There's something about bloggers...
Last week in the lecture Jean mentioned a series of common problems with blogs, or at least with peoples perceptions of blogs and said she would come back to them, and THEN NEVER DID! SHOCK HORROR!
So, as a seasoned blogger, I thought I'd have a look at them myself.
- Uninformed
- Inaccurate
These faults are not actually the fault of the blog itself, but of the person writing the blog. So, is the author under some kind of obligation to only write things which are true? Obviously if their journal is academic or technical in nature, then the author should be making all reasonable attempts to only post correct information. However, Im reminded of a saying I once read - "Ive got a piece of advice for you. It's free, and worth what you pay for it." Blogs are a free webspace. Readers dont pay to read the information, so if you think an author writes incorrect information and you dont want to read said information, dont read the blog.
Also, on the Internet, there is a certain obligation on the reader to check the validity of any information gathered. If you read something on one website, and nowhere else, and automatically believe it to be true, then maybe the Internet is not for you.
- Badly Written
- Opinionated
- Boring
- Mundane
- Narcissistic
Once again these are all comments at the blogger themselves. And they imply something. That, in order to publish a blog, an author should be none of these things. That the author has an obligation to only post things which are well written, unbiassed, exciting etc. That is not the point of blogs at all. There are many different reasons for having a blog, and if youre reading someone whose reasons for having a journal clash with your own, dont read it!
If someone came up to me and said "Hey, I think your journal's boring and all you talk about is blah blah blah!", I'd ask why they were reading it. I didn't ask them to read it. I write it for myself, and also for the people who are friends of mine (either in real life or newly made online friends - NERD!!!)
So, I'm not saying having a journal is for everyone. Its not. Just like having a paper journal isnt for everyone. I could never get into it myself. But that doesn't mean Im going to undermine its value as a writing item, or its value to other people for whatever reasons they choose to have it. So if you dont like journalling, that's fine, but you might still be able to recognise the value they have for other people, no matter what the purpose of the journal might be.
posted by Liamo McGinniss @ 5:11 PM
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