“Why I Blog” expresses the way blogging has (and continues
to) changed the course of writing and journalism. Blogging presents a story in
an imperfect and impromptu manner that reaches to an audience in a more
personal way than formal writing usually has to offer. As Sullivan compares
with the self-publicist, Karl Klaus, blogging offers the writer a stroke of
fearlessness that allows them to send out a message instantaneously. The writer
no longer has to worry about rejection from a third party to send out a
message, which most authors encounter. However, with this freedom comes
persecution from readers who possess the same fearlessness in the form of their
critic. Sullivan discusses how he and his fellow bloggers coped with tragedies
together through their writing and interacted with information on a more
personal level rather than reading a news article. On a website, such as
blogger, “these friends, moreover, are an integral part of the blog
itself—sources of solace, company, provocation, hurt, and correction”.
In
the article, Sullivan seems to think that blogging is a new and innovative way
to share information amongst an audience. A blog post can easily snowball into
a group discussion, argument, or insight to other sources. The spontaneity of a
thought that can be projected in the blogosphere is the importance that
blogging itself has to offer. I think that the personal level in which blogging
presents itself helps the audience understand and relate to a piece of
information rather than skim and retain bits and pieces. You get to the meat of
the idea and are able to express an emotion of your own, whether it is positive
or negative. A blog can be seen as a timeline for individuals. While going
through their pages you’re able to see how their opinions have evolved over
time and what their passions lie in. I agree with Sullivan that blogging has opened new doors for journalism and writing. I think that sites like these have presented a new platform for sharing information and allow individuals to openly transform their writings and ideas. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has to say and hopefully i'll be able to pick up some of their insights as well!
I always understood that with blogging "the writer no longer has to worry about rejection from a third party," but I love the way you phrase the second part about how the freedom comes with persecution. I've never been able to find the right word to describe it, but now I have one (:
ReplyDelete