Blogging about blogging
Saturday, July 17, 2010
♥ Saturday, July 17, 2010
I've set myself a question to answer. It is a sequel to the post "the moral duty to read", written about a year back. As it seems as though one cannot write about reading, without touching on the topic of writing, I will write about writing- and constrain it to the domain of blogging. The question i therefore ask is, "why blog?"
Being absolutely uninterested in the colloquial arguments for blogging- which in Singlish would range from "to update people what is going on lah!" to "got something to write then just write lor!" to "because emo what...", I'll instead explore a deeper conception and justification of blogging that fits a new world of information technology where the world is smaller but people are further apart.
My starting point is neither novel nor controversial. Blogging is a unilateral means to communicate. As unfascinating as this sounds, it is actually a crucial one. By admitting that blogging is a one way mode of communication, the rational mind would then be directed to two essential considerations: first, what the subject for communication is; secondly; why was such a means of communication chosen? The two are connected. Just like how I choose sms over emailing a note that I am going to be late for lunch, similarly, I choose blogworthy subjects to blog about. Even though such a choice is inherently subjective, the point i am making is undeniable: the message defines the means. Building on this, just as there is no sender without a receiver, no talk without an audience, so there is no blog without its readers. The target readers in the mind of each blogger, when he sets out his writings, influences the message. Admittedly, such considerations are not made conscious all the time. But they are there.
Now, it is precisely with a reasonable conception of blogging that we manage to find our justifications. And it at these three plain levels that we find good reasons for blogging. First, the message that cannot be said anywhere else; second, the means of communication that is unique to only blogging and third, the blogosphere is an audience like no other. The three might overlap but are still distinctive features of blogging. Ultimately, the gift of blogging lies in anonymity.
The message being shared is one that cannot be told anywhere else. Should it be spoken over the phone, it will fall short of being repeated with the same emotions or conviction to the next listener. More importantly, in bilateral modes of communication, the identity and character of individuals change the shape by which a message is being sent. A blogger is free from this as in a blog, it is only the group identity that weighs in on the blogger's mind. Not the individual's identity. And the readers' feelings can be ignored as long the blog is not written to a specific person. Such freedom is what a blogger enjoys.
The next freedom is in the means of communication. Ignoring the colloquial justifications- the freedom to put in photos, write in haphazard English, etc- we'll move to the real freedom of showing oneself. In a blog, where we've chosen, in absolute blank space, to write a specific post, the reader gets to ask, "why did he choose to write this at this point in time?" The reader gets to inquire into the relevance between his sharing and his life. The reader asks who the man behind the message is. And they do that whilst being absolutely anonymous. I do not know who will chance across this blog, and whether my previous readers will be reading this blog. But I know one thing is certain, I leave a little bit of myself behind for someone to find out more. Such freedom: you might find in a phone call to a person, or an email to a group of friends, but not to the same extent.
Finally, the blogosphere audience is like none other: they range from the obsessive to the indifferent; from the intellectual to the restless housewife; from the sibling to the lover. Even though their motivations differ, all are being told the same unadulterated story. In a sense, everyone reads the same message. And like separate and competing denominations: each has his own understanding. Another way in which this audience is different is that it is purely a matter of speculation who the audience actually is. True, many blogs grant access to only persons who are close- but even in such a category of persons the blogger isnt sure who is in fact reading! This means that the audience is, to a certain degree, an imaginery one. Apart from the sheer benefit of engaging the imaginative faculties, our main justification to write a blog is that our audience wants it. It is simple economics: demand and supply. And if you call it denial then it is a fast growing one: our denial is that our imaginery audience wants to hear from us! And if we are to stop writing, it must be for our them to tell us so.
In a nutshell, blog because you have no other way to say it; blog because you want to be free whilst saying it; and blog because you know people want to hear it. It is a form of self-gratification, no doubt.
