The How and the Why

I never was a blogger before I took this class. A few times I had ventured to try and put my semi-creative writing skills to task by entering some vain entries in a diary-esque format, but it had never been substantive. My thoughts were rambling and not nearly as funny as they sounded in my head, in my own voice. There was no direction, and my interest waned. So then I am given the assignment of becoming a semi-regular blogger. Well, my initial thoughts toward the project were negative; I had developed stereotypes that bloggers were, by their nature, self-involved and therefore useless. Since learning more about the nature of blogs, I have seen this stereotype disproved thanks to my enlightenment at the words of Andrew Sullivan, as well as the more than capable fingertips of my fellow bloggers (Sydney, Sheena, Allie, and Mckenna). I now see blogging as a viable form of communication between people who run the gamut of intelligence from the barely grammatical to the virtuosic. Now I feel as though I have a basic understanding of the two major foundations for effective blogging; I now understand the how and the why.

The How:

How can I be an effective blogger on par with Andrew Sullivan? Well, you probably can’t– Sullivan has innate ability as a writer – but you can at least become a passing conversationalist, and that is what makes for a basic blogger. What we look for in our bloggers are people who are not as authoritative as the news anchor but also not as ignorant as the general populace. The blogger creates a colloquial middleman between the people in the know and the people in the “I don’t know.” In short, a good blogger can become a good blogger by reaching the level of intelligence of a friend that is smarter than you. Because a blogger’s best friend is balance, balance between intelligence and a conversational tone. So if you plan on venturing into the unrewarding world of blogging, make sure you put up a safeguard of colloquialism because it will help you two fold: people will understand you, and people will be less likely to assail you for being wrong if you broach topics in a fashion not unlike a colleague starting up a conversation at work. Don’t talk down to your audience, talk with them.

The why:

So why do we need bloggers? Well, unfortunately our generations are becoming lazier and lazier. Who has time to read an entire article on Cnn.com these days!?! We all do of course, but we choose not to, because hulu just uploaded a clip from glee that we have just got to watch. So the blogger cuts it down into bite-size need to know bits that the pressed for time can easily digest. But more important than what a blogger offers, is what a blogger represents. Go to blogspot, or tumblr, or any other blog start up site, you are always just clicks away from becoming a blogger. The successful bloggers in the blogsopshere were just like you or me at one time. They all wanted to say something but they had no soapbox to stand on, enter the world of blogs. In a technological world where your voice is stifled by the multitudinous screams of tweets and statuses, a blog offers you a quiet space where you, the blogger, can talk to your heart’s desire. And here’s the best part: against all odds, people will listen, and they’ll talk back.

Will I continue blogging? At this point in my life, no, not enough time. But I now see the value of blogging as more than just verbal masturbation on the Internet. With blogging we can be funny, we can be outspoken, we can have compromising political views. So long as you don’t sound like an idiot doing it, you will come across as someone who is just looking to have an intelligent conversation, and hopefully someone will engage you.