The RPM Challenge - So long...

So long...

Monday, 23 June 2008

I did another song... not that anyone should really care.

Isn't blogging a little presumptuous? It's as if bloggers think that other people are going to care what they are saying about themselves?

I don't know.

In other news, too bad about George Carlin. Can't wait to get flooded with forwarded emails of all his nonsense. But hey... the guy was 71. He lived a good life. Was definitely an influential icon of his generation. He did what he did.

I could only put up with him when he WASN'T yammering on about politics.

Thomas the tank engine rules.

Comments (6)

1 Blogging
Written by Sister Savage, on 06-23-2008 11:04
:-) My blog is my journal - if others want to read and comment then that's fine, but I largely write it for myself. Honest!

2 come on...
Written by Dante Trasatti, on 06-24-2008 07:50
i understand that... but by the very "public" nature of it, doesn't that defeat the purpose? I mean it'd be another thing if it were just in your personal profile page. I can understand the "journal" aspect of it... but it's posted across the universe!

3 Written by Sister Savage, on 06-24-2008 08:13
You're right...I might censor what I write because I know there's a chance others will read it...hmm...okay, yes. :-)

Tess

4 Human Nature
Written by Babys First Ride, on 06-24-2008 13:55
Its all about that connection. Unless a thought is put out there, no one really knows if what they have to say to has value to someone else or not. Some will agree, some will disagree, but either can and will write back. Is it presumptuous? Absolutely. We presume that people are going to do what they always do - state thier opinion. A blog just provides space and opportunity.

5 okay...
Written by Dante Trasatti, on 06-24-2008 15:09
so does any old public message board.

6 Nah, there IS a difference...
Written by Kai Starr, on 07-04-2008 20:09
The main difference between a message board and a blog is that a blog is like someone's private living room, and a message board is like a public meeting hall. The person with the blog has opened their door to potential new friends, but it is still a private place that exists mainly for their own benefit. Certain kinds of blogs (like LiveJournal) even allow users to determine who can and can't read certain entries, and who can and can't comment to those entries. It's a very different setting than a message board, where just about anyone is free to read, post or comment (so long as they follow whatever community rules exist).

I don't think there's anything presumptuous about blogging, at all. Humans are social animals. Blogging is a natural extension of what we all do, every day, in the offline world. Everything we do communicates something about us to other people. The clothes we wear, the way we carry ourselves, our tone of voice, our expressions, our involvement in this thing or that, even our choice of living space says something about who we are, as individuals. Literally everything we do shows some part, no matter how small, of our personal story or our personality.

On the internet, we lack the means to convey those subtle and powerful messages to one another in our natural physical way, so to overcome this, we blog. We write in message boards, or in email groups, or in other social groups. We chat in AIM or Messenger or IRC. It's just one more way to connect with, and to feel a part of a larger group, in the digital world. Why should we assume that no one wants to read our thoughts or read about our lives or the things that interest us? Plenty of people daily read the blogs and journals of total strangers, because there is something they find interesting or something they can relate to in that person's words. I read other people's blogs. Obviously, or I couldn't be leaving a comment in yours. Some people read mine, too, here and in all the other places where I leave my personal mark.

Why do people read blogs? Because people need human contact, even if it's only in the form of some pixels on a screen. People need some validation that they are not alone, that someone, somewhere, is at least a little bit like them. Blogging isn't presumptuous at all. It's natural behavior for a social being who is exploring a different kind of social setting. It's reaching out to others in a very personal way. If it's presumptuous, then so is speaking to another person, even one you personally know and like, and expecting them to listen to you, care about what you say or even acknowledge your presence. That's all blogging is: speaking to a specific group of friends, and/or to whoever else wants to listen. It's the most natural thing we can do, in this digital setting.