Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Blogs--What and Why

I hate trendy things, until I get used to them or understand them. And if truth be told, I don't go out of my way to understand them--unless people I know and love get involved with them or I have some other personal reason that jumpstarts my curiosity. So when a couple of my guys got interested in blogs, the process began.

"Blogs" went from an extremely annoying word I read on a page somewhere more and more often, to a word I needed to understand. I actually thought it was a very stupid word--till I found out more about it. I even went so far as to ask (once I found out what it meant) a good 23 year old friend and her boyfriend if they knew what the word meant--not just what it is, but what the word itself meant. They didn't, but they had heard of the concept and told me a sad but not-so-bizarre-today story they'd heard about a married couple who was so busy that the only way they ever communicated was by reading each other's blog. (That, my friends, is to me an over-use of blogs, and a misuse of life--but that's perhaps another story.)

I don't want to be remiss here. Just in case you've stumbled on this blog, have your own blog, or your kids, parents (it could happen!) or friends have a blog, what the word itself means is "web log." It is shorthand for a log or journal written on the world wide web instead of paper.When I first heard about blogs before looking at them (the very first one I laid eyes on was my son's), I thought that was a stupid idea. We already have web sites--why do we need another medium of expression? But once I understood that you could simply write your thoughts on anything day by day and the last would appear first, that held appeal for me. Then I started reading my son's and those of his friends, and I got it.

A blog can be whatever I want it to be. It can be a place to post opinions which may start give-and-take discussion, talk about hobbies, journal through challenges and get feedback, or just express how great (or bad) a day I had. I'm looking forward to having fun, sharpening my communication skills, and learning and growing. The only things I can think of right now that I don't want to do with a blog are use it as a way of avoiding "real-time" relationships,
disrespect others even by implication, or express opinions I'd be too timid to express in person. I want to be the same person online that I am offline. Here's to another experience with computers that adds to my already interesting life!


1 comment:

ClaireElaine said...

You might want to check my journal for today -- I put my thoughts of your post today on there.

Thanks Barb... You're a joy to read!!