Navel Gazing on Blogging

(This entry is in response to Man Eegee's post today about the purpose of blogging.)

I was thinking about the days before blogging and the internet last nite and the fact that, despite the great communications tools we now have, those who were concerned about issues in the "old days" were able to be connected by many means so they could make their voices heard.

Whether word was spread via church gatherings, coffee shop talk, union meetings, the good old kitchen table, the pony express or through the posting of flyers, people have always been able to reach their like-minded comrades to effect change.

I wondered then if we sometimes exaggerate our sense of self-importance when we hail the use of the new technologies as the quintessential tools of communication. The internet makes things more instant, that is true, but when we realize that a vast majority of people still don't even know what a blog is we actually still have to resort to the ways of the old days - like ManE's family gatherings - in the end.

My daughter's fiance gave me his impression of my blog the other day. "Pretty intense" was the verdict. He follows the news but nowhere near as much as I do. And, he's a family guy. They have 2 kids and a very busy life. I'm a single empty-nester with a lot of time on my hands. They do know, however, that if they need details about what's happening in the world, they can count on me to sum things up in a way that makes sense.

I think the strength of blogs relates to how those of us involved with them boost each other by providing more detailed information and support than can be found in the mainstream, but I am concerned about the echo chamber effect; the focus on the more popular blogs - to the detriment of what are probably some very significant blogs out there that we haven't even found yet; the sheer volume of information that we subject ourselves to and disseminate every day; the loss of focus at times (as ManE mentioned with the gas price issue, which is a huge concern around kitchen tables these days as opposed to, say, the intricate details of the Plame Affair); the inability to, at times, formulate concrete solutions that actually have a hope of being heard or implemented, the often dashed hope that we have the power to influence party officials and the tension between our ability to conceive ideas and responses quickly while the bureaucracy of governments and corporations takes years to catch up to us.

Finally, in response to ManE's question: "Why do you blog?", I suppose my answer is, "because I can". I certainly can't deny that it would be frustrating to write each day without the possibility of an audience but, no matter how many people read what I write, I still feel that need to get the word out about issues that are important to me: war, human and civil rights, justice, abuses of power and the pain that we all need to heal from. As the saying goes, "pain is inevitable; suffering is optional".

Through writing, I'm able to express myself best in a way that comes naturally. I'm one of those people who thinks in terms of prose. I formulate, dissect, and compose. Blogging is simply an expression of that and I'm fortunate that some people actually do take the time to acknowledge my thoughts. So, while there are many pitfalls to this still nouveau trend, the need to communicate - to be part of a community - is a force that will give rise to many unique methods of interacting. Blogging is just the latest formulation.