Sunday, June 3, 2007

On Blog Culture.

Blogs are interesting ways to spend time on the internet. I have learned much about my friends and about other people and about myself from blogs. I guess I have been a blogger for a while, so here are some things which I have noticed.
1. It's interesting to see how my friends represent themselves on their blogs. when you meet someone in real life, you get to know them well. On that person's blog sometimes it seems as if they are a different person. This, I think, is a good thing. When you're blogging, you're speaking to any number of different people who may be in any mood or state of mind. for this reason it is good to represent yourself in a little bit of a different way than normal.
2. It's much easier to read blogs than to blog.
3. I get guilty feelings for not checking out some of my friends' blogs as much as I check out others'. I don't know whether this is a sign of me being too "blog-core" or not.
4. Blogs are neat places to share thought. There is one phenomenon I'd like to speak about in more detail, and that is the one of the nasty little link on the bottom right of each post. "Comments". Now, some people have many other people who read their blog a great deal, and with whom they are dear friends. This leads to them getting sweet comments. For other people, comments are more scarce. Perhaps this is simply because of a lack of audience, but it can also be for some of the following reasons: 1. Awkward e-silence: When someone opens up just a little to much on a blog, there is definitely an awkward e-silence. This is similar to the real life awkward silence, except it leaves the author feeling as if the half-hour they spent blogging was useless. 2. Controversial content: the content of one's post is so controversial that people are not interested in spending their blog leisure time in intense intellectual discussion. With more easy to read blogs only a click away, why not hide under a rock? 3. Some people have started a "comment conference call" about the weekend, the t.v. show they're watching, or anything else in the comments box of a friend's blog. These conversations have nothing to do with the blog, and when someone enters a comment concerning the blog and not concerning the conversation, the conversation ends and there is a "how rude!" awkward e-silence. 4. There are probably more.
5. It is important to not open up too much on a blog. Although it is a forum for free discussion, open comments about one's own relationship troubles, etc., when seen by the wrong audience, make everyone involved feel bum.
6. I like my blogs. I should make more effort to update them, and I have a strange desire and jealousy for more readership. Maybe I should get into journalism.
7. I am glad in the fact that this list has seven parts. The original title of this post was to be "On Blog Culture. And a Piece of Information Blatantly Opposed to Aforementioned Culture." This piece of information is not forthcoming, however, because I thought better of it during the writing of this (see rule #5). I guess my intent was to break the very rules I set out, but I am chicken.

5 comments:

justine said...

Bagok.




jk. i like reading your blog.

Sarah vP said...

the phrase "awkward e-silence" makes me giggle kinda like how Juliana giggles when we play peekaboo.
good observations!

Carol-Lee Joy said...

i like what you've got to say about blogs. i agree with you, blogs are awesome for helping build friendships and encouraging one another, but they can also be not-so-good if you aren't careful with what you put in a post and share on it.

Captain Carrot said...

its also important to note that there is no pleasure to be had in an awkward e-silence, no watching the emotion and stuttered thoughts flowing into the other person's reddening face, and no anticipation of that well-ment but poorly delivered response. just an awkward silence.

I find that when I read people's blogs, i feel like I am spying on them. Its like, if you were to post a comment, or mention that you had read it, you would embarass them and reveal that you are a snoop. Some people get into the habit of writing their blog like a diary, and that makes it even worse..its like they are writing a page of their diary and you are ripping it out and reading it. and then once you are done, you begin to judge them on their blog-you box them up and reduce them to a few personality flaws so that next time you talk to them, its like you are not even talking to them, just to those things that you have evaluated them down to.

Carol-Lee Joy said...

agreed.