i am a lonely blogger unlikely to change the world
So says Prof. Michael Keren from the University of Calgary. According to this article (courtesy of ST):
[...] Michael Keren, who has written “Blogosphere: The New Political Arena,” suggests individuals who bare their souls in blogs are isolated and lonely, living in a virtual reality instead of forming real relationships or helping to change the world.“Bloggers think of themselves as rebels against mainstream society, but that rebellion is mostly confined to cyberspace, which makes blogging as melancholic and illusionary as Don Quixote tilting at windmills,” the author says.
I don’t know if I want to change the world, but as someone who owns a blog for x number of years, I find it very blah that people would write books about blogging.
“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Blogging”, “Ultimate Guide to Blogging”, “Blogs Rocks: and other blogging delusions” etc with simplistic, overwhelmingly general bold statements such as the one uttered in CSI: Miami (or NY) not long ago; “Bloggers love to leave hidden messages in their blogs”, are utter crap.
Maybe 5 or 10 years down the road, yes feel free to write whatever psychological theories associated with blogging and how it has affected teens and their transition into adulthood and how bloggers *did* change the world, but right now, I *think* it’s a mash of rubbish, even when talking about blogs in the US and UK (and of course Canada).
Sure, the Internet has taken over many people’s lives; today I can’t imagine what it is to be without Internet connection (though I can go without Internet for a week), e-mail is so easy to use and plays an important role in communicating with lots of people that I normally wouldn’t contact, and websites and blogs give me an alternative view of the mainstream media, which is fabulous.
But I actually have a blog, and as for now I am comfortable enough to say this: there are no rules in blogging, not really anyway.
Feel free to read all the “Top Ten Blogging Mistakes” written by other bloggers. But if you are all right with your blog, what do you care what other people think? (obvious rip-off from a Feynman classic).
One of my favourite blogs, Demented Reality has a layout that I rather dislike. Yet I return to his blog every week (in high hopes that he would have updated). Michael Ooi writes on a blog that’s grey on black, which my eyes in their advancing years cannot take (hence I highlight whatever I’m reading, and so on and so forth). But he likes his blog, I like that he likes his blog, so what right do I have to comment on the template? Zero, nada, zilch.
If you are not looking to compete with the network of bloggers making $$ via blogs, and you feel comfortable with your blog, don’t change (since you are not likely to change the world anyway :P)
What about getting into trouble with the law, as Jeff and Rocky so recently exemplified? Apparently according to Jeff and Rocky, they have the right to write within jurisdiction of the law, and that includes writing and exposing NSTP’s flaws so obvious in their faces. Apparently according to NSTP, that’s defamation and they are within their rights to take action against defamation.
It is going to be a landmark case for bloggers and the blogosphere in Malaysia, but honestly speaking, I wouldn’t want either party to win. Don’t really feel like elaborating.
The only example I could associate with blogging is this: blogs are like cars. You double park your car somewhere, you get the summons, not the car.
(Cars have rules, that is for JPJ to deem it fit to be driven. Blogs on the other hand, if the html and css are not correct, then it would be published in a weird way, and would be un-read-able anyway. So, in this case, tak pass.)
That is why I quite tulan with people who have never driven a car before in their lives, bought one, pimp it up and exclaim to the world how hot it is to drive in the car. Wrote a manual on the car too.
Fuck, I am really deviating from the topic. Will continue tomorrow. Or something.
“living in a virtual reality instead of forming real relationships or helping to change the world.”
Isn’t the blogosphere a valid world yet?
That line from CSI was really -_-”
Some people really don’t have a clue about this whole blog and blogging business.
I leave hidden messages in my blog all the time!
You should try it some time, just put something between <!– –> comment tags.
Eg. <!– click my damn ads! –>
OK, more seriously… I write because I can. More importantly, I want to share knowledge/information and improve my writing skills at that.
If somehow, someway, somebody benefited from things I wrote in my blog, then I’m happy. It’s simply a process of giving back to the community.
@lingghezhi: “Isn’t the blogosphere a valid world yet?”
It is a valid “cyber” world.. but not a real physical world.
I agree that the majority (not necessarily all) of internet bloggers are from the “introverted” community who finds it hard to express themselves vocally.. and these type of people usually (not most of the time) are loners, reserved, shy, or only have a few friends.. but they are more independent and self-controlled. All this while, introverted people have been rather silent or maybe just talk to themselves regarding certain opinions in this world. Thanks to the emergence of the internet… it has become the main medium for this part of community to express themselves, talk, discuss, about anything and everything freely. That’s why we can see sometimes those people who are loud and strong in the internet came out to be silent and lack of communication skill in the real world. They still have strong stance though. But looks like some people are trying to shut them up back realising that the voice in the internet today are as loud and as powerful as those in the mainstream media.
Just my 2 cents..
once upon a time, i wrote an entry indirectly dissing a certain (in)famous shoe/sportswear brand. my uncle in the States “stumbled” upon my blog when his friend told him about it, realised it was mine and told me to close the blog or to remove the entry. reason being, I might get sued for defamation. I took the entry down.
I believe the power of (written) words can change the world. if not, how do self-help books sell? another thing, it is not about you -wanting- or -intending- to change the world. people use the knowledge they gain in whatever ways they want, beyond your control.
how can we be accused of planting the seed when the seed can only morph with water and sun? and these water and sun are the readers.
oh, and I wonder if bloggers will get into trouble by writing really really good stuff about a controversial topic?
and the power to be are trying to take away the last available space for us to voice out our own grouses (and life?)
Never underestimated the power of the word.
Your eyes old liao meh? I thought you’re younger than me…
lingghezi: nah itÂ’s virtual, and i would like to keep it that way
fa: but they write books about it, appear on tv and what not some more
so great, i wanna too! maybe i can go on tv and talk kok about whatever dr buckaroo specialises in.. haha that would be amazing 
fluid dynamics, was it?
azmeen: nice one
zemms: damn, you just wrote my part 2
S: yeah i remember that one
iÂ’ve been told to remove many stuff by my own peps, some remain some donÂ’t. i developed a habit of deleting older posts too, as and when i grow older and find them irrelevant. some lah.
stupe: i donÂ’t think they are?
moo_t: word!
michaelooi: but my eyes are older…
hmmm.. what’s the top 10 blogging mistakes?
Heck, I don’t care about changing the world.
As long as I get some hot chica groupies I’ll be mor e than satisfied. *LOL*
this reminds me of wiping away some earlier post. hmmm…. time for spring cleaning!
But there MUST be some secret message tersirat in suanie.net. It’s so strangely appealing to me…
I just want to make people laugh.
Relaks ahh….
’so what right do I have to comment on the template? Zero, nada, zilch.’
You have every right to comment. In fact, if you find something wrong with it, as a friend you have a right to try to point out what is wrong … but, he has the right to ignore your advice and even tell you where to put that advice.
You just don’t have the right to DEMAND that he change it. [And I'd advise diplomacy in anything that may involve things which can be taken as negative comments].
‘individuals who bare their souls in blogs are isolated and lonely,’
I woudl say individuals who bare their souls ANYWHERE are normally isolated and lonley. So, the statement doesn’t seem to be directed at ALL BLOGGERS, just the ones who bare their souls. [And of course, there are probably a lot who DON'T bare their souls but it could be construde that way. For instance, just mentioning what you did on the weekend isn't necessarily bareing one's soul and having a personal opinion on politics also isn't necessarily bareing ones soul].
But the ‘virtual reality’ world of the internet being a place where people THINK thenselves something special, when in the real world they aren’t, isn’t something new. For instance, anyone who has been to an old 2600 meeting might have run into 1337 #4×0r5 … or at least they said they were elite when you met them on line … and in real life Ragnor the Slayer and Extreme Hacker 69 are just two pimply teenagers who couldn’t code their way into a ZX80 with no security sitting on their own home network without a script that someone else wrote.
So, really, nothing new here, move along.
The article didn’t actually say that the professor said ‘all bloggers’ bare their souls mind you, so it is difficult tosay what he really thinks without either talking to him, or reading his book.
If he does beleive that all BLOGGERS are a bunch of lonely, isolated people living in a deluded world of make believe, then I’d say he’s wrong.
The Blogosphere is as legitimate a place as anywhere else that people can meet in cyberspace or meatspace. As such, you get all sorts of individuals with their own agendas who get all sorts out of the activity of blogging.
I’d say the reasons are as individual as …well, the individuals doing it. Sure, there are sad lonely, isolated bloggers out there, but there are people like that in meatspace. It’s just a new medium for them to be lonely in while connecting with other individuals who are in a similar situation [and others].
After all, the author does say that some bloggers reach CELEBRITY status, which to me says that the author is differentiating between bloggers. I’d say the headline has [as per usual] been created to make people sit up and take notice.
I mean, if a blogger was really attention starved they can do a lot of things to get attention [and a few Singapore bloggers come to mind when I say that ... not that I'd say ALL Singapore bloggers are like that ... just the ones I'm thinking of, and I ain't gonna mention names!]
Of course, there is also the other side of the coin. What if the blogger is a sad lonely individual and they DO GET THE ATTENTION they creav from their blog. Obvious if the need is being met then they ahve achieved their needs.
And speaking of needs, surely if we think about Maslows heirarchy of needs etc, if the bloggers need for attention is NOT being met [as the article suggests], then the blogger would STOP blogging. After all, psychology says we do everything because it meets a need. [Or as Dr Phil puts it, there is always a pay off].
So, the article would be incorrect in suggesting that the sad isolated blogger is left sad and isolated … they must be getting something from blogging, else they’d cease blogging.
arghhhh you all wrote my part 2 liao!! grrrrrrrr
If bloggers are isolated, imagine what people who _write_ about bloggers live like *rolls eyes*
Wooops! WE Did? We bad! Sorry. I didn’t even know there was a part two coming! Ai Carumba!
*runs before Suanie’s throwing knives hit me in the head! Uses other commentors as human shields during escape*