November 8, 2003
Rayne Today
Harald at Daihatsu Graceland recently suggested discussing blogging's impact on our personal lives.
It's pretty easy to see ways in which blogging affects our society at large. The furor over Trent Lott, the success of Howard Dean's presidential campaign to date are just a couple examples of blogging in action.
But how has it impacted your life?
Harald says he's watching a lot less television now that he's reading blogs and posting in his own; it sounds like no great loss on his part. Heck, it sounds like television is just as dreadful in the Netherlands as it is here in the U.S. More importantly, he's making discoveries, exploring the arts because of new interactions and relationships with others he's met through blogging.
My own blogging experience has been far more rewarding than I expected. It was originally intended as a means to discuss obscure and arcane topics of personal interest, keeping me amused while drifting my way through more than a year of isolating unemployment. Unexpectedly, I've rediscovered the joy of writing, made many new friends, become politically active for the first time in my life. There's much more, but I run the risk of making blogging sound like a Ron Popeil-o-matic product...
Let's add this group blog opportunity at RFB to that list as well. How can collaborating and having an open dialogue with other intelligent people not do great things? It boggles my mind what blogging has done for me. Bloggles me.
Are positive experiences like Harald's and mine oddball outliers in the spectrum of blogging? How has blogging - reading or writing - affected your life?
Posted by rayne at November 8, 2003 1:36 PM
Blogging has given me the impetus to write even when I don't feel like it and because of that I have quite a nice little cache of essays and short stories under my belt now. Also, because there is a slight sense of anonymity, I've been able to post about some tragic events and personal events and received feedback from the fine readers here at Salon Blogs.
I've also made many friends who are important in my life and who I look forward to communicating with each day either through personal e-mails or through comments.
At the time the Salon blogs were started, I was reading a Suzi Gablik book about how art should be more integrated with its public, and I saw how these blogs could be part of that movement. I was always impressed with the creativity and quality of the things I read here. I also really enjoyed the community feeling. I started my own blog because I wanted to join the conversation. This has also been a good experience for me because I've been able to get feedback from others, and am becoming less self-conscious about my writing. I have also met some great people here. It's fun, and I only wish I had more time to blog!
i definitely am not of the caliber of most of the salon bloggers but for me, my little blog has allowed me a creative space where i can scream at the world or write down my pitiful daily doings but most importantly, a place were i can post my pictures (not that those are great either.) my blog is mostly for me and my friends. i dont' think it interests other heavyweight writers/bloggers for the simple fact that i never say anything profound.
but i'm okay with that.
i don't know if blogging really changed my life beside the creative outlet part of it. i've notice though, from clicking on some of my favorite news heavy blogs, i seem to be the first in my circle of friends to come across interesting news headlines. i hardly ever watch tv/cable news now.
this is indeed an important observation - people like themselves more when they have become content producers, rather than merely consumers. The crinkly interaction of between peers - in the sense that everyone is a producer and consumer - opens whole new windows in our lives.
In my work so far making "Blogumentary" this is one of the question's I've been asking.... others, and myself. The most important thing for me has been the new friendships I've made. It's also really fulfilling to craft an experience for people who read my blog, drawn from my life and observations on the world.
Blogs have of course changed people's lives in every possible way: Finding love, launching new careers and ending jobs, rekindling the political fires, even helping save lives. My most recent segment is about my friend, blogger Space Waitress, who posted a suicidal blog entry:
Last Night a Blog Saved My Life: The Space Waitress Story
I love you honey!
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