Hello everyone (no one) -
I am reactivating this blog, and here are my reasons:
1. I love writing and telling stories. Writing on this blog is something that is going to bring me joy. The fact that someone out there might read it also brings me joy. As long as I'm not hurting anyone, I'm gonna do the things that make me happy. While I do like to talk about "issues" and explain my own worldview, I promise this blog will not just be an opinion factory. I'll definitely write some funny stories, too. I prefer to make people laugh anyway.
2. Social media is for connecting with people. Not for talking AT them.
I've been increasingly annoyed lately with all the political, religious, and generally malcontented debates happening on my Facebook and Twitter feeds. I have also found myself posting updates in this vein, commenting on the belligerent and controversial updates of others, and genuinely making myself look like an ass hat. Social media is for entertainment and remembering it's your cousin's birthday. It is for posting updates about life events to keep in touch with people you care about. It is for the punchiest of one-liners and jokes that will make someone out there laugh. It is for telling everyone how much you loved The Dark Knight Rises.
It is not for telling people how to raise their children and convincing people that President Obama is a muslim. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. . . wow. I made it through almost 10 sentences without a TV reference, and when I pulled one out, it was Seinfeld.)It is not about attacking the worldviews of others. It is not about bickering and making someone's day worse. It is not for telling everyone how much you hate another person (even if that person is a public figure).
I apologize for engaging in those types of behavior in the past.
3. Blogging allows a context.
A Facebook status or a tweet is not large enough to handle to subtleties of complex issues. When someone tweets, "Stricter gun control laws could have prevented what happened in Colorado," they are ignoring approximately 99% of the facts of the situation. (The statistic in the previous sentence was 100% fabricated.) With a longer post, I can explain every reason why I think gun control laws are necessary or why I am starting up my blog again. You're never going to convince someone to change his or her beliefs in 140 characters.
I can explain what I think the best parenting techniques are or I can give evidence for every reason why I believe President Obama is a muslim. I'm not just making a pronouncement and expecting it to educate all my followers and friends.
4. Blogging allows my friends and followers to make an active decision to read or not to read.
This post isn't just automatically thrown in someone's face while he or she is scanning a newsfeed with the hope of reading something important or funny. When all you want to do is look through someone's vacation photos, this post isn't going to pop up and make you read it. Do my posts annoy you? Then kindly exit my blog, and you are not required to return.
I have blocked a lot of people from my newsfeed because of the hate speech they spout about issues that do not affect them. I don't want to see it. But now I have no clue about anything that is going on in those people's lives. It is a failure of social media because I've lost those connections.
All of this was prompted by several events over the past few weeks. Today, however, my older brother and I got into a Twitter tussle, tweeting pointed quips at one another. I re-read the tweets a little later, and I thought to myself: "Wow. We look like idiots, and anyone who follows us both is probably rolling their eyes." I'm tired of looking like an idiot, so I'm going to try not to do it any more. If I am going to spend my time and energy on the Internet talking about important issues, then I am going to choose to do it in a venue where I can address all the complexities of why I think the things I think, and I want others to be able to craft a comment that fully explains their own views if they choose to do so. And I hope many people do.
-Brent
Monday, July 23, 2012
Why Blog?
Posted by Brent at 1:25 PM
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4 comments:
I think you made some wise points. I once read that Facebook's decision to keep a "dislike" button off the site stemmed from a desire to keep social media friendly, light and prevent bullying.
Facebook should be a place to celebrate community. It's one of the reasons I've moved more of my pointed opinions to twitter...but even there I don't feel comfortable. I couldn't nail it down, but I think your fourth point helped me make sense of it. One of the reasons I don't like other peoples opinions and arguments on social media is because I can't help but read it. It's like somebody came and interrupted a nice dinner with your family to tell you what they think about global warming. It's an annoying commercial that interrupts your favorite radio station. It's opening up an old family scrapbook to find a Glenn Beck quote next to your photos from Hawaii. You can't escape it and it's not the right place.
I might join you in starting a blog. Even if no one reads it, it's healthy to flesh out thoughts and invite feedback from those who actually care.
Thanks, Jesse. If you do start a blog, be sure to send me the link. Part of this new attitude I am trying to develop in myself is about listening to others' opinions and not just preaching from my podium with blinders on. :)
i used to read your blog and i am excited you are starting it back up. :)
yaaaay Brent! Would it be really weird if I added this to my bookmarks? because I'm totalllly doing that. I have a blog too but I'm not quite ready to share it yet. I'll keep you posted though! As I hope you keep posting.
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