"Oh so you blog"
I'm usually met with three key versions of this statement. Version #1 includes a long and drawn out "oh" and then a quick eyebrow raise. Version #2 includes a quick "oh" and annunciation on the you, with a short head nod. And then in Version #3 the words come out slowly and a look of complete blankness settles on the speaker's face.
Blogging is such an interesting past time. It's part exhibition, part reflection, and part entertainment. You have the ability to chronicle every moment of your life if you wish, to champion any cause or opinion you feel passionate about, to think "out loud" on things you might normally keep to yourself, or even to recount any and all funny, dramatic, or just darn right stupid instances that you encounter in a normal day. Oh and you can find it all out there and plenty of voices to comment on whatever you so desire to publish.
I think one of the most ironic things about blogging is that there is this sense of anonymity and yet also one of being on display. Think about it, what percentage of readers actually comment? Probably about half if you're lucky. And then what percent of your commenters do you really know? Even smaller. But then the kicker is the number of people that you do know, that you've known from different parts of your life that read your blog . . . . ah the silent reader who isn't a stranger. Now that is a sub-group that can be intimidating.
The interesting thing to me about blogging is that it gives you an opportunity to express parts of your personality that might not come across in normal day to day interactions. At least for me this is true. Now do I think that you have a "normal" personality and a "blogging" personality? No, but I do think that blogging might give light to a part of you that isn't always on display. Or maybe I'm just talking about me.
But I wonder what that special sub-group of people I know in person, who I've known from different times in my life, think of what I write, of this persona that comes across through my blog. Oh well, I guess they get to see a fuller picture of me, knowing both the "in-person" katie and the "blogger" katie.
So any thoughts or great revelations about your life as a blogger?
posted by Katie @ 10:29 AM
9 Comments:
hmmmm... only that over the years I think my writing has improved along with my life and that it is the one place in my life that I have complete control over.
I'm so glad you blog or else I wouldnt know this woderful woman! It is tempting to write one of these but what if I never have anything interesting to say? Sometimes I can barely finish my work on time or remember to water my plants. I think that a blog is like a child and you have to take care of it if you want it to grow. I obviously just wanted to start my own little blog here. So thanks!! (and now I'm behind in work) ~C
I normally get the "do you have a MySpace? Oh. Well, a blog is cool too. hrmph.
I like in-person K-T and real Katie!
Hello I'm Joe's Jottings Wife, BJ
I just stopped in to visit,
God Bless You.
http://www.freewebs.com/friendsareagift
http://www.freewebs.com/friendsareagift2
i think about 2% of readers comment. not 50%.
i'm usually met with the "why do you do that?" variety. Or the "you blog about your life" variet? Which inevitably makes me feel like a pompous arse.
I'm trying to decide if I'm the presumptuous one ... like, "I'm writing all this stuff on my blog, does anybody actually care?" or if I haven't posted awhile and I put up a post explaining that I've been gone and I'll be gone awhile longer, I feel like ... does anybody really care?
A lot of my family reads my Blog. Apparently, they use it as a way to keep up with what I'm doing as well as make sure that I'm still alive and functioning (especially true if they haven't seen me in awhile). I have a tendency to be a work-a-holic (or so I’m told), and my Blog is one of my only outlets (other than my dogs, of course).
(Wow. That sounded really pathetic. I should work on that.)
Anyway, I’m also a shy/introverted person, and really enjoy writing stuff and “publishing” it anonymously on the internet. It’s such a rush for me. Plus, it is neat to be able to revisit something I wrote a year ago. In that way, my Blog functions as an extension of memory. Silly things otherwise forgotten have been remembered (if by no one else but me). And isn’t life really all about those small, silly things?
If it wasn’t on the internet, though, I probably wouldn’t keep it up. Because (a very small handful of) people read my Blog, I feel a responsibility to them to maintain and update my Blog. Otherwise, I’m sure it would have disappeared by now.
I think I know myself better now as a result of blogging.
i live, therefore I blog
if others don't "get it", tough.
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