craveytrain

I get bombarded by questions. Why haven’t you posted anything? Why didn’t you blog about <insert event />? Do you want a bigger penis? No, I haven’t blogged in a while. It doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to talk about, but it may mean I don’t feel like talking about it. There have been many great and traumatic things happening in my life, but that doesn’t mean that i want to share them all. Blogging for me is sometimes soul purging. However, sometimes it is exposing my inner-most workings to the world. I have always tried to be honest and forthcoming on this. If I am not, what is the point of it? Why bother talking if you can’t be honest? However, my friends, my co-workers, my bosses, my family, my everyone knows about and reads this blog at some point in time. So anything I say can be scrutinized heavily.

If I have learned anything from my blogging, it’s the one cardinal rule, anything you say can and will be used against you. Granted, that story belongs more on Darwin Award list than anything. But it rings home with anyone who puts themself out there. So, why do you do it? A friend posted a theory of blogging and her rationale for being exempt. At first I agreed with her. I’m just rambling, I don’t care if anyone reads it. But to be honest, I want the world to read this, and I want the world to laugh when I make a joke. I want the world to cry when I tell a sad tale. I want the world to call for the resignation of anyone I don’t like. You know, completely normal things.

However, I don’t see this as narcissistic. Narcissism implies the cause for the action is based on self adoration, or at least obsession. I am sure there are a lot of people who blog strictly to see their words on the internet. However, there appear to be many more reasons why people may write something. For benign or malicious purposes, some people write to affect others. That hardly seems narcissistic. That is just the example that comes to mind.

That brings me to one of my favorite things about the internet. The equality of everyone. The expert and the novice have the same voice. I love that about this medium. If I disagree with an expert, I can call out the flaw (ironically enough, that is probably the most narcissistic thing I have ever said). I have seen lots of issues hashed out (and just as many become explosive differences of opinions). But the medium puts people on equal ground. For many bloggers, being a part of the community is more important than the individual.

I don’t blog for critical acclaim (that’s why I cook). I blog to share things with people. I blog because I honestly feel I am contributing to this world, however minute.

Oh, to answer the 3rd question, while the public answer is not necessary in private the real answer is always yes.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 4:01 pm and is filed under ramblings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.