"The Blogs are Churning and Burning"
Blogs have taken the Internet by storm. Read John C Dvorak's article in PC magazine "The Blog Phenomenon." They are a more interesting, more content oriented way of expression ones own vanity and establishing a presence on the Internet than the typical website. What is the purpose of weblogs or online journals? Recently my sister and Janine have been discussing through their blogs, blogs. What is the purpose? I think the purpose of an online journal is merely an expression of self.
It is an artistic expression and creation through writing but also through living. One writes about their daily lives and thoughts. They write the thoughts that churn in their head. Others may find it interesting or uninteresting, but it is a creation. Whether or not the creation is good is up to the reader I suppose. A writer writes to express. Blogs are no different from any other form of writing in that respect. The difference between a blog and any other type of writing is the formality. There is little or no formality in blogs. What does that mean? Can I be as honest as I want? Can I be as decietful as I want? Absolutely. There is no publisher or government regulating the content of the blog. As a result, a blog can be whatever it wants to be. That is one of the beauties of a blog. Now, the most alternative writer can write and be known. The downside is that most of the writing that can be seen on blogs is poor. It is extremely poor. There is little or no interesting content unless you know the writer personally. It is about the person and that person only. Unless you care about that person, it makes the blog uninteresting.
That brings up another point. What makes a blog interesting? I think blogs are made interesting, by the relation they have to the reader. Writers write for a reader. If the blog is meant only for the writer, then only the writer is the reader. It becomes a private secret unpublished diary. It is completely uninteresting to the average reader, because the reader may or may not have any identification with the writer. When the writer of the blog begins to write something that more than just one reader can relate to, it becomes interesting. So, I think interest has a direct correlation to unselfishness. The most widely read articles today are written in major newspapers. They follow a set of writing rules and can only publish on certain subjects. These subjects have a wide audience. Most people in the world are interested in news items, thus major newspapers write about them. The more narrow we make our topics, obviously the more narrow we make our audience. Less people will be interested in what we read. Rules make blogs more readable to a wider audience. If we write formally with a certain vocabulary, most people will be able to read it. If we use slang like "dude" or "like" in our writing, perhaps Canadians won't understand. (hahah Sam IP). One of the most interesting weblogs I've read is from Antigirl. She took down her journal after September 11th. The reason why it was interesting, was because it had a broad scope. It touched on her thoughts, but also brought in the thoughts of others. It did not focus solely on herself without reaction from others, but it was a dialogue. Of course it was a skewed dialogue where she was the moderator, but it was a dialogue nevertheless. She dialogued with the books, articles, and pictures she encountered. She dialogued with the music she heard and the poems she read. That is what made it an interesting blog. Another interesting blog I read is an online diary at opendiary.com. This girl talks only about her own life. It is completely self centered yet it is interesting to read. Why? Because the issues she talks about I deal with sometimes. She deals with relationship issues and friendships. Only on the areas where I can relate does it become interesting. Some blogs are directed toward a close group of friends. Names can be mentioned and situations and the readers will understand. A random stranger who stumbles on the blog will not understand. It makes it uninteresting for those outside the readership of the blog. Those who know the writer will be very interested.
Question, do blogs have an obligation to be interesting? Of course not. If we want to write we can write whatever we want. Blogs have no rules. That is what makes them cool and popular. We are not trying to write for a major publication here. We can write purely for our own enjoyment if we want. Do blogs have to follow any rules? No. They burn bridges. They burn rules. They can mention names if they want. They can blatantly insult people or use foul language. If they choose to do these things, they will alienate the readers who are offended by foul language. They may alienate those who they insult. If I wrote constant derrogatory remarks toward homosexuals, they wouldn't want to read my blog.
As for my own blog, who will I write for? I think my primary audience is my Lord. He is the one I want to glorify through these entries. How honest will I be? Will I mention names as I have done in the past? Although I may recieve criticism for it, I think if it relates to my own experience of growing, I think I have a right to speak names. Names give detail and color to an issue. How can I not mention names. Will I tell other people's secrets on my blog? Hopefully I won't because it does not give glory to my Lord. Again this is at my own discretion. I used to censor my own words at the request of the people who read it, I will no longer. I thought it didn't offend me and that is why I was willing to do it. I realized I am extremely offended by people asking me to take their names down or talking about personal issues I have written in here with people who have not read it. That is why I took down my old journal. Can I prevent people from talking about stuff I write? No I cannot. But if you want me to be honest, respect what I have written. If I discover that certain people are reading this blog, I will tailor my writing toward them. It may grow less personal. It may grow more personal. It may go down completely again because I cannot trust. Who knows. This is another attempt to establish myself on the Internet. Hopefully I can write about things that are interesting and not merely focused on myself, but anyway... lets rock. Churn and Burn.