One of the interesting sessions I went to at NorthernVoice was the Blogs are Dead; Long Live the Blogger session facilitated ably by Chris Lott. There’s a write-up on this wiki; as usual a lot of thought-provoking stuff was said, only some of which I’ve found recorded. I’ve noticed changes myself over the last few years of observing part of the blogging world (by necessity, only a small part).
I’ve noticed that lots of people aren’t blogging as much, or indeed any more, for varied reasons. Some spend more time on twitter, which scratches their communication itch, and effectively let their blog lapse. Some post no longer need to tell friends and family what they’re up to via a blog. A fair number of crafters are on Ravelry and post their projects there and don’t need a blog any more.
I’ve noticed changes in the blogs, too; maybe because many people whose blogs I read are using twitter et al for the more “trivial” discussions and thoughts, the blog postings tend to be about weightier subjects, or work-related. In many cases the tone is more formal and (dare I say it) boring; I’ve given up on quite a few blogs that used to be fun to read, even if the subject matter was inconsequential, because they now are more weighty and serious and not as entertaining. Or they’ve turned into collections of links. The occasional link posts, with comments as to why those links are worth clicking on, is fine, but I quickly tire of blogs that consist solely of links to other blogs and articles. I really can’t be bothered hanging on in the hope that the author will eventually come up with something original.
One big exception that I’ve noticed is the crafting blogs, which (notwithstanding the people who’ve quit now that they’re on Ravelry) have much the same type of content. I started a crafting blog after joining Ravelry, and I know others who’ve done the same. Many crafters see their blogs as a refreshing change from work, deliberately not talking about topics outside the boundaries, keeping the discussion focussed (more or less) on the serious crafting issues of types of yarn, whether the knitted object will fit once it’s finished, and the best way to create a particular design or concept. Or just posting “I did this this way and this is how it turned out.”
I don’t think the blog is dead; it’s just changing as the concept diffuses outside the circle of early adopters who are busy twittering at each other.
Maybe it wasn’t as much the urge to speak as to know we were heard. When we realized we aren’t, we stopped. Playing to an empty house is as lonely as it gets.
I’m having a terrible time with this election in the States. For all the urging to be in The Movement, age tells me there is little to that past the election, and then we have to deal as generations always have. But in the back of my mind, I keep hearing Melanie Safka singing “Candles In the Rain” and it hurts all over again, then Paul and Artie singing “America” and it just feels empty all over again.
Practical leadership is what aging children know is best, not compromised values, but values that resolve like a major seventh, at home yet never final, something promised if yet uncaptured. Hope.
The Movement does give me hope, not because I think they have solutions, but because they think they do and they are willing to go campaign for them. With eyes darkening and every night’s sleep less restful, it is good to hope… and to be heard.
It’s really the urge to communicate, not just to speak, but to know someone is listening and thinking about what we say. You never know who is reading, who is agreeing, whether things get passed on to others. The polite listening to the person on the soap box in the park has given way to reactions in private and for many of us it’s rare to know whether we have communicated with anyone other than ourselves on our blogs. I can’t imagine a world without these communications methods now, but that doesn’t mean we’ve all figured out how best to use them.
Or what to use them for.
I can easily imagine the world without them because it is the world I grew up in. What I’m not satisfied about is where the blog improves the world. We both tend, I think, toward the belief that the more we talk with others, the better off we are, but that is only true when all parties are listening and at least attempting to understand.
What I see indicates the results are mixed. The constant twittering is also turning more people into communication game players where blogs coupled with gaming coupled with the semiotic expertise of the last two decades of politics is creating a generation of people interested in dominating, not communicating. We can easily get caught up by the Great Get Even and that may be a more primal urge than understanding. Perhaps part of the reason some abandon the blogs is they fatigue of that struggle to be understood.
“Know thyself.” Little has change there except when our technology provides a better mirror. Blogging as with any diary may help there as long as we go back and read our old blogs from time to time.
Sometimes the effort to express ourselves is what’s important, it helps clarify thoughts, even if nobody else reads or thinks about it. I guess that’s the idea behind the concept of writing letters to express hurt or anger that you then throw away without giving to the person involved.
Do blogs help? They can. I’ve had comments left on some of my posts that make me hope, anyway. Sometimes it’s the throw-away posts that seem to get the most reaction, not the big deep ones. Maybe there’s a lesson in there that I still need to learn properly.
I decided to check my assumptions last night and Google myself. I don’t read server logs or find out too often what is said or quoted unless it is in the context of a live conversation. The results stunned me. It wasn’t how much I posted but the places I found it copied to, quoted, and so on. Yikes.
So if the question is are we being heard? Yes we are. And some of it is making a difference. I don’t think my hermit ways will change, but at least from time to time it’s good to know it was worth doing.
We are leaders, Lauren. Sometimes we have to choose between expressing our immediate reactions and being sure the follow-on effects are desirable, but other than that, blogs are a mode with vitality.
The little blogs? Well, authenticity peeks out even from a distance. Because as writers we’ve honed our skills so well, we can lose that easily, but I do remember the comment someone made in DC at the XML conference you invited me to attend. The fellow sat quietly while I was talking to Newcomb, then introduced himself. He was someone from XML-Dev that I had corresponded with and the first thing he said is, “You really DO talk like you write.” I’m not sure if that was a compliment but it is authentic. 😉