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I Blog therefore I Am Not?

It seems that if you write a blog, you are more apt for something terrible to happen to you. Or at least report it to strangers. Whenever I turn on the blog, somebody is closing down shop because of something they said that hurt somebody’s feelings, something “happened” in their personal life, or because they are just plain exhausted from writing. Even I, Funtime Ben, have had a previous life on a previous blog that I chose to leave because of a past relationship. It seems that this blog idea is a double-edged sword. With your ability to affect people, you are also responsible for affecting them and yourself.

As I travel around the blog universe each morning, I follow links, and once every so often, a writer has gone missing. Their blog is the shell of what it once was. What happened? I wish there were a way to take a blog to a forensic laboratory to explain to us blog causes of death. “Oops, she talked about her husband’s skid marks. He couldn’t handle it, and she had to put the blog down.”

Where is the weblog graveyard?

I remember reading letters from people in the olden days and remembering lines months after. Reading letters was a far more powerful medium than spoken language. With the advent of e-mail, letters disappeared, and “snail mail” became a novelty reserved for birthday cards and bills. “Snail Mail” was permanent. You had the letter. Blogs feel like they will be there forever, and then (poof!) they’re gone.

Is it any wonder why the book is always better than the movie?

In blog land, Dooce lost her job and recently got stuck with a $1,926.10 bill for her 25GB throughput if that wasn’t enough. I can’t really comprehend how she could have used 25GB, but I don’t doubt that she did. Yet she hasn’t stopped. She continues to write and provide people with her writing. She has succeeded as a blog author. When she gets herself into a jam, her readers help her out. Now that is a community if I’ve ever heard of one.

As I continue to read Rebecca Blood’s book The Weblog Handbook, I am struck by the power these weblogs have. With seemingly minimal effort, you can publish your thoughts, feelings, rants, diary entries, questions, ideas, political views, findings, and history all with the press of a button. It is the most potent medium when considering the cost-to-influence ratio.

So, I would like to take this time to say that this website is an expression. It is a place where I can voice my ideas, concerns, opinions, fears, poems, photographs, essays, ramblings, political views, humor, stupidity, questions, love letters, grocery lists, and fortune cookie messages. I don’t mean to offend you, and if I do, I apologize, but I will continue to write this blog because I want to. I urge you to talk through my comment box and e-mail address. Disagree with me, tell me I’m wrong, and show me the light, but by all means, don’t read me and get upset without telling me publicly or privately that I offended you. I am a crass bastard who often bumbles over the line of decency… Please pardon my behavior.

19 replies on “I Blog therefore I Am Not?”

Perhaps people are abandoning their blogs for the same reasons you abandoned yours.

Um, you know…. past relationships.

duh.

But that would only account for some of the blog disappearances. I am more curious about why people have left their past lives, not that they left their blogs. What is important to one person, may not be important to others, I am more curious about people and why they leave a place they call home. I know why I left, I want to know why they did. Am I alone is this?

Funtime DarleneCah: both.

The relationship fell apart. The reasons it fell apart were many, of which I will not get into right now, being that I am not ready to open old wounds, or unintentionally hurt people in my life that I don't intend to.

I left that weblog, because it was an extension of that relationship. It was rapped up in my life at that time, a life I had to leave for my future happiness. I knew the weblog would be what I was judged on. If I wrote anything, it would have hurt the other person.

That is why I left both. I hope that answers some of your questions.

Blogging – at it's best and it's worst – reminds me of being at a club, with no closing time.

Some people – understandably – are highly reluctant to leave, while others are either ejected, or pass-out.

The Exalted – think DJ's, promoters, et al – run the show, and a maintain a fuck you/love me stance with the hordes

My goal is to get in without paying (always) and avoid the drunks.

Nice huh?! I got my BFA from a state university, so basically I majored in not being specific… ever.

My ex, as far as I know, doesn't read this blog and probably doesn't know it exists. I haven't kept it secret, but I just don't think she would read it.

I used to read her blog, but one day she posted that she had found this great guy and I commented "I'm glad you are happy." Which I meant as a heartfelt comment… This didn't make her happy, so to spare her feelings and give her space, I stopped commenting on her site and stopped visiting it. I haven't checked it since.

If you had a blog, I would certainly read it. I love reading people's sites. I have a pathetic list of sites on mine that I keep short only because long lists bore me. I can never find cool people on long lists. I read various people every day I'm online and if you told me about it, sure I would read it.

My favorite activity is finding a site I haven't seen for a while and reading what that person has been up to. It feels like a small town on my computer…

"I'm just going down to the general store to see Dooce, then over to the hardware store to visit KDunk… I wonder how good old Sean is doing. oh, and can't forget Heather, I haven't visited her in a while."

Why would you read your ex's blog? Don't you think it was painful for her to comment on it? I gotta disagree with you that choice funtimeben…

Why- Because I was curious, how she was doing, If she had healed. Right or wrong, human nature prevailed.

Painful- That is why I stopped visiting or commenting on her site. I realized I was unwelcome in her life and her weblog.

That's all folks.

Well, clearly you left her, and left your blog so "no one would get hurt" (which I think is PC bullshit) THEN, had the nerve to continue to read hers and comment on it. I'm suprised she was foolish enough to leave hers as is – allowing the asshole who left her (you) to still read it.

Well, I think you're a fool and a coward.

That's all, funtimeb.

Wow, I guess Stacy is taking your

"Disagree with me, tell me I'm wrong, show me the light, but by all means don't read me and get upset without telling me publicly or privately that I offended you.."

statement to heart.

Thing is– I agree with her.

Was it something I said?

Winning popularity contests was never really my cup of tea. I remember this one time back in college, there was this girl I never really talked to, she used to hang out with the snooty printmakers. I don't know what it was about her, other then she always used to look at me from the corner of her eye. Later, I went to Italy to study abroad and there was this girl again. I found out her name was Anise and a week into the trip, she takes me aside on our charter bus and says,

"You know I never really liked you, because from afar you looked like you wore eyeliner. I thought you were one of those freaky eyeliner wearing guys."

That, in my opinion, is a hard comment to A defend and most importantly B admit. After the confession we became good friends and used to hang out at the local bar swapping stories, while drinking too much grappa. I later, with help of friends, saved her ass under the Eiffel tower.

Secret service style! or so I'd like to think.

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