Bloggers always say: You don't have to read my work.Something similar to the argument that you can always turn the radio station or refuse to buy the book or surf over certain television channels – You can always choose to click away from my blog too.
But the point of this post isn't "if you don't like my blog, click away."
The issue: Is there VALUE in the act of personal blogging? Value in terms of me spending time doing it; spending time away from my other responsibilities or people important to me? In particular, I am interested in the personal blogger’s presumption that people will find their writing interesting enough to read, and possibly even comment.
For writers who are actually paid for their work and consider themselves a writer by trade, I understand that having a blog can be a useful tool to facilitate feedback that helps them hone their craft. But what about the average "mommy blogger?"
Am I indulging in something so essentially self-serving that it is really, at the most basic level, nothing more than an ego feeder?
"It's MY blog. I can say what I want here. I'm going to vent my internal dialogue in public and feel better about myself when the comments come in saying how nice I look or assuring me that I'm right or not alone or doing great. Because… Hey! IT'S ALL ABOUT ME."
(For a moment, suspend reality and disregard the issue of hateful comments/trolls. We all experience them sooner or later, but for the most part, a blogger's readers are a faithful and sympathetic audience of like-minded people who say nice things. You know, like virtual friends.)
Is there an “attention-grab” inherent in personal blogging that actually taints it? Is this a form of hubris that I should be repenting of, not indulging in? Is it not the height of presumption to think random people would be interested in my feelings and experiences? And worse yet, isn’t it arrogant to continue to feed that beast of egotistism once people start to show up and watch me do my blog thing?
How is it not considered absolutely ridiculous to make our personal journals and baby books public?
Go get some real friends already … ?
But the point of this post isn't "if you don't like my blog, click away."
The issue: Is there VALUE in the act of personal blogging? Value in terms of me spending time doing it; spending time away from my other responsibilities or people important to me? In particular, I am interested in the personal blogger’s presumption that people will find their writing interesting enough to read, and possibly even comment.
For writers who are actually paid for their work and consider themselves a writer by trade, I understand that having a blog can be a useful tool to facilitate feedback that helps them hone their craft. But what about the average "mommy blogger?"
Am I indulging in something so essentially self-serving that it is really, at the most basic level, nothing more than an ego feeder?
"It's MY blog. I can say what I want here. I'm going to vent my internal dialogue in public and feel better about myself when the comments come in saying how nice I look or assuring me that I'm right or not alone or doing great. Because… Hey! IT'S ALL ABOUT ME."
(For a moment, suspend reality and disregard the issue of hateful comments/trolls. We all experience them sooner or later, but for the most part, a blogger's readers are a faithful and sympathetic audience of like-minded people who say nice things. You know, like virtual friends.)
Is there an “attention-grab” inherent in personal blogging that actually taints it? Is this a form of hubris that I should be repenting of, not indulging in? Is it not the height of presumption to think random people would be interested in my feelings and experiences? And worse yet, isn’t it arrogant to continue to feed that beast of egotistism once people start to show up and watch me do my blog thing?
How is it not considered absolutely ridiculous to make our personal journals and baby books public?
Go get some real friends already … ?
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