I
have a blog. I feel a little like Lester
Burnham and his 1970 Pontiac Firebird in American Beauty. I’ve always wanted it and now I have it. I rule!
Except
now that I have it, I am not entirely
sure that I know what to do with it.
There’s that little internal voice, of course. Sometimes a monologue, sometimes a
documentary-style commentary or an opinion piece......
Anne is
far more down-to-earth than I expected for a multi-award winning novelist and
international sex-symbol. She laughs
when I tell her this as I sip tea in the beautiful, yet understated décor of
her lovely home, the evening sun glinting off her sleek, perfectly-coiffed
hair.
Anne stirs the gravy, entirely
failing to notice that her guests have succumbed to a sudden and fatal bout of
food poisoning brought on by her total inability to follow a recipe. Better luck next time, Anne.
Camera sweeps across a cityscape in a birds-eye view. Gradually it spirals in on a lonely figure
striding up the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice. Hers is a hopeless cause and yet every
movement speaks of determination and courage.
As the camera pans in closer she pulls off her wig, shedding the
traditional trappings of her profession in a symbolic moment of defiance. As she turns her face up to survey the
intimidating vastness of the court building, the music swells and changes key…
But
apart from providing an outlet for my internal stream of consciousness, what do
I actually do with a blog? What is it for? There is a whole online
universe of words and experience and people’s lives out there – when it comes
to that virtual world we have a thousand and one ways of connecting with people
and sharing thoughts and information.
Take
Twitter for example. Sometimes it seems
like everyone has a Twitter account.
Everyone tweets. Everyone is a
‘#’ or an ‘@’ or whatever the symbol is.
Maybe I am missing something but I just don't get Twitter. As I understand it, each tweet has to be
under a certain number of characters, so information is shared in very short
soundbites, presumably at a great rate.
It is like Facebook on speed. I
find it difficult to imagine what I could find to say in 140 characters or
less. (Particularly given that Simon
claims that if I were a superhero, my power would be overwhelming people with
sheer volume of words.) I suspect that
if I were to try out this particular form of communication, it would be less
'Twitter' and more 'Witter'. I also
strongly suspect that my communications would effectively be a real-time rant
about the failure of those around me to abide by my own private rules of
conduct, probably with a strong public transport leaning.
Why is that woman not moving
down the carriage?
@AngryCommutingAnne
She's still not moving. I shall glare at her. [glares]
@AngryCommutingAnne
Strange. She seems to be immune to the power of the
glare.
@AngryCommutingAnne
Ohforgoodnesssakewomanjustmovedownthebloodycarriage. Aaaargh!
Perhaps
this is the sort of thing that South-West trains have in mind when they invite
passengers to "Follow us on Twitter" on the scrolling screens in the
carriages. Although I have a vision of
train drivers cheerfully updating their status between stations.
Late
Still late
Continuing to be late
Sure I just saw Jordan on the
platform at Mortlake
Very, very late
Facebook,
I get. There are no
character-restrictions. There are
pictures. The things that people post generally
tend to be highlights or points of interest in their lives or in their
day. Where Twitter seems to be the
unedited, unabridged, director's cut version of
people's daily lives, Facebook is the crib notes, the bits you really
want to know. Things happen at a more
sedate pace on Facebook. There are, of
course, people who seem to have no filter between their real lives and their
Facebook account. Nothing is too
fleeting or trivial to be recorded for posterity, held up for observation. I know some Facebook friends better than
their own mothers. I know what they had
for dinner last Tuesday, what their partner said to them in bed two days ago
and the status of their ongoing crush on Harry from One Direction.
But
over-sharing aside, I am comfortable with Facebook. I understand its purpose and its etiquette
and, most importantly, I understand how the "hide" button works.
Then
there is Pinterest. Not exactly a social
network, but certainly a mechanism for sharing thoughts and experiences. When I discovered Pinterest I was
enchanted. Pictures of fun things,
pretty things, downright weird things – what’s not to like? I nagged until someone sent me an invite and
I gleefully set up my Pinterest account.
And then I sat and stared at the screen wondering what on earth to do
with it. My mind was blank. I honestly could not think of anything to
post. My Pinterest page now consists of
a single, lonely little picture of a pretty baby sling that I was coveting at
the time. Some people I know have
started “following” me on Pinterest. I
suspect they may soon stop.
Pinterest did however point me to 2011's funniest Christmas present - the bearded hat....
Pinterest did however point me to 2011's funniest Christmas present - the bearded hat....
So
with Facebook and Twitter and all the other social networking options
available, why do people blog?
I think the difference is that most of these other sites are about directly communicating with others. People put their thoughts and experiences out there in the hope of engaging with others. Facebook and Twitter are conversations of sorts, slightly bizarre conversations, granted, with unnaturally long pauses or else everyone shouting at once, but ultimately views are exchanged. A blog is more of an online journal. It doesn't really matter if people read and comment, read and move on, or don't read it at all. The point is to write it.
Obviously
it would be nice if people do read and enjoy, and possibly even tell you that
they are enjoying it - everyone likes vindication, after all!
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