Blogger's Irony
Question: Why do you blog?
Ask yourself that question at least 3 times and think about it for 3 days before you actually answer it. When you think of it the first 3 times, you'll be thinking why am I asking you to think for because you could just answer it like almost anyone else does: because I like it! But, when I say think about it for 3 days before you answer, and if you were to literally follow my instructions, you would probably spend the time going through your own blog from the very first post the the most recent one. You would carefully examing your posts one by one, spotting any changes that may have occurred and also any main theme they posses other than just the mundane "I blog because I feel like it" reason. Really? It aint happening, because most people would just discard the question in less than a fraction of a second, without any further thought, without any conscious reasoning, without rationalizing it, without pondering carefully about it and on goes the list of reasons that just add up to "why should I even bother" type of excuses. Are they excuses at all? We'll see...
Blogs are now seen as a new form of communication and even, in some context, a form of new media. Now you'd be asking "communication?", "new media?" and what they have to do with blogging and bloggers. Although blogs are like personal diary entries, they are also open to the public. The most you could do it not allow any comments on your blog, but still people can always make their own blog or create a forum to discuss about what's on your blog. Bringing this matter to surface, I would really expect that, unless you're a downright dimwit and Internet illiterate (because you've been living in the stone age since who knows when and so on...), you'd at least know that anyone out there can just read what you've written. Then, the whole situation changes. However you try to write a post as if nobody will read it, even though you initially intended nobody to read it, it would still pass the eyes of other people disregarding whether wanted or unwanted readers. This makes it a little hypocritical when anyone puts "i hope nobody's reading this" type of self-talk into any post. I would not go as far as to say it's idiotic, but the idea is a little ludicrous when you think about it. Due to this situation, probably the most ingenious ideals that bloggers employ is the way they are going to write their posts, in the many varieties that are available in their imagination.
Some people are very, very open in their blog posts. You can read angst, bitterness, happiness, laughing mood and almost any sort of emotion from it. But it's written right there for you to read. You do not need to put a looking glass over it because there is no need for "indirect" translation at all, no need to read between the lines, it's all there for you to see. Perhaps the author likes it that way. Attention seekers? You may never know. Other people can be very discreet with their posts. As they only say just enough to make you even more curious about what's going on, these are the people that employ all sorts of ways to twist and turn about the topic. One might say they are somehow beating about the bush, but no doubt they are trying to say something. It is just that the right buttons might have yet to be pushed to make the person directly let it out; or maybe it's just their way of expressing themselves. Being mysterious won't hurt, right?
So actually, why are we blogging? Just for the fun of it?
Oh, some people see blogging as a source of revenue or a place to make a name. The ironic thing about this is that the blogger might end up posting stuff that they don't really like to post at all. Making money means attracting advertisers. For the advertisers to stay, you would need content that fits what the advertisers want. So actually, you're kind of catering to the needs of the advertisers and not your own. This is what's ironic about blogging for income. You always have to look after what the advertisers want and you need to update quite frequently for that too, which is another bothersome. Plus, you probably started your blog thinking you can write anything you want, but instead it turned out otherwise.
There are other blogs that server more professional purposes. These blogs are like academic blogs and blogs for big company moguls to manage their PR better. One such blog community is www.scienceblogs.com. I frequent this blog arena a lot because it fits my kind of reading material.
So, what are we actually achieving by blogging? Are we getting a sort of elevated peer status because we are part of the blogging trend? Or is it just peer pressure that you are writing posts? Or do you have a internal motivation of your own?
I've come to a point, where I've forgotten when I even posted my first post. Then I check back at my post count, it's already above 300 and my first post was somewhere at the end of...wait a minute...2004? Woah, it's been like 2 1/2 years already?! I started my first post like any typical blogger. I made my blog somewhat like a personal diary, but it was expressed in the forms of poems and literature that I just splurred out on the spot. Now, i guess my posts have somehow grown with how I manage my own thoughts and also my demeanor. I guess i would say for me, the main reason i blog is for catharsis. And the writings that i produce is all based on what's going on deep inside me. Though the real issue may never appear, the waves that they create are certainly even present in this blog, either by the design of it or the writings.
So, back to the question: Why do you blog?
If a blog was a personal diary, why are other people reading it?
If a blog was just for you to read, why are you letting other people to read it?
If a blog was just free space where you can write anything you want, why do some people still hold back some things?
Why do we blog? Or is it that important anymore? Or maybe...
The blog has become you!
=)
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