Why Blog?

[Abraham]

I have little understanding of their purpose.

I've sampled a few of them and for the most part they appear to be personal journals of varying quality from laughable to average.

I guess they're harmless hobbies for the scribblers of such. Maybe they satisfy some ego need to be heard? Hey, look at me. No really! LOOK AT ME!!!

I can't imagine regularly reading someone's amateurish writing regarding their opinions or interests. Why would I or anyone else be interested in what Joe Banal thinks when I've high quality, professional writers and real experts in a wide variety of interests to read?

I've an acquaintance who insisted I read his "blog". I did. It was painful. He's a nice enough guy and I like him, but man, his writing is, ah, embarrassing to read. It's awful. And, he's proud of it. Poor guy doesn't realize he's like another acquaintance who's taken twelve or so guitar lessons. This guy's absolutely convinced he's Eric Clapton and pleads for you listen to him murder music. Ugh!

I guess blogs and the internet are something like "American Idol" without the leavening of Simon Cowell.

[WildBill]

I have little understanding of their purpose.

I've sampled a few of them and for the most part they appear to be personal journals of varying quality from laughable to average.

I guess they're harmless hobbies for the scribblers of such. Maybe they satisfy some ego need to be heard? Hey, look at me. No really! LOOK AT ME!!!

I guess blogs and the internet are something like "American Idol" without the leavening of Simon Cowell.

I think blogging is a way for the average person to have a voice. We don't have our own TV or radio show, have a column in a magazine or newspaper, so it's one of the few ways to communicate with people outside of your own social circle. I agree most are pretty horrible, but some are, at least, entertaining.

[Captain Matt]

On average I don't think blogs are any worse than newspapers today.

[jimlongley]

Abraham, just by posting, you are practicing a rudimentary form of blogging, what purpose did you have?

[Liberty]

Why write?
Why post on an internet forum?
The answer lies in the mind of the writer.

[NcongruNt]

I have little understanding of their purpose.

I've sampled a few of them and for the most part they appear to be personal journals of varying quality from laughable to average.

I guess they're harmless hobbies for the scribblers of such. Maybe they satisfy some ego need to be heard? Hey, look at me. No really! LOOK AT ME!!!

I can't imagine regularly reading someone's amateurish writing regarding their opinions or interests. Why would I or anyone else be interested in what Joe Banal thinks when I've high quality, professional writers and real experts in a wide variety of interests to read?

I've an acquaintance who insisted I read his "blog". I did. It was painful. He's a nice enough guy and I like him, but man, his writing is, ah, embarrassing to read. It's awful. And, he's proud of it. Poor guy doesn't realize he's like another acquaintance who's taken twelve or so guitar lessons. This guy's absolutely convinced he's Eric Clapton and pleads for you listen to him murder music. Ugh!

I guess blogs and the internet are something like "American Idol" without the leavening of Simon Cowell.

As WildBill stated, it is a way to express oneself. There are lots of blogs that do very little than spout drivel from some schmoe about whatever it is he thinks is important. Then again, we have the same kind of thing going on in the established media. There are also folks who are gifted writers and storytellers. You don't have to read any of them. You can also pick and choose which ones you do read, just like with traditional media.

Blogs fill a specific niche for a specific group of readers. There is an entire community of gun blogs out there, many of which are quite informative and entertaining. One of the more notable blogs (and the first gun blog I ever started following) is called The Lawdog Files. Lawdog is an LEO who works for a sheriff's department up in North Texas. He was the son of an oil worker, and grew up in oil-rich areas of Africa. His stories from those days are some of the best short stories I've read. He also has incredibly entertaining stuff from his LE career. The guy is a skilled writer with an excellent command of the English language. Here are a couple of stories to read that would be a good primer for reading his blog:

It ain't the lizard in the fight, it's the fight in the lizard.

The Pink Gorilla Suit

Blogs are an outlet of creative expression. Anyone can start one, but not everyone is good at it. The thing is, the freedom needs to be there for anyone to do it in order for the good to come out of the rough. To do otherwise would doom the media to the current state of popular music, where you have a few privileged folks with a lot of power determining who gets heard. A result of that predicament is your above-mentioned American Idol - a show where the music industry promotes itself, while fixing the entire thing and then touting the results as the "will of the people".

I've recently started my own blog, not because I crave fame or want to be heard by the world over, but because I had a desire to express myself for others to read and enjoy the camaraderie of other like-minded individuals. Just as is the aim of this forum, I also wish to spread awareness of the realities of the RKBA and demystify the popular view of guns and folks who own them as portrayed by the mainstream media. I have no delusions of grandeur about my writings, and fully concede that I am not the most skilled scribe around. You may not like my writings, but I take no offense at that fact. There are folks who do, and as long as I can contribute something to the community or even simply keep a record of selected thoughts on a specific set of subjects, that's all I really need. You can take a look at the "blogroll" bar on the right side of my site to see the folks whose blogs I have found to be interesting and informational.

For many, blogs are an informal sort of communication. It allows people insight into other parts of the country or world that they would not ordinarily be privy to. A sort of cultural exchange, really. They also serve to spread information and news along specific topics that would not be seen by readers in their usual daily lives. Blogging is a part of the "new media", where information is spread by a large set of aggregate individuals, rather than centralized outlets such as News corporations. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. Some of the disadvantages you are already aware of - a high level of noise and extraneous or misleading stuff put out there without a system of checks. One could argue that this same problem is now occurring on a large scale in the popular traditional media as well. The advantages are great - there is no "select few" in control of what does and does not get put out there. Anyone is free to publish their own articles and any subject imaginable. For a practical application of this, take a look at one of the many things these forums and Texas3006.com has been able to accomplish. Folks have become informed about businesses who wish to exclude us based on the simple fact that we carry concealed handguns, licensed by the State of Texas. I am convinced that without this forum and the Texas3006.com website, we'd still be seeing 30.06 signs at Taco Cabana as well as other businesses (Alamo Drafthouse, for one) that would not have gotten the bad publicity from us otherwise.

Some folks use blogs as a simple form of updating friends on what's going on in their lives. A prominent example of this phenomenon is Facebook. From simply re-establishing contact with long-lost friends and family to writing about everyday events (lots of young parents like to talk about and post pictures of their kids). Facebook serves this purpose beautifully.

In general, blogging is simply a new form of communication. How that venue is used and received is up to the blogger and the reader.

[WildBill]

What he said.

[Morgan]

a lot of blogging is simply "what's going on in my life" type stuff rather than sending out a mass email to a bunch of people, I post on my blog and those friends who want to see it can go look. I'm in blog-rings with a lot of friends and so I can tell when they're updated without going. It's fun. I enjoy it. I don't spend a lot of time on the phone with friends, becuase I don't like the phone, but knowing what friends are up to on a more up to date basis is nice, for me.

The tag line on my blog is self deprecating. Blogger. n. Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do.

[WildBill]

a lot of blogging is simply "what's going on in my life" type stuff rather than sending out a mass email to a bunch of people, I post on my blog and those friends who want to see it can go look. I'm in blog-rings with a lot of friends and so I can tell when they're updated without going. It's fun. I enjoy it. I don't spend a lot of time on the phone with friends, becuase I don't like the phone, but knowing what friends are up to on a more up to date basis is nice, for me.

The tag line on my blog is self deprecating. Blogger. n. Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do.

IMO blogging and internet forums are the 21st century versions of freedom of the press. Do you realize how important this is that people have such a powerful tool at their command? This is why I value the TexasCHLForum. It has a group of people who have worthwhile ideas to express. I may not like or agree with some of them, but it gives me a forum to debate and express my ideas.

It is equal opportunity to the maximum. The village idiot now has the same chance to expouse his ideas as the editor of the New York Times. The downside is that easy access to a computer and the internet makes it easy for someone who has nothing important to say to fill the ether with garbage. This is true democracy.

[Abraham]

I posted this thread and hadn't come back until now.

NcongruNt states:"There are lots of blogs that do very little than spout drivel from some schmoe about whatever it is he thinks is important."

Salient point and the greatest common denominator in blogging. This is what I immediately think when someone cajoles us with - "read my blog". Some schmoe begging for attention for his dopey views and inexpert opinion on whatever.

Being importuned to "read my blog" also sounds pretentious, pompous and grating...and yes, there's a small percentage out there that perform a valuable service. From what I've seen of this type, the originator isn't waving a personal flag for ego satisfaction.

WildBill discussed blogs and forums.

I see forums as distinctly different from blogs.

Forums aren't owned by the posters. It's a meeting place for a lot of give and take. It's not for ego advantage.

When I see "read my blog" on a forum, I get annoyed at the presumption. The so called blogger is riding the coattails of a web site where his inveigling isn't really appropriate, but not so egregious that many will confront him.

The begging bloggers are the Hare Krishnas of the internet world.

[Morgan]

I agree. And conversely, I value every hit to my blog, because it means that someone cares enough about what I say to come read it.

[WildBill]

I posted this thread and hadn't come back until now.

NcongruNt states:"There are lots of blogs that do very little than spout drivel from some schmoe about whatever it is he thinks is important."

Salient point and the greatest common denominator in blogging. This is what I immediately think when someone cajoles us with - "read my blog". Some schmoe begging for attention for his dopey views and inexpert opinion on whatever.

Being importuned to "read my blog" also sounds pretentious, pompous and grating...and yes, there's a small percentage out there that perform a valuable service. From what I've seen of this type, the originator isn't waving a personal flag for ego satisfaction.

WildBill discussed blogs and forums.

I see forums as distinctly different from blogs.

Forums aren't owned by the posters. It's a meeting place for a lot of give and take. It's not for ego advantage.

When I see "read my blog" on a forum, I get annoyed at the presumption. The so called blogger is riding the coattails of a web site where his inveigling isn't really appropriate, but not so egregious that many will confront him.

I agree that forums are distinctly different from blogs. Of course, there are the "look at me" blogs. There are some look at me and "see how clever I am" blogs. Some blogs appear to me to be harmless rambling or maybe a personal diary that is published for all to see. Some blogs are closer to the annoying newsletters that some people send out at Christmas time.

Other blogs may be a creative outlet for those of us who like to write. Rather that keeping our thoughts in a bound book that resides in a desk drawer, we can put them on a blog. Maybe we will get some recognition or encouragement from some dear reader. Or maybe not.

I think that with most forums, the opportunity that some one will actually read your post and respond is much greater than having a blog. There is some "ego advantage" to discussing a topic in a forum. I have been know to express my opinions so people can see how clever I am.

There are no blogs that I read on a regular basis because most people don't have enough stuff to say that can keep my interest. Blogs and bloggers can be boring and pretentious, but it's like watching TV. You can always change the channel if you don't like what's on.

[The Annoyed Man]

Bloggers have actually served a valuable journalistic service. Remember the "Rathergate" incident in which Dan Rather procured bogus documents alleging to show that President Bush was a lousy pilot and lousy officer in the TANG? The (formerly) Main Stream Media jumped on Rather's bandwagon, and nobody questioned the authenticity of those documents. It was the Blogosphere which, collectively, came up with the overwhelming evidence that Rather's story was a complete fabrication. If not for them, an honorable man's military record would have been permanently tarnished by the In The Tank media which has a profound dislike for George Bush. Finally, it was the outraged coverage on the blogs that FORCED the fMSM to confront the lies, and the story was dropped like a hot potato.

Yes, there are blogs which are amateurish and poorly written, and others focus on objectionable materials (porn, etc.). But as a collective body, blogs have forced the legacy media to be more honest, and have acted as a counterweight to their unbalanced reporting. My advice is, if you don't like 'em; don't read 'em. But don't smear the good character and talents of a whole lot of excellent blog writers just because you've never read one you liked.

[Bart]

Yes, there are blogs which are amateurish and poorly written, and others focus on objectionable materials (porn, etc.).

I agree and the same could be said of TV, books, magazines and every form of speech and press.

But as a collective body, blogs have forced the legacy media to be more honest, and have acted as a counterweight to their unbalanced reporting. My advice is, if you don't like 'em; don't read 'em. But don't smear the good character and talents of a whole lot of excellent blog writers just because you've never read one you liked.

Right. If you don't like a blog or a book or a magazine, don't read it. It is the very lack of government and corporate censorship that makes the good blogs more relevant than the MSM.

The vanity blogs and twitter are modern versions of family newsletters and back fence gossip.

[WildBill]

Yes, there are blogs which are amateurish and poorly written, and others focus on objectionable materials (porn, etc.). But as a collective body, blogs have forced the legacy media to be more honest, and have acted as a counterweight to their unbalanced reporting.

It is the very lack of government and corporate censorship that makes the good blogs more relevant than the MSM.

These are very good points. Blogs are one of the few bastions of truly free speech that are left in this country. Amateurish and poorly written words can still contain good ideas and the truth. But, in order for them to be effective or useful, they must be read.

Subject matter and writing talent aside, there are a couple of technical reasons that I rarely read blogs. The first reason is that it is difficult for me and my older eyes to read long paragraphs of text from a computer screen. I can read short posts, such as on this forum, but when they get to more than a page, it's too much for my eyes to handle. Whenever I need to really concentrate and read a document, such as a procedure or specification, at work I will print it out to paper. It is extremely rare that I would do that for a blog. There is still something sacred about the printed page.

Second, a poor choice of font style/size and background color causes me to immediately close web pages. IMO, there is no blog worth reading that has purple text on a black background.