Take a look at all the blogs written by famous people, and you’ll see how mainstream the medium has become. It’s no longer the realm of cybergeeks, powerful blowhard anti-establishment pundits and plugged-in underground political activists. From overhyped celebrities to the lonely, isolated teen-age girl struggling to pass algebra ... the word blog almost needs no introduction. A lot of people know all too well about blogs.
Another sign of the mainstreaming of blogs is when the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reprints a story on blogging that originally appeared Nov. 16 in the Washington Post. Written by regular contributor Jennifer Howard, the article focuses on the cult of online personality made possible by blogging. Instead of merely fighting the establishment, blogging has become a force in itself:
“The more blogs you read and the more often you read them, the more obvious it is: They've fallen in love with themselves, each other and the beauty of what they're creating. The cult of media celebrity hasn't been broken by the Internet's democratic tendencies; it's just found new enabling technology."
There’s a certain insiderness bred by linking to each other’s sites and specific posts. The right combination of keystrokes can stroke the egos and stoke the flames of supposed blog power. The more people who link to it, the bigger the ego, flames and supposed power gets.
“Maybe the back-scratching started as revolutionary solidarity. Now it's a popularity contest in which the value of information is confused with the cool quotient of the person spreading it.”
Isn’t that true? I used to read something and take it to heart because it was spewed forth by a Premium Blogger. Who cares if that person was right ... that person is cool.
“The problem's built into the medium itself. Blogs are set up to be personal forums for someone's opinions. That's the point, the liberating thing about them. Bloggers don't have to get their copy past an editor, and they can sound off at any length -- no word limits in cyberspace. They're products of a seismic cultural shift that makes someone's hangover as newsworthy as the arrival of a Harry Potter novel. The sassier the voice, the more successful the blog is likely to be.”
The full article appears here and comments from a live online discussion of the article, the day after it appeared in The Post, can be found here.
A companion article, also published Sunday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, discusses how new Internet technology is emerging slower than some experts predicted. Relevant to my post today, a source in the story says the Internet is now in the golden age of narcissism, and he likens it to poetry. To paraphrase: there are many more poets than people who read poetry. So true ... there are tons of poets/bloggers out there whose art muddles the original intent of blogging, which to me was to spread information. My blog is one of the fumbling muddlers; I readily admit that.
The following are statistics gathered with searches via Google. The last five searches are blog+random word(s):
• “blog” netted 20,800,000 results
• “online journal” captured 7,530,000 results
• “blog list” caught 3,710,000 results
• “blog coconut” fell to 30,600 results
• “blog grasshopper” hopped down to 8,900 results
• “blog fish” hooked 668,000 results
• “blog poo” stinks up 61,500 results
• “blog paris hilton” trapped 41,700 results
Staggering.
So, are there original thoughts left to publish online? Why do you read the blogs you read? What makes them different? Why is the time you spend reading blogs or posting to your own worth the effort?
These aren’t hypotheticals; I’d really like to know what you think.
I read blogs for the same reason I wore "hammer pants" in the early 90's. Cause they are cool! No, I am just kidding.
I started my blog late this summer for the mere reason that I always had something to say, and there wasn't really a good way to share. I think that for this reason I also read blogs. I like getting different views from people all around. I hate feeling sheltered, and I think bogs are a good way to share things with people that you really can't interact with any other way. People that write those articles are jealous that they don't look good in "hammer pants" *dis-mounts from his soapbox*
-dewdew
I started because I was looking for some software that would let me write in a new page every day but keep all my past pages in chronological order for me. I had no idea what blogging was and what a community there was. I just typed in "electronic diary" in google and several brilliant blogs came up. Now I'm hooked like I've never been hooked to anything before. I sometimes rearrange my life around just so I can write something interesting in my blog. I don't really know why it's so addictive other than it fills a big hole that needed filling for me. I needed a place to go where someone would always listen.
I'm not sure why I blog. I just like to write. It's a challenge for me, to try to write something interesting and witty.
And I'm fascinated by "blog coconut." Why is that such a popular hit??
I don't think that all blogs are just about narcissism. It is another way for people to forge a community of people that they like or find interesting. Like anything else we do for social interaction.
My guess is that this reporter Jennifer Howard reads the blogs of people who are similar to her. If that means narcissistic, so be it. But she shouldn't confuse her sphere with the entire blogosphere.
Well, I started mine, because I have always wanted to be a "household" name. I want to be famous. Whether it be as movie star or as a blogger. Well, except for any illegal reason. Also, I have always tried to keep a journal but always end up losing them. Another? Sometimes I'm having to deal with things in my life. I live here in Dallas by myself and I really don't have friends to speak of, and sometimes I just need to know what other people think before I make my hasty decisions.
Sara (as she usually does) makes a good point. The community is one of the reasons that keeps me going.
Also wanted to point out that the common spelling of "blogosphere" is one I never use. To me that word evokes a large, encompassing space like the biosphere or cosmos. I call it the "blogisphere" because for me it's just a part of my life ... a hemisphere. My blog is a true-to-life reflection of me, but it's not ALL of me.
Fascinating answers so far. Keep 'em coming!
I thought I was famous... are you saying I wasn't?
;^)
-d
I read blogs for various reasons. Yours is entertaining, others provide information and still others make you want to reach out and either help or slap the person.
My own blogging started initially from curiosity and prodding from fellow blogger, Adelle. Starting out I mainly bitched about my job and the layoffs and outsourcing. Now I find it's like a diary. I can brag about my kids or bitch about work still. It fulfills my desire to be a writer somewhat.
And, as strange as this sounds, it can be a catalyst to try new and interesting activities just so you can post a good story.
so blogging can be a self-absorbed activity. i think that when people generalize about the activity of blogging, or blogs, they forget about the great many blogs that have nothing to do with personal lives. for instance, education blogs. specific news type blogs, such as tracking articles on monkeys.
the ways we interact with the world--this is all motivated from the self. i think it is more telling of a person when are hung up on the supposed narcissism of blogging (those who live in glass houses...). yes we live in a narcissistic culture, but to those who reiterate that critique--what are they doing to constructively change this in a non-judgemental way?
i think that people forget that self-absorption, given certain checks and balances, is a healthy--and indeed necessary--process. additionally, it's not as if insiderness and ego stroking don't exist in quote-unquote real life. a great many conversations between people exclusively serve the same purposes.
i started blogging as a joke, when my ex-boyfriend showed me his. i now blog and read blogs because i feel it puts me in touch with the specific experiences of others, thereby increasing my understanding of universal experiences. to speak about something is very different from it being captured in written form.
I read the blogs I do because I have gotten to "know" a lot of the people who write them and I think that they have interesting lives. I have learned a lot about different topics and cultures. It's been cool.
My blog originally started out as a place for me to be entertaining to others. But then the pressure to be funny got to be too much. Now my blog is all about helping me be genuine - to let anyone who reads it know the REAL ME and for me to quit being ashamed of who I am.
To Blog or not to Blog, that is the question, is it not?
Blogging is a different forum for each individual. Entertaining ones, political ones, sexual ones, etc. A type of harmless ( I hope ;-P ) voyeurism maybe? Certainly gives me a bigger "window on the world" view. And I meet great guys/gals like T-Bone! It does seem to be a medium for the 20/30-somethings, and I feel my age occasionally in the blog community. But, diversity is what is so enticing about the medium. Like an electronic Town Square meeting. One thought ( and this is from an avid geneologist) because it is all electronic as opposed to the written word, what will future generations have to interpret our daily lives? I think I might begin to print mine out occasionally and save as a paper document just for my great, great grandchildren. Oh, and one more thing... blogging makes you think!
It's all about reading recipes provided by other bloggers. When is that cookbook coming out???? I have a check with your name on it!!
I started mine because it was a gift from my grandfather, who is coincidentally an author himself. He suggested it as something to use in much the same way Jo set out to use hers. A place to write everyday...keeping all the old things...a writing journal with the added perk of feedback.
In the process I've been introduced to this odd culture of 'bloggers'...I'm not entirely sure I can fit into that realm.
I do have my group of 'internet friends' but the whole blog culture...I'm not so sure about it.
What I actually love about reading all these different sites is seeing how they do it. What I like, what I don't, looking at what makes me laugh or the way someone expresses an emotion....
It's the same reason I read everything I can get my hands on...even if it's a terrible terrible literary train wreck.
Sometimes I read other sites and I am seriously dissappointed I didn't think to say that or to write about a specific experience in that exact way with those exact words.
But in the end it all inspires me.
The part about writing without having to get copy past an editor.
This is a source of HUGE debate in my home at the moment as my In Laws have found my site and have found some unflattering *opinions* I have published there...things I have told them, but nonetheless things they don't want to read in public I guess.
My husband has become my editor and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
I originally started my blog to:
- keep track of all the links I use on a daily basis (and reference basis) instead of keeping them all filed in the browser bookmark
- to keep in touch with friends and family that don't live near me (let them peek into my random thoughts and goings on in DC).
I read the blogs I read because now I've become vested in other writers' lives. Through emails and comments, I feel as though some bloggers have become friends. (I never thought that would happen).
Are there any original thoughts to publish at all? Probably not. All of the themes have been covered, many times.
It's the voice and the person that makes the writing one-of-a-kind, unique, worthwhile.
BTW - how's the new job?
I started blogging because I liked the warm community, and because I have things to say and nowhere to say them. I read other blogs because people interest me, their behaviour, their motivations and how else do you get 'behind the smile' of so many people to their inner thoughts and feelings? A lot of the blogs I read are written by people with the talent to be funny because humour is very important to me. A lot of the blogs I read are written by people with the talent to say things in just the right way that resonates and makes one think, recognize, and realize. I aspire to be a better writer and reading others helps me. And I love that I've made what I count as real friends from blogging. And though I, uh, still need to be more regular in my posting, it is definitely addicting and I find myself thinking about things as if I was posting!
I started blogging because I am a narcissist. I know this about myself, and I think blogging is a better way to deal with it than to subject people I know in real life to endless stories all about me me me. Also, I have some pretty severe voyeurist tendencies (read: I'm addicted to reality tv), so I really enjoy having this window into peoples' lives. But despite getting into blogging for what seems like the wrong reasons, I think it's actually improved me. Not only have I learned computer skills that no former English major has a right to have, but I've learned how to be a better friend to the fairer sex--something that has never been easy for me. Seeing how girls react to each other and deal with each others' dramas has been strange and interesting and educational, to say the least. It also helps to have some good female role models besides my mom or my grandma. I find myself wanting to be more like some of my favorite bloggers, and that helps me try new things, seek out interesting experiences, be more creative, and really pay attention to the details in life. See, I'm a narcissistic voyeur with a heart. Awww.
I blog, and I read blogs, because I am a sucker for gut-wrenching tear spilling laugh out loud uneasy awkward moment REALITY reading. The blogs I read are typically online diaries, which mine is, and they are typically honest, open, and real. I don't read many pundits or news-commentors or people who use their blogs to push their agenda or position or opinion... I like to read about people living their lives and see if there's a way I can connect with them.
I understand a web-log was originally meant to be a way to distribute links et al, but I rather enjoy the online diary version that's becoming quite popular.
I didn't even know what the blog-o-sphere was when I started my blog. I just wanted a place where I could post my writing without doing html every day. I had just moved to a new country and was amusing three or four of my friends with my stories of culture shock.
Now I'm deep into the "blog world" but I don't like "real" blogs--the ones that are lists of links and talk about politics. I enjoy reading about people's lives. I think it's been really good for me to realize that people are, indeed, just people and the struggles I have are struggles everyone has. I'm pretty lonely here at the North Pole so blogging has become a community for me. I love it when people link to me or comment, but I know I'm not the most popular blogger and will never be very popular. I'm just thrilled by the 30 or so people that read me on a regular basis.
the blogs i read make me smile. gotta smile!
I started blogging to give my English family a constant update on how my sons were doing and such. Then to my surprise I found out that I had gather an audience, mostly consisting of Americans, so I started writing for them, rather than for me. Having thought about it extensively, I've found that I love telling stories and that blogging has helped me write and practise storytelling. Blogging is a kind of a therapy for me, I gain instant audience for the things I have to say. The blogs that I read have something to say, or are written by people I feel a connection with through some similar experience or opinions. And as long as there are original people in the world, there will be something original to blog about.
There are definitely original thoughts left to post online, I see them constantly, there are a lot of great writers on the Internet, some of whom are popular, though most of them aren't.
But maybe its the lack of the truly original thought that makes blogging so appealing - I once read that what makes a good writer is their ability to REALLY capture something that the ready can recognize and truly understand, be that a character, a situation or both.
People like to identify with others and be identified with. That's one reason why I blog why I read others.
I also do it to keep my RL friends that I dont see as often an update about whats going on in my life; I'm lucky that I can now keep up with their goings-on the same way.
And I also think that writing daily is a great exercise for the mind and the creative spirit - I was always told that I should write what I know. So maybe my blog as about me, but that's only because I know me better than I know most anyone/anything. :)
I do it for the interaction primarily.
I began blogging because my brother had one and he knew I aspired to be a writer. He encouraged me to write one, so primarily I began writing as a way to chronicle my life for my kids and family. The experience has taught me discipline and has opened up worlds of readers I would never have had before. I am grateful for the ones who read my site, and it is a responsiblilty as well as a joy to write each day. i also like reading the different blogs I do because it opens up different points of view and insights from around the world. Gotta love it!