So according to Andrew Sullivan, "blogging is intoxicatingly free...like taking a narcotic." Thats ironic coming from somebody who was arrested for drug possession in Cape Cod on July 13th, 2009. Anyway, after reading Sullivan's article I found that he raised many very interesting points about the uniqueness of blogging, and what makes it such an addictive hobby.
One of the first points that Sullivan makes that I found myself thinking about was how other types of writers such as novelists and journalists have extended periods of time to plan their writing and when it's done there are professionals to look it over. For bloggers on the other hand, the deadline is now and you are your own editor. Once you click the Publish Post button, that writing is gone and you cant get it back. What makes it even harder for bloggers is that once they publish something with an error there is no section of the blog the next day that can correct the mistype or inaccurate statistic. You're stuck dealing with vicious emails or response posts telling you how stupid you are for misspelling a word or that your writing is no longer credible because you had a few incorrect numbers.
Another compelling point that Sullivan makes is the idea of "being yourself" when you blog. I found it really interesting how he talked about bloggers attempting to hide themselves from their audience. I think if you approach blogging with that kind of attitude, you can not possibly write an attention grabbing blog. I think this shows that in order to write a blog that is truly you, the blogger must have some courage and self confidence. The next point Sullivan makes, is the one I found most interesting. He talks about how over the course of his blogging career the posts he remembers most are the ones that have to do with the most emotional issues. He talks about how he and the readers of his blog experienced emotional events such as 9/11 together. I very much agree with Sullivan when he says that catastrophic events such as 9/11 force out the "real" you and that it's impossible to write a blog during trying times without revealing a lot about yourself and creating a strong bond with your readers. However, despite this personal connection that can be made from blogging, I disagree with Sullivan because I think many personal blog/websites are losing their individuality. Sites such as Perez Hilton that were once started by a single aspiring soul are now carried out by others and Hilton himself does little to actually maintain the site.
The last few points that Sullivan made were also ones that I found to be interesting. He finished the article by talking about why making a successful blog is much harder than writing say, an article or book. I think the main reason for this belief is that traditional literature is expected to have been planned out and well edited. Blog posts, are written spontaneously and can be edited by one person: the writer. The last point and maybe most important point Sullivan makes is that no matter what blog you are on you will always see two sides of the spectrum, unlike traditional literature which can lean in a single direction. The reason for this being that because blogs are all connected there is sure to be a link to a the opposing side's argument.
I enjoyed reading Sullivan's article, and I now understand why blogging is like taking a narcotic.
After reading your post compared to Sullivan's article it became clear that you and Sullivan are on a very similar page. Blogging is revolutionary and it is something that is becoming extremely popular in the postmodern world. Feeding off your energy, I too understand why blogging is like taking a narcotic. After reading this concept I went to dictionary.com only to find that a narcotic is "anything that exercises a soothing or numbing effect or influence: Television is a narcotic for many people."
ReplyDeleteI found it comical that television was once compared to a narcotic before blogging came into the picture. Television lets you seep into another world while providing you with new and insightful information. After reading Sullivan's article Blogging is television on steroids. Not only does blogging let you seep into another world but this new revolutionary discovery lets you interact and actually became apart of the world that previously seemed untouchable.
Blogging lets readers seep into a world beyond what they are use to and they are able to express their emotions onto a page. As you pointed out, it allows people to gain the courage to be themselves which is a rare visual for those who accustomed to constantly editing their thoughts.
Although I definitely agree with everything you have written about why blogging is so addictive, there is one concept that I was ambivalent about. When you mentioned Perez Hilton's website losing its individuality it made me question where you got this information from. When I was watching Sullivan's interview he stated that although he has interns doing a majority of the research, he is primarily in charge of the blogging. Sullivan says verbatim, "Nonetheless it's still me." This supports his idea of an individual bond between the writer of the blog post and the reader. After seeing how Sullivan handles the intimacy of blogging, how do you know that Perez Hilton does not do the same?
ReplyDeleteTaking this new information upon myself, I read up on recent blog posts pertaining to the subject. According to a blog written by Kaye with the title, "Does Perez Hilton use Stunt Doubles," you are not the only one to believe that Perez Hilton "does little to actually maintain the site."
In my opinion, a lot of Sullivan's article is easy to agree with, as much of it is fact. For instance, the fact that the process of blogging is instant, and as you mentioned, eliminates many grueling processes that writers must go through. Instead of their being an author, publisher, editor, and more, there is just one person whose opinion matters and does all the work: the writer of the blog.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with the assertion that catastrophic events, such as the mentioned 9/11, force a blogger to be real and reveal a lot about his/her self. I believe that one of the things that makes blogging so great is the individuality that shines through each blog. Each blog is personalized and gets as deep as its author wants it to get. Thus, if the writer is a shy, introverted character, he/she may very well respond to an event like 9/11 in a way that doesn't reveal too much about him/her self, or may not even respond to catastrophic events at all.
Although I agree with your opinion that websites, like Perez Hilton's, are losing their individuality, I think that the individuality of blogs still remain. Each blog is different and unique in its own way. The author has full decision making power and can make the blog plain, colorful, full of hyperlinks, only about airplanes, discuss strictly the effect of feeding fruit to animals, or anything they want it to be. This makes blogging fun, as each blog is essentially the soul of an individual, no matter how personal it may, or may not, be.
Many of your ideas about blogging seem to be very similar to those of Sullivan’s. One aspect of your post, and Sullivan’s article, that I strongly agree with is the part about being your own editor. I found it very ironic, and yet completely true what Sullivan said about this. The irony is found in the sense that many people consider the instantaneous manner of the internet to be the undoing of grammar and all other literary elements. However, when it comes to blogging, it is quite the opposite for the blogger. For the first time in journalism, this blogosphere has required the writers to be their own editors; able to see their flaws and correct themselves.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Soph disagreeing with the realness or revealing nature of a blogpost evolving around a catastrophic event, I’d have to take Sullivan’s side on this. Of course, I see the point you’re making involving different personality types such as introversion and extraversion. However, I believe that a catastrophic event such as the terrorist attacks on 9/11 would allow just about anyone to express their instant raw emotions, revealing a lot about the person they are. Furthermore, Sullivan refers to any e-mail that may be sent in the midst of anger, before the writer has had a chance to calmly reassess the situation. This situation may not involve a catastrophic event, but just like a blogger, the writer of the e-mail has let their raw emotions out on the computer, with no chance of getting them back. Bloggers must be willing to take these risks in order to create the compelling blogs that most people look to read.