Moot Thoughts & Musings

Two years ago from today I started blogging.

You can't read the first few months of my blogging, because I didn't import from Blogger when I switched to Covblogs. (Well you can, but I was preparing to import and then decided not to, so it's hard to read, and it's pretty dumb, which is why I decided not to import it).

Blogging isn't like just normal journaling. At least it isn't for me. Part of the reason I didn't import my early blogging days is because in a sense I hadn't found my "voice" yet. I didn't really have anything interesting to write for myself or for other people. The case has sometimes been made that our blogs are for ourselves. But I think if one is going to publish something on the world wide web, even if only a small audience stops by, there should some awareness that you are writing for readers outside yourself.

In fact, maybe that's what has been missing from journals growing up, why sometimes I roll my eyes at their breathless quality (because I know my life is more interesting than what I recorded on those pages). Quite simply, I've been missing readers, and the blogging medium has given them to me. Oh, thank you, my dear ones!

Maybe the impulse to share is with all journalers. This need is illustrated in such cliches as "Dear Diary". We all know the book can't hear the author or respond, nevertheless the book is addressed by a term of affection. The book is anthropomorphized into a reader. Many journalers will speak of their books in the fondest of terms. (See L. M. Montgomery's Emily books for a really dramatized version of this.)

And even better, the book becomes the reader you want it to be. The diary can be regarded so affectionately, because it is the creation of the author. The author can fall in love with the Book/Reader because he/she has made it in their image. (I've said more regarding the "Pygmalion" syndrome.)

Blogging is different, though. There are real, live people reading, and if I want to have a relationship with my computer screen, that's okay, but I have to understand that everyone else will know, too. However, "Dear Lighted Display Unit" doesn't really have quite the same ring as "Dear Blank Pages Waiting to be Filled." I can't SEE the memory on a blog account, but I can see the beckoning of blank pages, which is probably why I still am so passionate about buying blank books, regardless of their fill potential.

Because of this public nature of blogging I think I've been forced to become a better writer. (At least, I hope so!) And I hope I continue to develop, which is part of the reason I blog.

In other news, check out what the unique medium of a blog can be used for: A blog conference on 11D about work/family issues (and work often meaning "academic work").

UPDATE: Continue the conversation on Hackenstar's blog.