To Blog or not to Blog

Posted by Nathanael Szobody on

IF you’re reading this it must mean that you find some value in the recently discovered pastime of blogging. Personally I never was one to surf the internet in search of random information/entertainment. But the blogging culture seems to have quickly become one of ‘clicks.’ It seems that people have certain blogs they go to, be they about news, or interests, or friends or just plain hot air.

I am incouraged that Americans have again seen the value of a public forum with the free exchange of ideas, but it seems that blogs have become more of a means of exclusivism that open exchange. We go to those blogs that are related to where we are in life, unwittingly bypassing the wealth of information that could help jolt us out of our comfort zone and come face to face with ideas that make us uncomfortable. It in effect blinds us to what is happening in other parts of society. Whereas traditionally when we browse the newspaper we can’t help but come across any range of topics within our society.

Finally, many blogs serve what we seem to have an insatiable desire for: random bits of information and opinion that have very little meaning outside of thier narrow context–often meant purely for entertainment. For this reason on my blog I attempt not to gain a ‘following,’ nor to entertain, but to perhaps provoke a bit of edifying thought on some more universally implicit topics in the midst of a hectic day. A futile endeavor in modern American culture? Perhaps, but I haven’t given up yet.

Nathanael Szobody

https://paradoxicalmusings.com/author/admin/

Husband, father, and working for Christ's kingdom in Chad.

Comments ( 12 )

  1. Emilie
    oh I don't know... reading Xangas by a bunch of missionary kids was really interesting, and definitely outside my box. they were from EVERYWHERE! and it was SO interesting for me, I can't even explain it. I don't remember the exact link - it was a Xanga blogring though - I'll get back to you if you're interested in reading.
  2. Nathanael
    that's really cool emilie, i'd love to get that from you!
  3. bszob
    duuuude. that post was WAY too dense for a blog. my mouse practically clicked itself before the second graf!

    kidding. your blogging aims seem respectable, rooted in a personal philosophy and well thought-out. unfortunately, i know better.

    don't let that discourage you, though. those of us without existing public forums in which to influence thought and opinion should utilize such newfangled technologies to exactly such ends. which is the precise reason i'd disagree that blogs, in general, foster introversion and a wanderlust fraught with random bits of useless information.

    blogs can serve a useful purpose by providing people with exactly the kind of info that is the MOST relevant to daily life (instead of taking what spills from general-readership forms of media). that is WHY people gravitate toward blogs that serve a purpose for them, a use heretofore untapped. believe me, you're not the first one to think of this particular blogging credo -- and that's a good thing. just hang out at www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45 or www.andrewsullivan.com/ or www.cjrdaily.org/ to see bustling clearinghouses for useful, well-organized and vital public debate (these examples happen to relate to my profession).
  4. bszob
    p.s. drudge, i woudl argue, should NEVER be included in a link-list of archetypal blogs.

    he doesn't run a true blog, anyway. it's more of a hysterical, disfigured, typeface-challenged scandal of an internet beast. a blog is a quite well-behaved pet by comparison.
  5. bszob
    also, who "surf(s) the internet in search of random information/entertainment"?

    no one i know. the blogs you use are generally for a specific purpose ... not for random bits of pleasure/scintillation. tv, movies and other types of web sites are MUCH more efficient ways of getting that sort of thing.
  6. Nathanael
    bszob, clearly my view on this matter is a bit narrow. certainly among educated circles such as journalism and the like blogs are a valuable resource for efficiently providing precise and information. notice that when i refer to "many" blogs that serve up "random bits of information" i am not saying "all" or even "most."

    the point still holds, though, that the paradox of blogs is that although they are available to all and are an open forum to people all over the globe, they end up allowing individuals to concentrate only on their narrow interests while remaining oblivious to large components of the culture. again, this can be useful and efficient for professional purposes, but it can also foster an exclusive world view.

    as for those who "surf the web in search of random bits of information/pleasure," i know quite a few; granted that they are predominantly the youth. though perhaps i stand corrected in that blogs are not generally the source of such diversions.

    certainly your blog fits the description of a "well-behaved pet."
  7. Emilie
    well I think you've lost any "following" you might have had, cuz you haven't had any intellectually-challenging comments in a while. *shrugs* just an observation
  8. Emilie
    ok, try these:
    www.xanga.com/groups/group.aspx?id=345512
    and a much smaller group:
    www.xanga.com/groups/group.aspx?id=1087292
    you may notice that charity subscribes to these blogrings, so you didn't necessarily need to ask me for the web addresses. Enjoy!
  9. Nathanael
    well, emilie, since a 'following' is neither what i desire nor what i plan on having it doesn't really matter much. often times we like to get caught up in the seeming intelligent discussion of 'intellectually challenging' topics to avoid the simple truths about sin and grace that we need to hear and apply. seeking exclusively the sublime is a tree of knowledge of good and evil of sorts; it is the human pursuits of intellectual understanding over the life of simple faith.
  10. Emilie
    well, I did say, and I still say that it was just an observation that people weren't commenting much anymore. There was kind of a burst there at the beginning of your blog-life. And I think you've touched on something there - it's that debate: do you blog for your readers or for yourself? I mean, I do both. I have some entries where I really just need to get my emotional outpouring onto paper - whether extreme joy or despair, frustration, depression, anger, etc. but I certainly write posts that are somewhat more informative. like, "here's what's going on in my life right now". That's definitely geared toward the reader. Xanga wouldn't have Public, Protected and Private capabilities for entries if they didn't expect each person to have a different purpose for writing. What I get from your comment-in-reply-to-mine above is that you hope that in the process of people browsing through blogs, including yours, they will experience the much hated bait-and-switch method. You could catch their interest with 'intellectually challenging' blogs and comments and then hope that when they return they will find something in your more devotional entries. And, I understand too that those 2 'subjects' could just be what you prefer to talk about, and like me, it's luck of the draw whether your readers will find their interest or your theological lecture. sorry, that was harsh. I feel like what I'm trying to say is not coming out in words for me. and I understand that you have that little subscription-like thing on the edge of your page, but honestly, I want to read everything you have to say, but that's just me. I am addicted to blog-browsing, even strangers - as evident by the MK roaming. BUT, also, based on your last sentence of your comment-in-reply-to-mine above, I could argue that if simple faith is sufficient for all things, then higher education is not necessary, and in fact, basic sunday school and the MOST basic bible study is necessary - because "simple faith" is ideal. And if reason meant nothing, then we would not have Lee Strobel's fantastic books "The Case for Christ" and "The Case for Faith" and the third one he wrote that I haven't read. You like philosophy, you know reason and intellectually challenging discussions are fun. And I think you know that I am not so shallow in my faith to prefer human reason over "simple faith". Okay, I'm done - for now.
  11. Nathanael
    i put on the blog whatever i've been thinking about recently, i really don't have a method or strategy. i don't try to analyze people who may or may not get on.
  12. Emilie
    you know, I found a quote that perfectly typifies what you were telling me...
    "Although we seek to know why God allows certain troubles to enter our life, knowledge itself will not solve our problems." - Dr. Andrew Steinmann
    I know, I'm incorrigible too.

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