So, I’m celebrating one year since starting this blog. Thirty odd posts in twelve months would suggest a slow but steady pace, but being the smart person that you are, dear reader, you will notice that way more than half of those posts have been in the last couple of months. I guess I am hitting my stride as a blogger and enjoying this more.
.
I look back at some of the things that I blog about and compare them to the things that I mention in my first post here. I have not really blogged about anything personal. Nothing about my X or my son, nothing about my family, and very little about my writing. I’ve even left my sports out of the discussion for the most part, choosing to go elsewhere (mainly here http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=f5aa559ffadbf2873e7224c247352eca&forumid=13 and here http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/) to read, and sometimes write about my favorite sports teams (DC United and North Carolina respectively).
.
I guess that I am the kind of blogger that likes to make wry observations about the world around me and see if I provoke anyone to think about what they’ve seen. Maybe folks are having similar experiences and a small smile of recognition will play across their face as they read my latest. Maybe not. But if it does, well, that would be pretty strong satisfaction for me.
.
But ultimately, this blog is for me. A blog, somewhat counter intuitively, given that it is posted on the worldwide web, is a personal undertaking. And as such, a blogger needs to write in the way that makes them comfortable and that makes sense to them. Because even though a blog is out here for everyone to read, chances are quite strong that no one actually will.
.
But it is that chance, and that public nature of the blog, that makes me shake my head a little at bloggers who seem to live their lives just waiting for something juicy to happen in their real lives, so that they can run to the computer and blog about it immediately. Reporting about a fight with a loved one. A family squabble. A power struggle at work. A difficult client. Whatever. This part of blogging seems exhibitionist to me, and while I guess that is okay, it is not for me.
.
David Sedaris writes quite openly about how his family is sometimes guarded around him, letting him know that they don’t want to read about whatever is going on in their family in his next book, or hear about it on NPR. It’s understandable on their part, but an assumed risk that they seem to accept time and time again. Having him as part of their family becomes more important to them than keeping their stories out of the public eye. And though his stories are unforgiving in tone and viciously funny, it is clear to anyone who can understand, that they are written with love. And perhaps, that makes it okay.
.
Ultimately, if David Sedaris wasn’t willing to bare his soul, and that of his family with such complete vulnerability, he wouldn’t be one-third of the writer that he is. But he is an artist, and few can show through their writing the love that he does. And as a result, so much of the blogosphere comes off as whiny complaining by people about issues too trivial for anyone else to care about.
.
And perhaps my blog is just the same with a philosophical patina laid across the surface. If that is true, I apologize and encourage you to stop reading. But if it is not true, the come along for the ride into the second year of Your Darn Skippy.
.
I look back at some of the things that I blog about and compare them to the things that I mention in my first post here. I have not really blogged about anything personal. Nothing about my X or my son, nothing about my family, and very little about my writing. I’ve even left my sports out of the discussion for the most part, choosing to go elsewhere (mainly here http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=f5aa559ffadbf2873e7224c247352eca&forumid=13 and here http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/) to read, and sometimes write about my favorite sports teams (DC United and North Carolina respectively).
.
I guess that I am the kind of blogger that likes to make wry observations about the world around me and see if I provoke anyone to think about what they’ve seen. Maybe folks are having similar experiences and a small smile of recognition will play across their face as they read my latest. Maybe not. But if it does, well, that would be pretty strong satisfaction for me.
.
But ultimately, this blog is for me. A blog, somewhat counter intuitively, given that it is posted on the worldwide web, is a personal undertaking. And as such, a blogger needs to write in the way that makes them comfortable and that makes sense to them. Because even though a blog is out here for everyone to read, chances are quite strong that no one actually will.
.
But it is that chance, and that public nature of the blog, that makes me shake my head a little at bloggers who seem to live their lives just waiting for something juicy to happen in their real lives, so that they can run to the computer and blog about it immediately. Reporting about a fight with a loved one. A family squabble. A power struggle at work. A difficult client. Whatever. This part of blogging seems exhibitionist to me, and while I guess that is okay, it is not for me.
.
David Sedaris writes quite openly about how his family is sometimes guarded around him, letting him know that they don’t want to read about whatever is going on in their family in his next book, or hear about it on NPR. It’s understandable on their part, but an assumed risk that they seem to accept time and time again. Having him as part of their family becomes more important to them than keeping their stories out of the public eye. And though his stories are unforgiving in tone and viciously funny, it is clear to anyone who can understand, that they are written with love. And perhaps, that makes it okay.
.
Ultimately, if David Sedaris wasn’t willing to bare his soul, and that of his family with such complete vulnerability, he wouldn’t be one-third of the writer that he is. But he is an artist, and few can show through their writing the love that he does. And as a result, so much of the blogosphere comes off as whiny complaining by people about issues too trivial for anyone else to care about.
.
And perhaps my blog is just the same with a philosophical patina laid across the surface. If that is true, I apologize and encourage you to stop reading. But if it is not true, the come along for the ride into the second year of Your Darn Skippy.
No comments:
Post a Comment