To Blog or Not to Blog
That is the question. Or perhaps not.
Of late, fortune's arrows have me chasing a much coveted turn of events. And so I flit, and flutter, and swoop and swoosh. I am creating something in the material world - and it is a heavy task, yet sweet. And fraught with care and concern. This work doesn't leave much time for blogging.
Sky is wide and I am not sure where I will land. I am on a long flight; I know the coordinates of my landing, but not the destination.
Last week, while driving to one campus at which I work, I chased an illusive rainbow. It was a double rainbow at that, and each time the curve in the freeway brought me closer to its two arcs, another curve would take the rainbows further away.
The sky is not a solid blue, nor is it empty. It is restraining in its seeming infinity - but we should never be deceived - there is a limit. And I have beat my wings against one outer limit, only to swoop and turn and wing my way toward other sectors of space and time.
Earlier this week, I flew off to the Pacific Northwest. Coming home, I again saw a rainbow. This time I was above it.
The material world has beckoned in substantial ways, so I have neglected my blog, neglected the cyberspace community which I have felt so strongly in the past year. This world seems less compelling these days, in comparison with the flesh and blood needs of those around me - and of myself. And yet, this world is familiar, has a pulse, and bloggers for whom I care.
When I started blogging, I had two questions I wanted to answer:
Can one build community in cyberspace?
And if so, what does it mean - what is the nature and quality of that community?
I have answered the first question with a definite "yes."
I have not yet answered the second to my satisfaction.
Can you answer it?
Flap/flap/swoosh!
Of late, fortune's arrows have me chasing a much coveted turn of events. And so I flit, and flutter, and swoop and swoosh. I am creating something in the material world - and it is a heavy task, yet sweet. And fraught with care and concern. This work doesn't leave much time for blogging.
Sky is wide and I am not sure where I will land. I am on a long flight; I know the coordinates of my landing, but not the destination.
Last week, while driving to one campus at which I work, I chased an illusive rainbow. It was a double rainbow at that, and each time the curve in the freeway brought me closer to its two arcs, another curve would take the rainbows further away.
The sky is not a solid blue, nor is it empty. It is restraining in its seeming infinity - but we should never be deceived - there is a limit. And I have beat my wings against one outer limit, only to swoop and turn and wing my way toward other sectors of space and time.
Earlier this week, I flew off to the Pacific Northwest. Coming home, I again saw a rainbow. This time I was above it.
The material world has beckoned in substantial ways, so I have neglected my blog, neglected the cyberspace community which I have felt so strongly in the past year. This world seems less compelling these days, in comparison with the flesh and blood needs of those around me - and of myself. And yet, this world is familiar, has a pulse, and bloggers for whom I care.
When I started blogging, I had two questions I wanted to answer:
Can one build community in cyberspace?
And if so, what does it mean - what is the nature and quality of that community?
I have answered the first question with a definite "yes."
I have not yet answered the second to my satisfaction.
Can you answer it?
Flap/flap/swoosh!
posted by Bird | 8:15 AM
15 Comments:
hi bird. its roxanne (the blogger formerly known as velvet). wishing you well. love those photochoppies. heard the meeting with our best pooch was wonderful. take care.
as far as the nature of the blog/cyber community? i think it has evolved in some ways over this past year. like - its mercurial, ever-changing, defying definition, as new bloggers enter and others, take a hiatus or leave. possibly this is not a satisfactory answer. i dunno.
=8^)
bird, sometimes I feel like deleting my blg, but I've kept on keeping on. I like the people I've met online. We'll see what happens.
The only answer I know right now to your second question is something like this: You will attract to you those you need to teach and who need to learn from you.
I know my life is richer for having you flap, flap and swoosh through it. You must follow your dreams, i.e., rainbows.
If you have not come across the DVD titled the Secret, I would recommend it. It talks about the Law of Attraction. I am more convinced every day that it is the way of viewing the world.
So, dear bird, keep flapping and swooshing. I do miss you when you are away. I am satisfied to know that you are searching for the "answers to life's persistent questions."
Blog when you can. I do enjoy your company.
hey bird! glad you made it out to the country! when you come to see your beloved giants play youll have to come up for a camp out.
the blog community is a good one. i personally believe it has a certain shelf life. note the end of or slowing down of WCH, K9, Q, ben's rise and shine,etc. i have read many people write what lamb did above: they thought of deleting their blog. why?
i thnik freshness has a role here. note the many manifestations of red mantissa. seems like everyday she makes a new blog...so that seems to be a creative path more than a social forum.
as to the quality of the community i have found it to be excellent: some of the conversations ive had have been amazing partly because writing forces one to state their points with clarity, and you have to actually read what others have written, think about it and respond. in the real how often is there that kind of order...half the time people arent listening they are planning what they are going to say next.
and, the community is limited by how many blogs you can read and comment to: too many and its a chore. some of the blogs i read have the same people commenting everyday which is similar to walking into an office and interacting with the same collegues daily. its a real as anything in the real.
-chickory
Where is yer 'puter/connection?
That's what I figure it boils down to, and, not unlike the historical preview we got at the turn of the last century (1900s) when the phone started coming into broad use, the buzz word used (that still gets used today) is that the world got a whole lot smaller.
Personally, I think it got bigger.
We can connect with folks from around the big ol' globe in a flash, which makes it seem that it's smaller, but WOW! ALL the PEOPLE! WOW!
So, as it turns out, there's a company that has created a "community" in cyberspace, and for a small fee, we can all go there and be magical and whatnot.
Personally, I miss the soft, warm carress of human flesh against me.
Snuggling with a naked 'puter can't be THAT much fun, and lordy! Watch out fer what things get wet!
However, words sometimes keep embers of hope and friendship alive, where otherwise the shell of the man (yeah, I'm talking about m'self, sort'a) would have long dried up and been just another boring lump of flesh. Sure, I don't kiss m'computer, but, to be able to get into a "community" of any kind is worth its weight in GOLD!
....well, at least to me, that is.
....Course, it would be nice to cuddle up with a real person again some day....
that warm flesh on warm flesh thing is a very compelling memory.
bird,
can't answer
your question, but...
blog, don't blog, it's all good
/t.
Welcome back dear one.
The answer to the question is:
Because it is right.
Simple huh?
Balance, Bird. Balance. Blog, then go get a real person to walk with, grab a beer, see the sunset.
Blog your off the top of the head stuff, then do some real work. Balance your blog life; keep things in perspective.
blogging is at best reading a book.......I have seen people who get so involved with the people with whom they blog, that they start making opportunities to meet these blog friends. This tells me a lot about a person.
I read blogs where one day they are on top of the world, the next they are ready to commit suicide. I don't think I would want these people in my REAL world. I move on.......
I have read blogs where people seem real, have real lives and just want to share. I stay.....
Blogging is an outlet. NOT A LIFE. When you drag fantasy into your reality, and try and make it your reality, you are walking a razors edge.
Birdie,
I have missed being here. I have missed blogging, too. I think any medium where creativity is shared is so important. Anyway, you pose an interesting question.
xoxo
Lady Jane
Glad you are back here. Miss your way with words.
I am thinking of you and your quest. I hope you receive an offer that is too good to refuse and will put you in a more secure place.
Yes there is a community in cyber space but ( as you know through my own experience) one must be careful of who they let into their space ( private, personal or/and cyber) for there is some danger if we are too honest, open and accepting.
However, how would I have ever met you or Jack or Ardlair ( how I miss him), or Blue ( who I now talk on the phone with), or those redneck hillbillies that make my blood boil and cause me to pause and reassess how I deal with ignorance?
The nature and quality of that community is a bit like any relationship. "All ahead with care" and consideration for others life experiences, beliefs, sensitivities and pain.
You are a special bird. You remind me of the 'Frigate' Bird. It is the lightest bird on earth ( for its wingspan) and can travel great distances for months without touching land. It feeds from the sea, it gathers others around it that are symbiotic and its ability to use the wind, air drafts and sea currents is phenomenal.
You are the same.
I connect with you and love taking the air with you and feel this connectedness that is real, even in cyberspace.
Thank you for bringing your flight path in line with an other on another continent but who shares the same ocean.
very interesting, really. I think about this often.
I've made some real and meaningful friendships through blogging. Some of these people I've also met in the physical world. Some not, but hope to some day. But even if I don't, I count them as real friends.
Build Up is a short story - I found it in Connoisseur's Science Fiction, ed. T. Boardman, Penguin Press 1964 - but there is a more recent edition of this available I think. Yes, feel free to use my photo!
yo bird!
wandering by
your perch -- sayin' hi
/t.
I think all serious bloggers such as us face these issues... obviously, I think real-life needs to take priority over the virtual... but since we are writers outside of blogging, this is part of real life...
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