The Unmentioned

While the majority of the analysis within Carolyn R. Miller and Dawn Shepherd’s article is far too complex and comprehensive to be understood by a casual blogger such as myself, I still found that I was able to reflect upon some of the most distinctive points that they discussed.

They label weblogs as a form of rhetoric expression and explore the idea that the media of the last decade has had a definite impact upon blogs. I found it interesting that the word rhetoric, commonly meaning artificially eloquent language, was used to describe blogs. In the three textbooks that I have read for Writing for the Internet, it is repeatedly emphasized that when writing for blogs, authors should try to condense text as much as possible and cut out all of the artificial, showy language. Therefore, what weblogs are and what many believe they should be are radically different. The connection that this article makes between the media and the development of blogs is worthy of attention and certainly valid. The various forms of media (especially television) have indeed focused at least some of their attention on the personal, private lives of “average” people and displayed them openly for the public; based upon my (admittedly limited) experience, I would agree that this has had an impact upon blogs. Humans are by nature curious and highly interested in the unknown, a point even mentioned within the article itself. There have always been ways of “publicizing the private,” although they have not become widely accepted and accessible until the last decade or so. Now that the technology and the means of sharing individual interests and intimacies with others all over the world have emerged, people are taking advantage of it and indulging their inner desires to publicize themselves in an attractive manner. This is what makes blogs so different from other forms of mass communication, and in my opinion limits the media’s influence upon them: the decisions of style, content, and other blog-essentials are completely up to the authors. I can write what I want, how I want it, so that the audience that I am writing for will be directed towards developing a certain impression of me. They will only get what I give them; I am in control of what “happens” on my blog, which is completely different from most of the “reality” television and other media junk that is discussed in the article. Those TV shows usually place people in a situation that is already constructed and force them to pursue certain ends; they come with rules and limits imposed by law-related concerns. Weblogs are unique, even more public and personal than most of the other forms of media, because private people can write about practically anything without much chance of stepping on the public’s toes. Sure, there are some extreme instances in which negative attention will cause a blog’s downfall, such as the sex-related one cited at the very beginning of the article, but even then it is the author’s choice; the Chinese woman who authored that blog most likely could have maintained it, although she probably would have suffered even more damage to her reputation. Conclusively, it should be said that blogs come with no real rules, only guidelines, which may be bent or broken at the author’s whim.

Miller and Shepherd also discuss the nature of weblogs, discussing how diaries are a part of their family tree. One particular statement that I thought to be striking was that diaries are usually not said to be “written,” but rather to be “happening.” This focus on action made me realize that my own writing is sometimes too concerned with just that, writing. Rarely do I write with an active purpose and voice, a problem that has hindered me a little in several of my courses and activities. I can’t even begin to relate how many times people have asked me to cut down on adjectives and adverbs and fill my writing with more nouns and verbs, or rather, working words. In the future, I would like to develop my writing skills to include the ability to write actively rather than passively, and to have a purpose in mind at all times while I am writing. My blog would be a perfect informal “practice ground” for honing this skill (after all, the title of the article is Blogging as Social Action). As has been stressed to me by other blog-related sources, minimal text with maximum effect is key on a weblog. Perhaps I could find a way to use my own blog as a source or instigator of social interaction, as is often suggested by Dr. Jerz; in order to interest people in my writing, I will have to continue adjusting my style of writing to fit the form almost required by the internet medium. I will have to generate interest in what is “happening” on my blog, not just what I am “writing on the internet.” I will have to break free from the rhetoric that Miller and Shepherd practically equate with blogs.

Altogether, this article gave me reason to think about weblogs as a developing genre, and opened up some important topics for my reflection. While some of these topics were obscure and not necessarily closely related to the article itself, they have significance for my writing and my weblog, nonetheless. I would encourage all blog-competent writers to read it and determine for themselves just what blogs are doing.

Sources:
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogging_as_social_action.html
Sunday, October 31, 2004