I agree with Stefanac that bloggers are dismissed as “dilettantes” and “amateurs”--as individuals without any knowledge of that which they write about. Yet this overlooks the deep life experience of individuals who simply might not have the paperwork to prove the time they’ve spent thinking and articulating their ideas about a given topic. Blogs cannot become popular overnight, fellowship and the admiration of other bloggers cannot be one through fraud and misinformation. Bloggers do well if they are able to precisely articulate their knowledge, and that knowledge has a factual or relevant basis. I will cede, though, even a fool can have his followers.
Mr. Jalopy and I both enjoy the “[f]ast and loose” ambience of blogging. Sometimes I’ll write a blog post that turns into a promising short story or something I could better use for class, just because the swift and lax setting of the blog brought out my perfect pith or pathos. Such entries I secret away instead of casting them off into the ether, I’d rather publish them in print than let them languish online which puts my own perspective of “on print vs. blog writing” in a very interesting place.
Mr. Jalopy also wrote that “I am writing for my buddies.” I understand this is what he might bear in mind while he writes for his blog. But, with a blog so successful, and with such a massive following, it might be more accurate to quote Gertrude Stein: “I am writing for myself and strangers…”
There is also the mentioning of being “un-Google-able.” This is an alarmingly intriguing remark. On one hand, it expresses the consequences of having personal information out on the web, and on the other it also expresses a technology which would let any user find that information. It’s interesting Google is synonymous with this invasion of privacy in this statement.
Stefanac highlights several components that go into a good blog, including “personality.” I hope to use his recipe for my own blogging success in this project. I think my personality is too loud for this life, it certainly won’t be muffled or blurred over by virtual realtiy.
To the blogosphere!
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Zachary, I agree with your distaste on the usage of "writing for my buddies". I think it's actually quite bold for him to assume that, with such a large following and all, that he is only writing for his buddies. I also think it's a very dangerous call to make, as he may lose some form of proffesionalism that could further his career. I did, however, enjoy hearing another person's take on the "fast and loose" aspect and it was encouraging to hear that through such a casual atmosphere, some writing could lead to a short story or more.
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