It occurs to me that blogs are quite ephemeral. Oh, the archives are there and it would be possible to look at a posting from a year ago and even comment on it. But who would see it? I don't even look back at my own postings. I often forget to go back to other people's blogs to see if they responded to my comments. Then when I do remember, well, it's too late. They have moved on.
There is a balance required with blogs. Write too frequently and people give up on reading you. They don't have time to read every posting. Write too infrequently and you get the same response for a different reason. Of course, I suppose that some people (like Mindy) write because they just have to express themselves, whether anyone is reading or not. But then, why not just keep a journal? No, bloggers want to interact with a world remote from them. The unasked question is, "Am I important? Does anyone actually care what I have to say? Do they think I am funny or wise or articulate?" So we propel our statements out into the everchanging blogosphere, hoping to connect with all the traffic.
Cat and I saw the play "Six Characters in Search of an Author" last night. It deftly addresses the questions of personality and persona, temporal and permanent reality, character and actor. Why are we so frenetically in transition? What's the hurry? And yet, what if our identities were permanent, static and predictable?
Well, happy blogging, y'all. I think I will start on my tax return. And perhaps I will give up on "Tales from Blogland." The game is over; everyone has moved on to other games now.
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7 comments:
I keep a journal too. The blog is a creative outlet, as well as a way to enlarge my world.
I continue to be amazed at some of the moving and insightful things people are writing out there.
And there is the fun of connecting with other people who you's never meet up with in regular everyday life.
Yes, Annie, I admit that it is fun to converse with people in Scandanavia and New York and Louisiana and even Texas whom I will probably never see F2F. It is boundary-expanding to read what others think. But that is the point. No one keeps a web log just for themselves. It is the interaction with other tellurians that keeps us doing it.
No one keeps a web log just for themselves.
I guess you are right on this point. I still keep a written journal, and like Mindy, I might insist that I would "blog it", even if no one came. Even though that is what I say, truth is, yes there is behind the blogmaster a quiet little person who longs to be seen and heard!
And yet, what if our identities were permanent, static and predictable?
"There is no life without fluctuation, without incessant ocscillations about a mean equilibrium. Fixity is death.
--Paul Tournier, "The Meaning of Persons
I truly believe he is right. And this is an excellent book, BTW. An older one, but you might enjoy reading it.
Thanks for the recommendation. I have enjoyed reading Tournier in the past, but it has been a while.
I haven't blogged anything in nearly a month. Do you think I'm losing readership?
Good questions!
I try, intermitently, to keep a journal. It never really works for me though. The tactile sensations of pen on paper and all those really cool blank books are what I really like, I guess. Writing on the internet is much easier - I love being able to edit something without totally re-writing it.
As for the blog - I am a sucker for praise. If no one read it, I don't think I would continue it. I write in part to record my memories - all those things we think we will write a book about one day when we retire. But if no one else was being entertained by it, I would soon tire of entertaining myself.
I have tried keeping a written journal but I never follow through. Plus, I think much faster than I can write. But I am a very fast typer. Therefore, it is easier for me to keep up with and record my thoughts by typing.
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