Blogs are a funny thing

I keep my blog as a type of online journal. One that keeps me writing and isn't some secret journal that I think no one reads. Fine, here it is. Read it if you wish. Or don't. Whichever. Not hiding it means I don't' have to worry about someone finding it. Also, I just like to write and express myself and share myself through the written word. I've always been drawn to it.

Blogs aren't really writing though, most of the time. They are often rants or unsupported arguments or tales of a day-in-the-life. I've seen some that talk about the most mundane details of a person's day. I wonder who reads that and why people write it. I wonder why the writer is trying to say - if anything.

Blogging is interesting because it's easy, global publishing. Most people can do it and like things that most people can do, it produces a lot of crap. Democratic means are a beautiful and grotesque thing. I keep up with about a dozen blogs and randomly follow links to many others. It's an odd world when you keep up with friends and even some strangers via their journals - never making contact, just checking in and seeing what's new. Or not new.

As a writer, blogging provides interesting challenges. Write regularly without a deadline. Make essays that say something about you and the day, but in the end piece together to collectively show a well-rounded self-portrait. Make first drafts that are releasable. Know you'll put some stinkers out there, but just let them be. It's a great exercise in finding your voice and exploring styles and topics. It's interesting to see what people relate to and what they don't.

I saw a blog today of someone I know and I thought "people just have no shame anymore. " Blogging and the net have made us all celebrities in our own mind, invading our own privacy for ratings. People feed this. I started my blog thinking my family would read it, but now I think it's mainly people I barely know, if I know them at all. Voyeurism or perhaps genuine interest brings people here. Perhaps they stay, perhaps they don't. People I barely know knowing my innermost thoughts. Interesting and frightening. Thought provoking. Amusing.

In my inner circle, few of my friends and family read this, making it something of a private place. It's the journal no one reads because they can. It may not work for people who don't know me, but it works for others. Reverse psychology is fun.