Is blogging just another fad?
Inspired by Mark’s post, I started thinking about my new obsession, blogging. It’s fair to say that I go through fads and phases. From an early age I gave up playing the recorder, I gave up playing the guitar, I gave up drama, I gave up singing, I gave up art, I gave up writing, I gave up fishing (yep!), I gave up cycling (incidentally, I just got a bike as a present), I gave up college, I gave up, I gave up, I gave up. It’s fair to say I don’t have much of a track record for follow through. It’s fair to say I say “It’s fair to say” too much!
So, why is this any different? For starters, I’ve always wanted an avenue back to writing (not so much for fishing). I like to put my thoughts on paper (or screen!). My brain is usually a garbled mess and writing it all down helps to sort things out and give structure to my thoughts (my PDA and Filofax are lifesavers). So, this is less a fad and more an extension of something I’ve been doing in a very solitary way for quite some time.
But this can’t just be a diary, can it? Well, yes and no! Yes, it is a form of ‘public diary‘ where people can read what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been reading about, but as it is public, there is the drive to make it more interesting, to embellish, to draw the reader in. So, no it needs to be more that just a diary, imho.
Grandad says he’s blogging to state a personal opinion, and if he influences people then he’s delighted. I like that! That sounds like the answer I’d want to give after I’ve been blogging for a while. But, Mr Grandad Man, I wonder if you’d still be writing so feverishly and frequently if you didn’t have a readership base? I wonder if just writing your opinions down is enough or does the ego need the feedback? I’ve enjoyed the feedback I’ve gotten so far. I’ve been both surprised and uplifted by it. Perhaps it’s the feedback that will give me the impetus to keep going after the fad or phase subsides. We’ll see!
But, for the moment, I’m loving it. It’s making me think more and ask questions, both of myself and the world around me.
And it helps that I have a few friends who are interested in it, Darragh in particular, and are not belittling me (as I may have expected). Indeed, the Otter Half, in support or something, has begun a blog of her own. So please get over there and lend her your love….or at the very least, a kind word.
Update: Rick O’Shea just answered the question “What is a Blog Blob?”
