September 20, 2004
Why This Blog?
Phil explains why he started blogging and it's a much better reason than why we started this blog. Essentially, I was already spending several hours a day reading blogs and a number of my friends had started blogs of their own. So, I figured, hey! I don't have enough to say on my own to have a blog, but if we all pitch in I bet we could have a pretty good group blog. Of course, it turned out that when given 8 hours of free time a day, I do, in fact, have enough to say to run a blog on my own. Not to denigrate the contributions of my fellow bloggers, of course, but my volume alone could have kept a blog going despite their many excellent contributions. I say "could have" though since my output has dropped way, way off since starting school. Now I'm writing so much for classes that I rarely feel like writing something here (rarely in relation to what I used to do).
So, the genesis of this blog is unglamorous and boring. What's more interesting (to me at least) is why we've kept it up for so long. It will be a year in December, so we must find something enjoyable or useful about blogging. I like having a place where I can discuss politics and other things with intelligent people who don't all have the same views. It's helped clarify my own and change some of my opinions as well as given me quite a political education. Of course, the political discussions have fallen largely by the wayside since I'm not as obsessed with the day-to-day minutiae anymore. What else is there then? For one, it's a forum for my random thoughts and observances—a place where I can work towards my own understanding while hopefully prompting a conversation with others. It's useful to me, first and foremost. I don't care about you readers. You're nothing to me! Kidding, of course. I love it when people comment. It reminds me of the old BBS days when I had a vibrant discussion board. Some days we'd have over 200 posts. It was sick. Obviously this blog is nothing like that, but when the discussions take off they tend to be of a much higher caliber and hence, more useful and interesting.
Ramble, ramble, ramble... that is part of the fun of blogging. Rather than worrying about whether I've split an infinitive, left out a comma, or organized my thoughts well, I can just start typing and leave it at that. Fun stuff.
Speaking for myself, blogs and discussion boards are fun as an intellectual exercise and as a means of bouncing ideas off of real people. An earlier post compared the blogosphere to the earlier world of the coffeehouse--I think blogging is a space for a more involved discussion than a coffeehouse without the restrictions and concerns about correctness and credibility involved in journalism or academics.
With regard to this blog though, it's a great way to continue intellectual dialougue with people I care about.
Same here (as I said in my post). It's a bit sad that the discussion has fallen off a bit in the last few months. We haven't seen a thread go past 10 posts in quite a while.
I blame you.
-I think blogging is a space for a more involved discussion than a coffeehouse without the restrictions and concerns about correctness and credibility involved in journalism or academics.
If thats true why do i get so much flack for the things I post?!?! In the words of Homer Simpson "This is just a popularity contest"
Because everyone hates you. Go eat some worms. :)
You're right... we do sometimes take this thing too seriously, probably the result of being academics... or maybe just being nerds.. I dunno...