Random musing on blogging
Dec. 8th, 2005 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieEvery so often I try to stop and think about what I'm doing. It occured to me yesterday evening to wonder why I blog.
I know why I started this blog - to talk about my progress on the way to participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. After finishing that event, I kept blogging, partially out of habit, but also with the idea that it was a good way for me to keep in touch with family and friends. They were reading the blog regularly enough to bring home its power as a communications device.
Recently, however, it has become quite evident that my family isn't reading this blog anymore, and neither are most of my friends. Therefore I have to ask myself why it is that I continue to post in it. What purpose is it serving? Why do I feel compelled to keep doing this?
In part, I suppose that compulsion ties in to the same reasons that lead me to write stories and essays; I like to write. I have enjoyed writing from a pretty early age. I also frequently have something that I want to say, and this is a convenient and easy forum in which to say it. But I could keep an offline journal and accomplish both of those things. After all, most of what I author remains in the privacy of my own data backups. Why continue to add to the noise of cyberspace?
I can't really give a good reason for that. I suppose some of it is that I'm frequently saying things here that I want heard, and if some random denizen of cyberspace hears them, goody. I know from Uncle Andrew's meticulous IP tracking of hits on his own blog that this blog probably gets a lot more random hits than I would suppose (although his own most recent hit makes me wonder again if that's necessarily a good thing). And I suppose that another part of it is that by blogging my thoughts/what's going on in my life/random amusements, I'm achieving my end of the communications goal. If others choose not to read/listen, at least I've done my part. The info's out here for anyone who wants to read it.
Maybe part of it is an indifference to audience. I'm not really a public performer by nature; I don't mind an audience, but I don't know that I need one, either. (Then again, the fact that I'm musing on audience or lack thereof might indicate that I do want at least some audience. Hm. I'll have to think about that one some more.)
I dunno. To some extent, blogs are supposed to be about community as much as about personal expression. For something that is supposed to be part of a community and/or fostering a sense of community, I don't think this LJ is doing the trick. Whether that is a failure on the part of this blog in specific, or just a relatively common (un)response to blogs in general, or something else entirely, is something else I'll have to ponder.
But for now, I'll keep on blogging while I think about it.
I know why I started this blog - to talk about my progress on the way to participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. After finishing that event, I kept blogging, partially out of habit, but also with the idea that it was a good way for me to keep in touch with family and friends. They were reading the blog regularly enough to bring home its power as a communications device.
Recently, however, it has become quite evident that my family isn't reading this blog anymore, and neither are most of my friends. Therefore I have to ask myself why it is that I continue to post in it. What purpose is it serving? Why do I feel compelled to keep doing this?
In part, I suppose that compulsion ties in to the same reasons that lead me to write stories and essays; I like to write. I have enjoyed writing from a pretty early age. I also frequently have something that I want to say, and this is a convenient and easy forum in which to say it. But I could keep an offline journal and accomplish both of those things. After all, most of what I author remains in the privacy of my own data backups. Why continue to add to the noise of cyberspace?
I can't really give a good reason for that. I suppose some of it is that I'm frequently saying things here that I want heard, and if some random denizen of cyberspace hears them, goody. I know from Uncle Andrew's meticulous IP tracking of hits on his own blog that this blog probably gets a lot more random hits than I would suppose (although his own most recent hit makes me wonder again if that's necessarily a good thing). And I suppose that another part of it is that by blogging my thoughts/what's going on in my life/random amusements, I'm achieving my end of the communications goal. If others choose not to read/listen, at least I've done my part. The info's out here for anyone who wants to read it.
Maybe part of it is an indifference to audience. I'm not really a public performer by nature; I don't mind an audience, but I don't know that I need one, either. (Then again, the fact that I'm musing on audience or lack thereof might indicate that I do want at least some audience. Hm. I'll have to think about that one some more.)
I dunno. To some extent, blogs are supposed to be about community as much as about personal expression. For something that is supposed to be part of a community and/or fostering a sense of community, I don't think this LJ is doing the trick. Whether that is a failure on the part of this blog in specific, or just a relatively common (un)response to blogs in general, or something else entirely, is something else I'll have to ponder.
But for now, I'll keep on blogging while I think about it.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 12:41 am (UTC)Which is kind of the problem. If we all post stuff that everyone else totally agrees with, there's not much point to adding a comment that says (essentially) "me, too." If it seems important (for example, a really wonderful or really awful thing happens in a person's life, is happening, or is about to happen), people tend to find a way to say "me, too" more creatively to show support. But everyday goodness/badness doesn't seem to inspire as much "buzz."
On the other hand, if we post stuff that someone/everyone disagrees with, people might or might not be moved to, well, pick a fight on LJ. Seems ingracious. Then there are the posts where one talks about how you don't know what to think, implicitly or explicitly asking for advice. If people have some, it's great to post it. But, often, the default reply is "Yeah, that's tough," which might or might not seem (to the potential commenter) to be worth posting.
The best posts, perhaps, are those in which people agree but with a slightly different take (not too different) that enriches the original point. So: what do you think? Was this comment worth posting?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 05:03 pm (UTC)And you're definitely enriching my original point with several ways of looking at the phenomenon. I agree with you on the basic reality of everyday life being, well, everyday, and not particularly easy to comment on in an inspiring fashion. But I've posted stuff (generally political commentary) that would fall in with your "could cause disagreement" category, and that rarely-if-ever gets commented on either. So I think there's more at work than just "huh, yeah, me too, so not going to comment". Maybe folks are intimidated by those, and don't want to comment in fear of starting that LJ-fight.
Beyond that, though, it's good to know that other people are having these thoughts about blogging. It gets discouraging to me, sometimes, talking to a silent room; it's nice to know I'm not the only one who wonders about blogging and its ultimate utility. Good to know there's at least a few others around. And maybe by thinking this over together, we can come up with some answers/ideas beyond "yeah, that's just how it is". I have a lot of confidence in our mutual ability to clarify words and ideas. ;)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 05:31 pm (UTC)--Perhaps part of the "deal" is that many/most posts clue the reader in to what kind of response the poster would welcome. A happy post invites celebration, a sad post invites comfort, an angry post invites similar outrage. And maybe I'm in the mood for celebration, comfort, and/or outrage, and maybe I'm not. I've previously stated that I tend not to comment on political stuff. Republicans misbehaving is not news to me. Is it bad? Yes. Do I have anything more to contribute? No. Also, if a lot of my friends seem to need comfort, I'm less likely to comment on non-trauma stuff, just to save my energy.
--If, by "community," you mean that you're looking for emotional support, I think you're posting the wrong stuff. I am absolutely more likely (but not guaranteed) to comment on stuff that affects someone personally rather than hideousness or wonderfulness that affects us all abstractly (is that a word?).
--Not that they ever would, but if they removed comment functionality altogether, would you continue to post?
--If I see a really interesting post/thread, I'm more likely to post myself. Perhaps we're lacking a "critical mass" of fascinating commentary?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-12 08:08 pm (UTC)I think you're more on the mark with the lack of "critical mass" of fascinating commentary - or for that matter, of readership. I think I'd need a lot more readers in order to guarantee semi-regular responses to posts, and I don't have that. Ergo.
But yes, if they killed the comment functionality, I would probably continue to blog. So I guess it's not about the comments - but since the comments are here, I guess I feel there lack more than I would if there was no option to comment, if you know what I mean.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-10 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-12 08:09 pm (UTC)I read
Date: 2005-12-16 05:00 am (UTC)I hope you know that even if I don't always agree with you or your opinion, I do like hearing/reading it. It gives me food for thought. Never a bad thing, imho.