Friday, July 03, 2009

Publish Post

I'm afraid I'm on a blogger's block. These past few days have been uninspiring despite the many materials I could use for this blog. I have a notebook filled with quotes from friends as well as ideas that pop into my head when I'm in the bus or when I stare at the clouds from my bedroom window.

But I can't seem to write anything coherent, much less sensible, lately.

I wonder if, as bloggers, it is our responsibility to be sensible at all? Or do we write for writing's sake -with sense or without sense?

I've talked to quite a good number of bloggers and it seems that the drive to be sensible varies from one writer to another. It mainly depends on what their vision for their blog is.

Some simply write like no one's reading them, a style that I call babbling but still written in an endearingly raw voice. While some bloggers churn out post after post of well-thought and well-structured entries (gosh, I envy them for their clarity). Either way, some are effective in expressing themselves in certain styles.

I'm not the kind who says which of these two approaches is better as long as they write well (posts should have at least some coherence and preferably tightly-written). In fact I read many blogs that are on both sides of the spectrum or somewhere in between. The variety of writing styles out there makes the whole community as vibrant as ever.

Meanwhile, I always ask blogger friends if they ever think of what their readers say about their entries or their blog as a whole. Again, the answers vary, but most of the time they do care about the feedback they receive. It does not matter whether they write anonymously or not.

(Well perhaps it's the fact that many of my blogger friends are actual writers who know that one of the basics of good writing is to keep your audience in mind.)

When talking about blogs that we read, my friends and I seem to be kind of emotionally invested in our favorite blogs... well, sometimes. We have long been spectators to other peoples' "lives" that we have somehow developed expectations and even made judgments about them.

I realized, readers can be quite critical, if not outright demanding sometimes. Oh, count me in that crop of readers. Sorry!

It's quite odd that we feel entitled to "participate" in the way our favorite blogs are shaped, with remarks such as: "I don't like how he's writing more of this when he should be writing more about this," or "He has completely gone nuts," or "What is he thinking?" and so on.

Maybe as readers we've treated blog authors as characters who need to PROVIDE us with some level of entertainment, if not amusement. I shudder at the thought of people thinking of me, as a blogger, that way.

Are bloggers responsible for how readers perceive them?

Bloggers would understand more than the regular reader that even our blogs are entities on their own, at least to a certain extent. Our blogs may represent a fraction of who we are, but that's just on a minuscule scale. I believe some blogs are even alter-egos of their writers.

So as readers, I don't think we should take blogs THAT seriously. Well, OK, I take the blogs I read seriously coz I realize the posts take a lot of effort to put together. But content-wise, I read my favorite blogs with a certain degree of detachment and oftentimes consume them solely for their entertainment value.

I'm a bit perturbed, however, when bloggers need to defend themselves from some nasty comments. It seems some readers believe they know the authors well enough through the latters' blogs and have thus the bravado to pass judgment. On the other hand, putting themselves in the open, bloggers have to be ready for criticisms as well. Comments are supposed to be not taken personally though.

What do we do when comments are way too personal? Delete them. I have yet to defend my self from nasty comments. I choose to optimize comment moderation instead.

But we certainly love feedback... the positive ones at least. We love throwing around adoration and receiving double that, chai mai?

I chose to write about bloggers' interaction (if not, relationship) with their readers because for the longest time I've been having many discussions with friends about our favorite bloggers or the ones we've discovered recently. Gosh, if only some bloggers know how much time we spend talking about their "creations"! (Yeah, coz we have boring lives.)

Sometimes I guess it's worthwhile to take a step back and ponder on these things, as both a "producer" and "consumer" of blogs.

With the multifarious purposes of blogs, they oftentimes act as refuge from the craziness of daily life. It may also serve as a platform for expression, sharing, and reaching out to others.

But the bottomline is blogs are mostly personal spaces. Readers are invited to step inside these realms of introspection and as guests they are expected to be nice, at the very least. Do not be too engaged, dear readers. It's JUST a blog!

(No, the pictures in this post are not exactly related to the topic. Tse!)

10 comments:

fuchsiaboy said...

OA ang mga taong dinidibdib ang mga blogs.

Wala siguro magawa sa buhay.

Asia in Australia said...

I really like this post, Kawadjan. Nicely written and capturing your mood.

Incidentially, I feel very similar these days. Some ideas but no energy to think the through, so I just babble.

Regarding feedback: no idea whether people are liking it or not, since they comment on random things (such as fruits...)

So...Just trot along and not let us get too pressured, and if it gets too boring, stop the thing...I am certainly thinking about it...

Ming Meows said...

i certainly agree on all your points!

Was Once said...

We often forget how to just enjoy our lives, rather than thinking....now, how could I use this in the blog! And thus skipping being totally involved in the moment.

Dawn Selya said...

Blogs are supposed to amuse and inform you. But I also want to read stuff that can provide insights into human conditions. There are some bloggers who give you that, like you. I love reading your blog not only because it is well written but it's entertaining as well.

The worst is to write something that you know will bore your readers. So kudos to you and please keep blogging!

kiel estrella said...

ganun?

ako i'm so engaged to my blogroll, i can be married. pero i'm nice naman, diba? tse!

Kiks said...

i like the entry. it is smart and tasty and well-written.

no brouhaha or what have you.

melikes even though this will not change how i feel about cassi.

Jan Paul said...

Well, blogs for me are friends without faces; though I know some of them personally, but mostly I haven't even met. Nevertheless, I take them very seriously; as you have said they act as refuge from the craziness of life. And following them has widen my perspective about the reality and kept my sanity intact.

the boomerang kid said...

agree ako kay ms protasio, yun lang.

kawadjan said...

Donita: Baka di puno ang social calendar nila. Pero gaga, ikaw pa nga ang super curious sa ating mga fellow-bloggers who hang out in billiard halls and drink beer. Eeeewwww... Wag i-deny!

BB: Thanks for the nice words. A blog holiday is useful sometimes.

Ming: Salamat.

Was Once: True.

Dawn: Dahling, thanks for the kind words. I'm a huge fan of your blog too! Beso, beso.

Kiel: You are super nice! Choz. Haler, I would also kill for my blog roll. How about having them insured?

Kiks: Gosh, I cannot wait for the finale tomorrow. I can't wait to see Tahnee crying as she loses. Oh well. Cassi GO!

JP: Mismo!

Zenaida: Hay, nagsama na naman ng powers ang mga taga-Khmerlandia. Sa amin ang Preah Vihear! Chowz!

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