Sunday, August 30, 2009

No one wants to hear about, what you dreamt about, unless you dreamt about.....them....

Why do people blog? I began a blog because I thought (naively) that people used them as online diaries. I thought the world had needed a new place to rest their thoughts on these busy tech driven journey's. And they had found it in the blog world. I understand better now that many a blog makes many a dollar, but I thought and still do think that most of them are written by people like me. And my friend Claire. And her friend Shirley...and the like. Just for fun. Just for me, and maybe you.

Was I wrong? And more than being wrong, should I not even be here? I am wondering if blogging is supposed to be used for very specific reasons and I just didn't know the rules and here I am out here throwing my weight around... But wait! There has to be plenty of room in this crazy world (wide web) for all sorts of online narratives. I hope to utilize this strange communication technique in a whole different way when I start up my own business. It is a great business strategy. No argument there. A lot of blogs come out of business. A lot of business comes out of blogs. Many of my favorite bloggers are making some cash money by just being themselves, by sharing their ideas (incredible ones) on very specific topics that need explaining. Like fashion. And technology. And gluten free living. And medicine. This is all amazing, and I'm glad it's out there. I'm not immediately headed in that direction at all, and very specifically, at casairlanda, don't ever intend to be. And I think that's ok. I guess what is throwing me for a loop is the disingenuous blogs masked as intellectual, thoughtful, creative blogs. Hmmm...what AM I so worked up about??

I feel like a well done blog is genuine. It begins with a purpose. If that purpose is a place to just drop your thoughts off (wink wink) then by all means go forth! If that purpose is to never have a purpse, then by all means go forth! If that purpose is to sell your goods and talk about how awesome your goods are, then by all means go forth! Just do it genuinely, with heart, with passion and with all your cards on the table. But what if that purpose is just to get as many followers as you can? What if your purpose is just to mimic what others are doing (and doing with heart) in the hopes of getting a book deal or ad dollars? You become the awful millions of youtube videographers grasping for that one viral video. You bore me at that point. If I can't feel a heart beating beneath those words, even if it's a heart that only loves money, then you've lost me as one of the all important 'followers'.

Why am I ranting (babbling)? I just read a little blurb (on a blog!!!) that was pretty cut and dry as to what a blog should be. They had a strong opinion that a blog about nothing, the seinfeld of blogs, is pointless. Pointless because who would want to follow a blog about you and your silly day to day observations? Who would ever comment on a blog that had nothing to do with them? And this is what freaked me out. I had never heard anyone describing blogging as such a straight forward popularity contest. Is that what this is? If so, I am back in high school and I am sitting under the stairs with just a few of my buddies and nobody else is paying any attention, and well, we are just NOT that popular. And we are having the most fun ever. And if I ever think of some amazingly point driven, book worthy, comment worthy blog idea maybe I'll understand what that all means...but for now I'm content with writing about nothing, with no focus or theme. That's why I started, that's why I've maintained. Sure nobody wants to read about something that doesn't pertain to them. In turn though, I don't want to write about anything that doesn't pertain to me...so right now you are getting a face full of blog rant and tomorrow maybe a little promised Ralph Maccio insight...who knows! who cares? nobody, and that's awesome.




"part of me will know deep down that i am pretty cool
the part of me that knows i never cared for being cool"
kimya dawson
being cool

3 comments:

Claire Brewer said...

Can I tell you how good life under the stairs with you is? Because I love you, and your silly day to day observations, and I'd "follow" them to the ends of the earth, friend.

Jesi said...

People LIKE Sienfeld! I do. : )

Hoot said...

Amy, you are my JLo. Or rather, you are my Matthew Mcconaughay.