"A solipsistic, self-aggrandizing journalistic-wannabe genre"
Isn’t that a great quote! I got that from an article arguing about this very piece of internet wonder: the blog. (BTW: Solipsistic means believing that only oneself exists, and that “existence” just means being a part of one’s own mental states. Good SAT word. We’ll have to start using that one. I just thought that some of you might want to know– oh, I forgot, I’m the only one around here!) Ok. Ok. I’ll admit it. When I first heard about blogging, I was not interested in the least! I thought that it was just about the dorkiest thing I had ever heard of apart from camping out for Star Wars weeks and weeks before it premieres. (Hello, it’s not going anywhere!) An on-line journal? What’s wrong with pencil and paper like everyone else does?! So, I resisted, but soon even I would be sucked in by the blog phenomena.
Back to the article (Las Vegas Review Journal, Opinion and Commentary, Wed., April 13– for any of you who still read the “real” news.). The thing that struck me about the article was the debate over whether bloggers are journalists or not. What?! Now, I’m supposed to think that I’m a journalist as-well-as God, because I have a blog? That’s pretty funny. It’s pretty funny that someone is actually upset about it. Maybe some of you do write for journalistic freedom, and that’s great. More power to ya’. However, this is just a whole lot of fun for me. I have atrocious spelling, and my brilliant Grammar skills have given way to colloquialism. I’m not trying to educate or sway anyone about anything (except maybe big hair and mini-vans!). I don’t know anyone who is… well, that’s not entirely true. David Duchovney has a blog chronicling the making of his latest film so that we all go and see it. He wasn’t the smartest guy in the FBI for nothing! (Sigh! The Thinking Girl’s Hunk.) Anyway… I’m having a great time communicating with my friends and family about our lives and stupid crap that we’d never get into “real” conversations about. And, there is a certain solipsistic, self-aggrandizing air to it all, but we have to find self-esteem somewhere! What’s wrong with the illusion that someone actually cares about what you think about Dodgeball and is hanging on your every written word? The “real” journalists are just jealous, because no one really cares what they think anymore. So, they should all get blogs and restore their shattered self-worth and bruised egos, because my sister-in-law would rather read about what I think about Jr. High kids and broken penises than what they think about blogs and the scandals in local politics. Then, they could write for the whole world, and the whole world will care and name them literary geniuses once and for all.
It’s not just the journalists… A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless out of protection for her bodily person and emotional well-being (you bloggers are a violent and vengeful lot! “The pen is mightier than the sword.”), has become concerned about the societal implications of blogs. Will no one speak face to face again? Will the hand-written letter be doomed to a Smithsonian exhibit? What horrors await us in cyber-space as blogs and instant messaging take over the world?! (OMG! I’m about to faint just thinking about it!) True; we all know that the written word lends itself to a lot more interpretation than face to face communication. A raised eyebrow speaks in one second what it would take two paragraphs to fully convey. So, I do understand the fear, but at least communication is happening. Maybe, it’s not most people’s preferred mode, but, hey, when is communication ever a bad thing? Aren’t most problems in life a result of really poor communication? So, if blogs help open the door to better communication between family and friends, I’m all for it! Too many people sit around afraid of technology and the new conveniences that it brings. Sure, there are dangers and pitfalls; now I can easily find a new friend in Germany or a “friendly” sex-offender across town. The internet requires the same user diligence and “intuition” that one would normally employ when meeting someone new. For once, I say hop on the technology train. If you’re just sitting there reading this, go start your own and don’t let those crabby, “real” journalists stop you!
Back to the article (Las Vegas Review Journal, Opinion and Commentary, Wed., April 13– for any of you who still read the “real” news.). The thing that struck me about the article was the debate over whether bloggers are journalists or not. What?! Now, I’m supposed to think that I’m a journalist as-well-as God, because I have a blog? That’s pretty funny. It’s pretty funny that someone is actually upset about it. Maybe some of you do write for journalistic freedom, and that’s great. More power to ya’. However, this is just a whole lot of fun for me. I have atrocious spelling, and my brilliant Grammar skills have given way to colloquialism. I’m not trying to educate or sway anyone about anything (except maybe big hair and mini-vans!). I don’t know anyone who is… well, that’s not entirely true. David Duchovney has a blog chronicling the making of his latest film so that we all go and see it. He wasn’t the smartest guy in the FBI for nothing! (Sigh! The Thinking Girl’s Hunk.) Anyway… I’m having a great time communicating with my friends and family about our lives and stupid crap that we’d never get into “real” conversations about. And, there is a certain solipsistic, self-aggrandizing air to it all, but we have to find self-esteem somewhere! What’s wrong with the illusion that someone actually cares about what you think about Dodgeball and is hanging on your every written word? The “real” journalists are just jealous, because no one really cares what they think anymore. So, they should all get blogs and restore their shattered self-worth and bruised egos, because my sister-in-law would rather read about what I think about Jr. High kids and broken penises than what they think about blogs and the scandals in local politics. Then, they could write for the whole world, and the whole world will care and name them literary geniuses once and for all.
It’s not just the journalists… A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless out of protection for her bodily person and emotional well-being (you bloggers are a violent and vengeful lot! “The pen is mightier than the sword.”), has become concerned about the societal implications of blogs. Will no one speak face to face again? Will the hand-written letter be doomed to a Smithsonian exhibit? What horrors await us in cyber-space as blogs and instant messaging take over the world?! (OMG! I’m about to faint just thinking about it!) True; we all know that the written word lends itself to a lot more interpretation than face to face communication. A raised eyebrow speaks in one second what it would take two paragraphs to fully convey. So, I do understand the fear, but at least communication is happening. Maybe, it’s not most people’s preferred mode, but, hey, when is communication ever a bad thing? Aren’t most problems in life a result of really poor communication? So, if blogs help open the door to better communication between family and friends, I’m all for it! Too many people sit around afraid of technology and the new conveniences that it brings. Sure, there are dangers and pitfalls; now I can easily find a new friend in Germany or a “friendly” sex-offender across town. The internet requires the same user diligence and “intuition” that one would normally employ when meeting someone new. For once, I say hop on the technology train. If you’re just sitting there reading this, go start your own and don’t let those crabby, “real” journalists stop you!
posted by Unknown at 9:10 PM
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