Bloggity blog
Amy has posted today & yesterday about blogging, and retiring from blogging. Not that Amy is retiring, at least I hope not! But that Ellen is.
Amy, Ellen, and I all went to college together. Amy and I are good friends. Amy and Ellen are good friends. Ellen and I know each other, not all that well, but we went to a very small school, and you pretty much know everyone. I've been reading Ellen's blog for a while, and I really liked getting to "know" someone that I already sort of knew. I'm sorry she's going away, but I understand her reasons. I hope she posts when the spirit moves her.
I was at a party on Sunday, and the topic of my blog came up. I was the only blogger at the party, and people wanted to know what I write about. I told them I don't write about other people, other than the context of "I did this with so-and-so" and I don't write about work. I don't write about things that might come back to haunt me, like how I'm feeling about any particular people or something like that. Or if I meet someone new, and they find out about the blog, I don't want anything to pop up in the archives that makes me seem crazier than I really am. I do just fine with that on my own, thank you.
That all explained, several people then said, "OH, but what DO you write about? Your blog must be boring if you have all these rules!"
Honestly, maybe I am biased, but I don't think (or at least I hope) that my blog is boring. But it did sort of get me thinking. Why do I do this? It's sort of narcissistic, really, putting your life (or even a part) on display, and hoping people will read or comment about it. I actually like the commenting process a lot. I love having people respond to things I write about, and this is a great forum for that.
I also enjoy the actual writing. It's sort of like a creative writing exercise from school, except you don't have an assigned topic. (Though, some days, I wish I did have an assigned topic.) It kind of gets my brain flowing in a different way than I use it for other parts of my life, and I dig that.
Anyone else? Why do you blog? Or read this blog? Maybe you read it because you know me in person, which is cool. Why do you read other blogs? And know you know I love comments, so please, comment away.
PS - New blogger spell check? What happened to the little box that gives you suggestions? This one just highlighted my misspelled word, but didn't offer other options. Does anyone know how to use this spell checker properly? (and in case anyone's wondering, my misspelled word was
narcissistic)
Libellés : Audience Participation, Ma Vie
8 Comments:
I'll tell you why you blog....so I that I can read it and know what is going on in your life!
I think that's you & my parents who fall in to that category!
I personally blog because I would much rather write something down than say it out loud (I prefer email/letters to the phone) and I always have been that way. It keeps my fingers busy and there is some sort of satisfaction to hitting publish and having something there for posterity's sake.
I read blogs because they are like mini novels where the story doesn't end. You don't have to *sigh* in sadness when the book ends as it is like a never ending book one page at a time. And it is fun to make new friends with whom you have something in common even though separated by geography, thus no chance of you meeting them out at the store or in day to day life.
Generally I blog as a gallery and record of my craft work. That was the original inspiration. Occasionally I get diverted into more personal stuff, or travel notes. I'm a bit paranoid about keeping things anonymous. (I also shred anything with my name and address on it and feed it to the worms!) I use my friends' initials rather than full names and generally I don't include faces in photos (although occasionally I make an exception).
I steer clear of writing about my emotional life. Some things just need to stay private.
Originally I started to blog, to track my pregnancy. My in-laws got REALLY upset when one son (well cousin, but like a brother) didn't announce that his wife was pregnant until 3 months....not unusual I thought, but BOT were they UPSET. So we wanted to wait, I figured this way they could know what had happend before they knew.
Now I just blog to keep in touch. My mom reads every once in a while, and so do some friends. It is nice to read someone's everyday life. We don't need the gossipy details. I like reading how people in other parts of the country deal with every day situations.
Like in your blog I love how you have a nemisis (sp?) at the bus stop. I do the same type of thing...its nice to know I am not all that weird:-)
good golly I had so many typos in that last post!
I blog simply to get my feelings out and also because I like to document my life. It's nice to go back and read a month and see what was going on. But I don't blog about really personal things like how I think my landlord is hunky (because I think he reads my blog!) or people I hang out with.
I don't think your blog is boring at all! I love reading it and plan to comment more often. ;)
Molly, I agree. I like to write things down, too. And I like the making new friends, part, too!
Paisley, I agree, some things need to stay private! (see: Brena's comment!)
D, that is a sweet idea, why you started blogging, I mean. It's nice that your family will have a record of all that!
Brena, thanks! I look forward to more comments ;-) (also, I love reading your blog, too - I need to update my blogroll tomorrow & add you in!)
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