Despite the fact that I spend the majority of my free time on the computer, I only recently learned what the word "blog" meant. At first, I heard it used in conversations between my peers. Soon, I started to see it frequently referenced in online news articles. And one day, I actually heard it on televised news. This spurred me to ask my fiance, Josh, about blogs.
When I asked him, there was a hint of amusement on his face in response to my ignorance. It seemed as everyone but me knew what blogs were. Fortunately, Josh enlightened me: "A blog is something people make online where people write about their lives and other stuff like politics."
But, that just didn't seem correct. I have always been interested in reading and especially writing. In middle school, I wanted to be a writer and I even joined a writing club. But, it didn't take me long to realize a very important truth: most people are far too busy with their own lives to care about the writings and thoughts of others (unless the writer is famous, perceived as extraordinarily talented, or simply lucky). If this "truth" were actually true, then why do blogs matter? Why do so many people seem to care about blogging? Why bother?
It did not take very long for me to discover that such a truth still did hold true. A quick perusal of almost any general message board or forum will reveal literally dozens of people begging others to read their blogs. The allure of blogs seemed to largely lie in making them and, for some, trying very hard to get others to read them. However, there does exist a significant handful of famous, talented, and lucky people whose blogs are eagerly read by thousands of people all over the world every single day. Based on these observations, it seems that this is why others care so much about blogs: they're a quick, simple means of self-expression and if you make one, there's a tiny chance that others just might read it.
1 comment:
Crystal, this is an outstanding first post. You're an excellent, clear writer who has the unique ability to create a narrative that captures a reader's interest. This is particularly interesting to note because it relates to another point you make in your post about this widely-used medium. As you write, it seems as if bloggers are madly trying to capture the attention of casual Internet users. I absolutely agree that one often hears the term "blog" in a variety of different contexts and media. Thanks for a wonderful first post and keep it up!
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