What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live? What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie? Are we meant to take more than we give..."



I've only been aware of the blogging world since March and have slowly. tentatively dipped my toes into its waters of self expression and self revelation. But I wonder, "What's it all about, Alfie?" What will this abundance of photos--babies in hats, trees in autumn, plates of food either desired or just cooked, and the ubiquitous "Portrait of a Young Woman Sticking Out Tongue"-- say about us in fifty or sixty years? Is there a bigger picture here and will blogging be a significant social phenomenon of the new millenium?


Is blogging simply the creative outlet of the double 00's generation; the equivalent of the every teen's garage band during the sixties and seventies? Or, is it an indication of a trend towards an increasing self indulgence, a validation in writing of our own importance, a "published" review of our perpectives and worldviews for all to see? We can relate the details of our days and give our opinions without much revision or re-thinking. The words don't fade or disappear as those placed on a sign stapled to the community board at the local grocery store. They stay forever posted in clarity in an internet world with infinite access.


Does the plethora of intimate details of daily lives lead to global closeness? Does it bind us together in our human commonalities, does it allay some generalized anxiety of the strangers among us planning suicide bombings, planes as missiles, destruction of subways and embassies? If a person is blogging about the latest daily drama with Caitlin and Trevor does that mean they are not plotting the spillage of blood for idealistic purposes? Make Blogs, Not Bombs. Make the World Smaller One Blog at a Time. Love My Blog--Love Me.


What could possibly be the point of all these words that hundreds of thousands people post every single day? And, what is the point of our reading these words? Is it communion we seek or diversion?



Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 8, 2008 at 6:32 PM

    I've been blogging for three years, have kept a journal for 35 years, since I was a kid.

    I think blogging is communion. What distinguishes a blog from other forms of communication is that it's interactive, it creates a relationship between writer and reader and also among readers.

    I also feel in glimpsing other lives in other places and engaging in dialogue, we learn to be compassionate, to see all that we share, to begin to understand people we might not ever have contact with socially or professionally.

    As a writer, I believe the act of writing is a path to self-discovery, an opportunity to bring clarity to the muddy waters of our existence, to consider what motivates our actions and thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 8, 2008 at 8:05 PM

    Thanks for your comments. I like to write, but am at heart a very practical person and start to wonder if I am wasting time when I could be "doing something." You probably know the inner chatter--do the dishes, do the wash, make a grocery list,do, do, do-- keep running on the hamster's wheel or the free world will come to an abrupt end:>)

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElisabethMay 9, 2008 at 9:12 AM

    Is it communion or diversion?

    I think it's both. I never really kept a paper journal (except during my one year in the U.S., in 1973-74. That journal was destroyed, though, but the bulk of its content is in letters that I sent my family during that time, and I believe that my mother still has those letters. I plan on asking for them when I am in France in a few weeks), because I was always afraid that someone (well, my mother) would snoop and read it.

    I took up blogging rather accidentally, and it has now become my #1 hobby - OK, I realize that I should make as much time to go to the gym as I make to blog. To me, it's just a way to relax, and if a few individuals read what I wrote, well, the better for it. Of course, I do like getting comments, but most individuals who "visit" my blog don't ever write anything. That's OK.

    I know that, though my blog, a number of relatives and friends who do not live close to me keep in touch with me and with what makes me tick, and that's a good reason enough for me to keep on blogging. I never considered myself a "writer" (although I did publish a book, which is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation), and do not have lofty aspirations related to my blog. Blogging is just something that I like doing, and I kind of like the idea of having a record of the past nearly four years of my life on my blog.

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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