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Is maintaining a blog vain? If a blog is for journaling or self reflection, aren't there notebooks for that which can be hidden under your mattress or something?
Maybe a blog is for maintaining relationships. That might be a less vain usage of the technology. Technologies like this one, texting, email, skype, etc., have aided to our over extendedness. Yeah, we can keep up with more old friends but friendships of any depth seem to be less common. Maintaining relationships or friendship building via blogs sounds good, but I suspect their truer application is a manner to spy on each other's inner thoughts or life happenings. How often do you blog hop without leaving a word behind? And if you did leave a word or thought, how long would it take before you wore yourself out?
I mean, what are these counters for but to measure how popular your blog is? Seems vain to me. The biggest reason I haven't included one here is because it likely wouldn't budge. You see, I'm concerned about popularity too.
The usage of blogs, and the like, which seems least vain might be to chronicle experiences for those from far away who are invested in you, whether, emotionally, spiritually, financially, or otherwise. This is typically a way to satisfy a need for connectedness to those supporters of you or whatever you are doing.
I guess some people just like to write and for their writings to be read and appreciated. It sounds dumb to even say, but if people weren’t doing it, putting there thought to “paper”, we would have a lot less to read out there. So I’m glad some do.
So, I guess I’m not advocating that folks shouldn’t write. Rather, I’m asking, what leads you to write?
Is this something that you, fellow bloggers, have asked? What keeps you blogging?
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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5 comments:
Ooh... I like this topic.
I've been perusing blogs as I ate lunch and don't have time to respond at the moment but I will write soon.
Love you, brother.
Peace
Cool, man. I'll look forward to hearing your take.
-Wes
Yeah man, I feel the rub that you so pointedly questioned. Is maintaining a blog vain?
Quick story: (hopefully I can get my point across in a short amount of words).
I started blogging in June 2004. (Crazy to think I've been doing this for that long!) My blog has completely changed in its usage countless times. When I started, I started it during summer camp because I was assigned to the "writing group" and I thought it would be cool to create a writing community that extended beyond the time limitation of camp.
I thought this was a great idea. I could keep in touch with the campers beyond camp and they could also check in with their former counselor and hopefully learn a think or two about life, faith, and the whole crazy thing. I just didn't think of how young the kids would be and how they would not continue writing.
None the less, my blog became a place for me to try being creative (little knowing people would ever read it) and place for me to honest in "public" rather than privately harbor the anger I wrestled with for a period in my life. It was therapeutic for me to write and "publish" my writing even when I though that no one would really read it.
Then suddenly, it evolved to having readers who would occasionally comment. I tried to become more upbeat and lean more towards storytelling of interesting things that would happen in my day, but in reality it became useless rambling in hopes that comments would keep coming.
It seasoned into a reflective medium for me to journal prayers and thoughts to God (but public) like the Psalms.
Then they invented the stats counters and it evolved again in to this need to be relevant and earn more hits.
Now, it is shifting again to become a tool for potential business in the photographic world. A place to show some images and reveal a little personality that might entice people interested in having photos taken to choose me over any other photographer.
It is constantly shifting... yet, the cool thing is that lined up on the side of my blog now are four years of archives that are neatly compiled revealing all of the places I've been through and lived to tell about.
All of that to say:
1. Blogs change
2. The desire to be affirmed lies behind the blogging (at least in my story).
3. The archived journey of the past 4 years of constant change is something I treasure (though periods of it I am embarrassed to re-read).
5. The community that could be had in blogging is often found wanting.
I enjoy checking in on people's blogs. I am always intrigued by what they share.
I often wish I would encourage more people in their blogging, especially the reflective type of blogging, because I see it as a spiritual discipline of self-discovery and change.
I am often surprised by blogs, myspace, and facebook and the way that I sometimes think, "man, I thought I knew this guy/girl but apparently there was a lot more (sometimes less) to him/her."
People create identities in these online "communities" and sometimes I see miraculous creativity spurred into action. Other times I see depressive darkness building up energy as people pine for attention and hope and find no relief.
My blog started as an attempt at maintaining connection in ministry then shifted to grieving, then to self-discovery and longing for community, and now it is again shifting into a way to reveal my creative attempts as I try to be who I am becoming.
Don't know if any of this makes sense. It is hard to accurately communicate when there is so much to say, not much space to say it in, and not guarantee that the conversation will continue... well, in most blogging scenarios at least...
personally, I hope we continue this one. Peace.
JRed
Jonathan,
Sincere thanks for your thoughtful response. Thanks also for the time you took to elaborate on your position.
It seems to me like the biggest value in your blog, as you've reflected on its uses throughout the years, might be the documented evidence of your journey. I think that is so neat. It sounds like you might have used your blog for every possible purpose out there! Haha!
I for one am glad you are blogging. I like keeping up with what is going on in your life and in your heart. It'll be interesting to see how our blogs transform over the next couple years. No doubt, they will, at least in part, reflect tangibly the transformation that we as individuals have undergone.
-Wes
Haha... yeah... my blog has been a journey all of its own.
I still mix it up from day to day on my motivation for writing. It is interesting, but then that's what I enjoy seeing in other people's blogs as well... you never know what you will see!
I am thankful for your blog as well.
Peace,
JRed
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