Tuesday, September 06, 2005
evolution of the blog
I've been thinking recently about this whole blog thing. Kinda like Phili's post on motives a while ago I guess. I've noticed how the style and content of blog's can change as time goes on and more people read it. It can go from, for example, being 'here i am, the real issues of the real me' to being more for entertainment. Not that there's anything wrong really with blogs being for entertainment, that in itself can say something about the person. In a way it's a kind of false intimacy you get when you read about very personal things on someone's blog because it's not given in a relationship context with trust and empathy and immediate reactions, and the person might not even know you've read it (even though they've written it for the purpose of people reading it). But then it can be freeing as well, just to have somewhere to vent, and keep ppl up to date on ur general beingness (like Lib's friends in America).
There are so many reasons why people blog or read blogs... Do we blog because everyone else is doing it, like tamagotchi's? Do we do it to express ourselves? Is it simply another form of procrastination? Is it secretly part of a plan by a mystical and somewhat putrid blogmonster to take over the world, blog by blog? I guess another reason for Christian's can be to talk about their faith as well, where you hope some random or not so random people might read about it and be challenged or encouraged or even angered. In an ideal world it can even give your faith more legitimacy if it's paired with real everyday or not so everyday stuggles, experiences, or ordinary funness (i.e. Christians aren't freaks [well...not always ;)]). That can sound a bit scheming though I guess, as if talking about faith or your beliefs is a strategic thing, and it shouldn't be like that... or should it? If we know the truth and want to share it, i guess it's hard not to think about how you go about sharing it in an effective way. Either way, I know I want, and I hope it is, my blog to be genuine.
Maybe I'm overanalysing, but blogging and all sorts of net communication have become, to be honest, a pretty big part of our lives so it's hard not to think about reasons for it. I wonder if the children of the future will study blogs or msn in their history books, like how we have the original brick-style mobile's in museums now, lol...
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8 comments:
you know Jess, I've been thinking along the same lines latley, which I guess is another point of blogging, it allows us to bring up subjects we may not otherwise talk about, and makes us realise that other people are thinking the same. It's one of the reasons I haven't updated for a while. I don't want it to seem like I am blogging just because everyone else is, and I also don't want to blog for the sake of blogging. but yeh, I definately use my blog as a vent (or used to) but now it has become more for entertainment value. ALSO i like that I can write about my faith on it. Its a topic I don't often discuss with my school friends, but after reading my blog it has allowed them to see more deeply into it and has definatly sparked a few God convos, which was really good. they're quite a rare occurance at blackwood high. On the otherhand, blogs can become addictive. Like you said we are a technology based generation and net communication (including blogging) is a vital part of communication. I think we have to be careful not to become to relient on it. man alive getcha essay comment out! Anyway good work, keep it up. love ya lots. xx
ok ive thought about it and i blog to share stuff with people- like good photos i find etc. its also a place my voice can be heard- cos you know sometimes its hard to be heard among all the other things. oh yeh and then there is the obvious one of the vent. cos its basically a diary for me(although i write more and more in my actually diary now that heaps of ppl read my blog). i used to write in my diary ever day and just reflect on stuff. now i blog because its so much faster (in this time poor world of year 12) and doesn't hurt your hand so much as writing does. i've actually been looking at my older posts lately and seeing how stuff in my life has changed since then, just like i do with my diaries. to be honest, i don't really care whether people read it or not, cos in the first place when i made one i think i only told lisa and sarah (and my friends in the US), not because i was trying to keep it a secret, but i didn't actively try to get people to read it. (obviously im not doing it cos everyone else is doing it)
ps when u think of it u just blogged about the purpose of blogging- through that post you just did, what was your purpose in that? you wanted people to read it and be challenged to think about it and perhaps even respond (ooh getting tricky here)
yeah, that was too tricky for my brain to comprehend :P i like blogs, as one of the original blogsters [behind lisa's friends, lib, and apparently lisa], obviously i'm not just doing it coz everybody is.
i use my blog to vent, and to let people know whats going thru my head i guess, coz you can't talk to everyone all the time.
a blog is a good way of telling people about how you're feeling. i also read back thru my diaries [haha one of the ones that stands out in my mind is; LIB GOT HER P'S!!!!] and i really wish i hadn't had to delete my original blog and start over.
but even reading through the old posts, you do notice a change. also, i think that blogs [mine i'm really talking about] is a way of talking about stuff you wouldn't normally talk about with people. that might be because those sorta things dont come up in conversation, because you dont want to talk about stuff, or just...because... lol.
[hehe like the paragraphs? makes it easier to read i reckon]
so yeah, my blog is a diary, a record of funny/strange things people say, an air vent [my ears dont work all the time lol], a journal [it is different to a diary], and yeah i've forgotten where i'm going with this paragraph.
damn i've forgotten my next point which was a good one...
i think we need to remember that randoms can read our blogs, which is really quite weird if you think about it... like somebody on the opposite side of the world could get to know you without you even knowing about it... which i guess is quite scary. cool, but scary.
on the other hand, i dont think we should have to 'hold back' on what we say. people come to our blogs [i assume] to read about us, our lives, or random stuff lol. if they don't wanna know.. they dont have to go on our blogs... [once again this is really talking about me but :P]
anyway, nice pondering jess, and well done on inspiring such long/ deep responses!!
this comment idea turns into a blog itslef
interesting thoughts... i like it. which brings myself to ask myself why I dont have a blog. the answer - purely coz everyone else has one and also coz time is of the essence and essence tastes like vanila therefore time = vanilla = dont waste.... i think. But im not against blogs, i enjoy reading them when life throws me a whole lot of nothing in the homework department and its very interesting to find out what people are thinking inside their crazy heads.
woah, go the long AND quality responses!! I pretty much agree with the points u were all making (on purposes, what to write about, ppl who read it, how it allows people to have a glimpse into your lives which has it's pros and cons (a con being that you don't know who is reading it, and it's not in a relationship context, pro being you can just spill or whatever and say whatever you want to) etc), as well as it being interesting to hear your own reasons and thoughts behind your own blogs. I won't go into heaps more detail even tho i could bcoz i should be hw-ing, but yeah!
And yay, go Joel for entering the commenting world [and letting us know u read them :P]!! Glad ur reading, and finding it interesting :)
hope ur dad's ok :-)
thanks sez :) altho it's pretty bad, it could've been a lot worse! sorry bout the lift :S
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