Monday, February 28, 2005

Blogging philosophy

We all know there are many different types of bloggers. There are the people who write online diaries (usually the Xanga and LiveJournal crowds). There are the linkers who regurgitate their browser history in every post. Then there are the commentators, the true community of "bloggers" the media has caught wind of. Of course, the most famous are the political commentators, but there are entertainment bloggers, science bloggers, and bloggers for any interest.

I think for most of us non-celebrity bloggers, we're something of a mixture. I talk about my job and things in my life, though not to the extent of the diary-keepers. I link to new and fun things I find online. I try to form intelligent comments about things that are happening in the news. In the last few days, I found myself thinking that I should become more like those "real" bloggers. But now I wonder why.

It's that I wanted people to hear what I have to say. I want to be a part of the social discourse, the fabric of society that shapes opinion. I never intended for my blog to do any of those things when I started it. I just wanted to keep people up to date on my life. And honestly, with less than 25 "regular" readers, I don't know who I was kidding.

Some of you find my thoughts interesting, and so I will continue to share them. Just don't let me forget that this is for fun. It's not that I shouldn't write about the economy or politics; on the contrary, those are two very important things to me and things I love to discuss. But I want people to read what I write because they enjoy hearing about my experiences and my opinions and sharing their own. There are plenty of other people reporting the news.

2 comments:

  1. yep, sounds like a good blogging view to me. I started to blog a few months ago after realizing it was probably the best way to keep track of thoughts, ideas, and info that I keep squirreled away in different folders on my computer(s) anyway. Sharing ideas with others is a cool bonus.

    Writing is also a great way to focus my thoughts into something remotely like organized reasoning, which helps in the offline world.

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  2. @ gene2152: I love how you said "in the offline world" as if it was some new, seldom visited place!

    @ Ryan: I think that you maintain a great mixture of links, "personal" stuff, and commentary. Often you mix these in the same post, which is great.

    I'm just writing that to say, keep it up.

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