As Emily begins to take flight and FBdN spreads its wings to fly in a more individual direction, I am compelled to revert to the meta-post. A rumination on blogging will hardly display the intense compactness and focus of one of Em’s entries, or the articulate and erudite humor routinely found at FBdN. In the latter’s case, there can be no dispute that a profession in writing was inevitable.
No, the meta-post (the one that seems like it’s never going to get started – this one!) is boring to others and extremely self-indulgent. But, since so few people read this blog (or even know about it), I am safe from any real consideration of audience. Or am I?
It is not a child’s journal, hidden safely in a closet or under the bed. This is a more public space. Family and friends presumably know that you’ve staked a claim to a certain corner of the virtual universe. They are not barred from reviewing you innermost secrets, should you choose to share.
An that’s the funny thing about writing. It reveals so much, often without meaning to. So while I’m posting pictures of vacation, promoting a political point of view, or suggesting a new collection of Brazilian music, I may let my guard down. I may want to.
Oh yeah, I’ll go meta with you. I don’t find this topic boring at all.
I think blogging gets a bum rap for being narcissism or voyeurism. You hear this all the time, particularly vis a vis Twitter and Facebook. “I really don’t care what somebody ate for breakfast” – that kind of thing.
Maybe there is some narcissism/voyeurism going on with making a diary public, but also think there’s something deeper going on, something along the lines of this:
http://mpomy.com/wordpress/?p=679
Humankind has an impulse to share. That’s why people starting painting on cave walls, right?
And even if a blog gets de minimis traffic, I think that’s cool. If you Google “Jen turner guitar” at the moment, result #11 is your FBdN post from a while back. You had a thought, you posted it, at least somebody (and not your sister or your college buddy etc) was interested.
Where it gets interesting, I think, is the notion of “innermost.” I promise you, no matter how anonymous I attempt or attempted to be on FBdN, I would never share my innermost thoughts. I may lean a bit personal, but I’m not about to go all id out there in public.
Then again, the public aspect is what makes blogging fun – how willing are you go to bump up against “innermost?” It’s kind of like a game of chicken.
Speaking of chicken, I have to cook dinner now.