I posted the following as a comment on Scott's blog in response to Bill Colrus giving up his blog, Right to the Chin, but thought it'd make a decent entry in it's own right, and in an effort to superficially overinflate the number of blogs entries in a given week, thought I'd cheat:
I completely agree with Bill that one of the downsides of blogging is that we have a tendency to be more adversarial online than in face to face conversation, and I think we must guard ourselves against allowing ourselves to hide behind the impersonal nature of the online world in order to take stabs at people we would not do otherwise.
Having said that, two of Bill's reasons not to blog are exactly reasons I have a desire to blog and to blog surf. He says he prefers to communicate in person. That's great, but as a stay home mom, that opportunity does not present itself readily to me, at least not without constant interruption to adult conversation. Blogging/online activity allows me to both fulfill my duties as a mom and satisfy my craving for conversation that doesn't involve the word "poop".
The other is that he has other outlets for writing. I don't. Not really. Not the way that I did when I was in school. I think back to how much I grew and learned through the process of writing, particularly as an Eng major in college, and I miss that challenge. Writing helps me think through and organize thoughts in a way that nothing else does, and blogging provides an outlet for it.
Another thing that blogging provides is a way to get to know/keep up with/dialog with people who are out of town/state. I like the fact that the online communities that I am involved in allow me to maintain relationships with friends and relatives I don't see often.
Willa-
Great post.
Notice I said "My Blog." For me, in my life, I had to make certain choices concerning my blog. For you, blogging is great. For me, it isn't anymore...
Thanks for your thoughts!
-Bill
great post. I blog because its communication between family and friends who aren't close by, and because its communication with friends I'll see during and after work. It shouldn't ever replace face to face communication, but that doesn't mean it can't be a good thing.
Posted by: JosiahQ at Noviembre 22, 2004 03:23 PMI left some comments over on my blog in response to the ones that people have left. I agree with most of the reasons that people gave. I did, however, try to point out that for me I see a dange in letting blogging take the place of true community. As Josiah said, blogging is "communication." There's a difference. Also, I get so obessed that it takes time away from family and other responsibilities. I wonder how much more effective I would be at debating if I spent less time surfing and more time reading?
Posted by: Scott at Noviembre 22, 2004 10:03 PMPS - Have you thought about doing a trackback to Bill's post and mine? It can help increase site traffic, as well as spur on more dialogue.
Posted by: Scott at Noviembre 22, 2004 10:04 PMUm, Scott, could you elaborate on the trackback? Honestly, what I know of trackback is that it's a word that sits next to the comments on everybody's blog. That's it. I know nothing. And do I want to increase traffic? Then everyone will know my what an inconsistent blogger I am! ;)
Posted by: Willa at Noviembre 22, 2004 10:20 PMTrackback is a way to link two blog posts. Say you read a post on someone's blog and it spurs you on to start a discussion on your own blog. Once you post it on your blog, you send what's called a trackback "ping" to the other guy's blog. If a post has any trackbacks, you'll see it next to the comments link:
For example:
Trackbacks (3)
When you click on the trackback link you get something similar to a comment box, except that instead of comments there is a link to another blog, including the post title and a short excerpt (usually 250 characters or less). If you go over to Bill's blog you can see an example of where I pinged his post, except that I accidentally did it twice.
I am not sure how to send a trackback ping with Chattablogs (Movable Type), but generally you need the following information:
Hey, Willa! I finally read your blog and really enjoy it. Have a great Feliz Navidad!
Cindy