Blogging on Blogging

I had an email conversation with the wonderful blogger Amber about whether it was disingenuous to only post cheerful entries when of course nobody’s life is sunshiny all the time.

She worried that it might be, but I didn’t think it was, and I think most people understand and even expect that. Life just doesn’t always lend itself to pithy little paragraphs of mirth. Which is partly why there has been a dearth of said paragraphs here of late.

But I think that’s par for the blogging course, unless the blog is strictly topical. If you’re writing a movie blog, there’s always a new movie coming out. But if you’re just chatting – well, there isn’t always chat material.

It’s an oddity of the medium, I think: its topical content is dictated far less by its structure than any other is.

I mean, a newspaper is noteworthy recent happenings. A sitcom is funny situations. Or at least that’s what they both are supposed to be. But what’s a blog? Whatever I say it is. So what goes in it? Whatever I put there.

Which can be liberating and creativity-inducing, but also runs you up against a brick wall sometimes.

Apparently, even when there isn’t upbeat chatting material, there is always media studies material. Sorry if I geeked out on you there for a minute. Hey, maybe I should write a media studies blog. But I think I’ve been beaten to that punch. And anyway, my media-studies thinking should be thesis-focused, shouldn't it.


[tagname]