I know you, Hell-Dog!
This is my favorite Dante quote so far.
Anyway....
Efforts to disguise my computer incompetence have failed. A recent February blog refuses to show up on my site. I'm getting frustrated, and somewhat embarrassed at the same time. But, thankfully, I can fall back on the always classic "I grew up in Russia" excuse for my ignorance. But seriously, there is something about online journaling that seems so disconnected from "regular" notebook journaling. Blogs feel a little more fake, perhaps (at least to me), because we are all writing things that we know other people will read. If I actually kept a notebook journal, I'm sure it would be nothing like my blogs.
In relation to this idea of audience, I have been thinking a lot about Dante, and the fact that he wrote for an intended large audience. He wanted people to read what he was writing. He wanted a large readership. This small fact seems to widen the gap between me and this brilliant writer (as if time, culture, and intellect were not enough to separate us already). When I write autobiographically, I write with timidity. I'm not interested in having large numbers of people read my blogs every day.
I know that all of our personal stories are valuable, mine no less so than someone else's. But I still don't have the inclination to write for large groups of people. What I write is private, even if I'm not actually disclosing what people would consider to be personal and intimate information. For example, I may not go into any detail at all about my personal relationships and significant experiences, but that doesn't mean that my blog isn't personal. Writing style, subject, word order - these are all personal choices and my part. So whatever I write about (whether it's my dysfunctional family, my grades, my favorite music, or the temperature outside) is personal.
And being personal is awkward with people that you don't know, and, in the case of blogs, with complete strangers. Yes, the more I think about blogs, the more I am weirded out by them. And at the same time, I read other people's blogs with insatiable curiosity. Is this a contradiction?
More to come as I think about these poorly stated, half-baked ideas.
Anyway....
Efforts to disguise my computer incompetence have failed. A recent February blog refuses to show up on my site. I'm getting frustrated, and somewhat embarrassed at the same time. But, thankfully, I can fall back on the always classic "I grew up in Russia" excuse for my ignorance. But seriously, there is something about online journaling that seems so disconnected from "regular" notebook journaling. Blogs feel a little more fake, perhaps (at least to me), because we are all writing things that we know other people will read. If I actually kept a notebook journal, I'm sure it would be nothing like my blogs.
In relation to this idea of audience, I have been thinking a lot about Dante, and the fact that he wrote for an intended large audience. He wanted people to read what he was writing. He wanted a large readership. This small fact seems to widen the gap between me and this brilliant writer (as if time, culture, and intellect were not enough to separate us already). When I write autobiographically, I write with timidity. I'm not interested in having large numbers of people read my blogs every day.
I know that all of our personal stories are valuable, mine no less so than someone else's. But I still don't have the inclination to write for large groups of people. What I write is private, even if I'm not actually disclosing what people would consider to be personal and intimate information. For example, I may not go into any detail at all about my personal relationships and significant experiences, but that doesn't mean that my blog isn't personal. Writing style, subject, word order - these are all personal choices and my part. So whatever I write about (whether it's my dysfunctional family, my grades, my favorite music, or the temperature outside) is personal.
And being personal is awkward with people that you don't know, and, in the case of blogs, with complete strangers. Yes, the more I think about blogs, the more I am weirded out by them. And at the same time, I read other people's blogs with insatiable curiosity. Is this a contradiction?
More to come as I think about these poorly stated, half-baked ideas.
posted by Christine at 4:36 PM
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