I've got so much new information flowing into my brain these days that I'm having trouble actually commenting/blogging on it all. I read the articles, mentally noting ideas I want to comment on later, but when I get to the posting part, I've forgotten all those little nuggets of wisdom I had while reading. The lazy part of me hates to admit this, but I'm going to have to start taking notes.
Here goes:
For some reason, the link to the first article ("How to Comment Like a King (or Queen)") didn't work for me. The page would pop up, I would get two or three lines in, and the page would disappear. I was rather disappointed because those first few lines actually whetted (wetted?) my appetite.
As for the second article ("Ten Techniques"), I felt both relieved and dismayed by the end of it. Being new at this, I've been a little worried about how my "voice" is coming across and whether I'm doing "it" right. The other blogs I have been reading seem so much more . . . complete. Salinger has done a great job at asking questions and leaving topics open ended, just begging for comment. Rhonda also writes in a way that asks for comments and she comes across as very humble as does Blakester. And all three of these bloggers have been complimentary in their posts as well as their comments. I, on the other hand, feel like I've taken the one approach the author did NOT recommend: controversial. I don't mean to be. It wasn't my plan. I read something, get fired up, and the words just start flowing. I am actually feeling guilty for not being more humble. The truth is, though, I am oppinionated. I'm not right, but I am opinionated (I guess that means I think I'm right which makes me an even bigger horse's rear end . . . guilt, guilt, and more guilt). I think Rhonda was right. Because we can say things via blogs that we wouldn't normally discuss in person for fear of hurting a friend's feelings, we are living two separate lives. Considering the comment I made on her blog regarding this (why don't we sit down over a cup of coffee and discuss some of these topics?), I find it interesting that I have come to this conclusion. At first I was sad to think that a group of friends couldn't discuss objectively (argue in the rhetorical sense). But we do. And regularly. The venue, however, makes the conversations feel different. Salinger reminds me regularly (I can get a little defensive at times) that the problem with email is the reader has no way of interpreting the writer's emotions based on just the words used. The same is true with blogging. What complicates the "feel" of a conversation further is the delay between responses and posts. I would still like for us to get together and discuss some of our ideas sometime, but I seem to have worked through whatever angst I was feeling. I have confessed, done my Hail Maries, forgiven myself and am now free to "Go forth and sin no more!" Yeah, right!
Here goes:
For some reason, the link to the first article ("How to Comment Like a King (or Queen)") didn't work for me. The page would pop up, I would get two or three lines in, and the page would disappear. I was rather disappointed because those first few lines actually whetted (wetted?) my appetite.
As for the second article ("Ten Techniques"), I felt both relieved and dismayed by the end of it. Being new at this, I've been a little worried about how my "voice" is coming across and whether I'm doing "it" right. The other blogs I have been reading seem so much more . . . complete. Salinger has done a great job at asking questions and leaving topics open ended, just begging for comment. Rhonda also writes in a way that asks for comments and she comes across as very humble as does Blakester. And all three of these bloggers have been complimentary in their posts as well as their comments. I, on the other hand, feel like I've taken the one approach the author did NOT recommend: controversial. I don't mean to be. It wasn't my plan. I read something, get fired up, and the words just start flowing. I am actually feeling guilty for not being more humble. The truth is, though, I am oppinionated. I'm not right, but I am opinionated (I guess that means I think I'm right which makes me an even bigger horse's rear end . . . guilt, guilt, and more guilt). I think Rhonda was right. Because we can say things via blogs that we wouldn't normally discuss in person for fear of hurting a friend's feelings, we are living two separate lives. Considering the comment I made on her blog regarding this (why don't we sit down over a cup of coffee and discuss some of these topics?), I find it interesting that I have come to this conclusion. At first I was sad to think that a group of friends couldn't discuss objectively (argue in the rhetorical sense). But we do. And regularly. The venue, however, makes the conversations feel different. Salinger reminds me regularly (I can get a little defensive at times) that the problem with email is the reader has no way of interpreting the writer's emotions based on just the words used. The same is true with blogging. What complicates the "feel" of a conversation further is the delay between responses and posts. I would still like for us to get together and discuss some of our ideas sometime, but I seem to have worked through whatever angst I was feeling. I have confessed, done my Hail Maries, forgiven myself and am now free to "Go forth and sin no more!" Yeah, right!
From personal experience, let me direct you to the beauty of the Google whiteboard. I have that up in one window while I read / search the rest of what I need to be doing for the assignment. When I have a thought, not only do I not have to pick up different tools (pen / paper), but I can immediately grab the URL and slap it in the whiteboard for when I have to create a link to what I was yakking about. The address to my whiteboard is one of my bookmarks, and I just start over after I've crafted the ideas from it into my blog. Whiteboard is my new pink (but I'm still wearing pink).
ReplyDeleteI think the problem lies more in the fact that I'm lazy. Yes, even too lazy to write down notes (on paper or otherwise). Thanks, though. :)
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister. Yeah! That's how I will begin my comment. Why? I am overwhelmed by your post, and I need to type just to internalize all of the ideas and info. you posted. How are we supposed to remember these blog "conversations"? How can I follow the thread if I have trouble with the simple logistics of the blogosphere? I am sure help is on the way, so I will soldier on. I want to utilize all of the advice I have received, but I don't know where to store it. I want to be opinionated like you, but I am still struggling with be understood.
ReplyDeleteSee! I put "be understood" instead of "being understood". How do we overcome the obstacles of keyboard mistakes and intellectual diarrhea (I had to look up diarrhea in the dictionary) that spoken language allows for? How do we stay interactive and concise/non-convoluted at the same time?
ReplyDelete