Blogs

I remember when I started blogging. I think I was one of the first people I know to start blogging. Dont get me wrong, it was a cultural phenomenon back 4 years ago when I began, but none of my friends really did it. And then all of a sudden a bunch of us did. We all kept it up for a while, some came and went, but I had a pretty vibrant blogging community. Tonight I found myself checking my friends blogs and finding only abandoned websites for the most part. It kind of kills a lot of the fun of blogging for me. So I guess this post is a bit of a salute to all the blogs around me during this time:

So I started thinking of all the people that had blogs I liked that stopped:
-Jen
-Erin Kidd (though she kept it up for a very short time)
-Rebecca Wood (though it seems like she may start up again)
-Kenny
-Evangeline
-Chris Cherene
Or the ones that never really started up in the first place:
-Charles

And then there are the ones that I wish would write more often:
-Ed Rand
-Aitor
-Erin Davidson (with an almost defunct blog now)
-Renee (who may quit after her time in Vietnam I'm guessing)
-Rachel Peterson

And of course, those who, despite their ups and downs, have kept fairly regular blogs going:
-Miriam Moser
-Daniel Dixon
-Eva Dixon
-Heather Bixler

I remember a certain period of ye ole blog lifecycle when there was a fairly good response and posting rate with many, if not most, of the aforementioned blogs going. It was fun, with long comments after every topic, arguments, jokes... those were the good ole days, where blogging was more of a conversation than a monologue. Or at least various monologues going on at once, with audiences booing and commenting along the way. Ahh... good times, good times. Now perhaps my blogs have simply gotten more boring and the 4.3 regular readers that I have arent compelled to reply to my innane thoughts, perhaps perhaps. I dont mean for this to sound like a whine for commenters, it surely isnt. I'm just thinking out loud, wondering where everyone went, not so much on my own blog page as on theirs. I enjoyed reading their thoughts and interacting. My mom once asked me if Facebook and Myspace would supplant blogs. I said that no, they fulfilled different tasks. But while the blog is still the best form to publish your ramblings, perhaps it is true that the communal aspect of the blogging world has been supplanted by so called "social networking" sites.

Comments

Jenn said…
One of my bloggedy friends (met through blogs and never have in real life) just convinced my to join Facebook, but I've never gotten the hang of it.

I miss the blogging community I had going too, but truth be told, I don't miss blogging all that much myself. But I have given your offer serious thought and may (MAY) start up again. I just don't feel sure about it yet.
Anonymous said…
i too miss the old days...
blogs were a fun way to keep up with each other. myspace and facebook will never replace it. (i have decided to have a boycott on them both)
proud to be on your list of ups and downs but mostly regular bloggers:-)
Ryan said…
I really like facebook, but I really only use it for college friends. I have a couple others, but I like it for my college connections. That is what it started out as, a college network thing. Now that it has opened up to anyone it sort of irritates me. But for college acquaintances I love it.
Ryan said…
I mind.
Evangeline said…
where did my post go to?.. have you been using your cyber-deleting powers, Ryan?.
D said…
I stalkerishly read your blog sometimes. I enjoy your thoughts, but i never consider myself cool enough to comment.
Evangeline said…
Davia must be your equivalent to Jenn's Evangeline. Lucky you, Ryan.
Reesa Wood said…
Well Ryan it looks like life as it may have been of old has reinstated itself in a very, very small degree. I enjoy your blog and though i stopped reading it for a long time you finding my meekly reinstated blog sort of encouraged me...

by the way, sooo. I just got accepted to this TEFL course in buenos aires and it looks like i'm going. one of the perks is that they also have a madrid office- so if I get sick of argentina I could have tons of connections for work in madrid. I'm gonna do the TEFL even though you can work without it- this seems to be a better option- to just be frickin' qualified and be able to go anywhere. I'd rather go somewhere with the confidence that i have a plan for the short term and that i won't be having too many difficulties from el principio- not sleeping on the street.

it would really be great to see you in madrid but I am thinking i'd rather go to south america- and though i like the idea of going where I know 1 person as opposed to zero people... I don't know if that compensates for the this somewhat unexplicable draw to argentina... Have you been there? Would you mind giving me some argument one way or the other concerning Buenos Aires v. Madrid?
Ryan said…
hehe, anyone can comment. I know I have a few readers that dont comment. To all of you readers that read all sly-like... Feel free to say hello if you want
Reesa Wood said…
i wish i knew the name of the law. I suppose I should double check things before I talk about them- but i'm pretty sure my professor wouldn't make that up. Oh, another crazy thing. Un-double-checked-- but my very smart professor cited this paper that was written way back before the iraq war, written by a bunch of guys (cheney, bush this political theorist fukuyama, other people associated with the right, like paul wolfowitz) called "Project for a New American Century" and I believe the gist of the paper was that america needed a stategic position in the middle east and they were just waiting for a catastrophic event, an excuse if you will to begin the war- ie. 9-11, terrorists, and al Qaeda.
(I hope that this isn't being monitered by the wrong people)--- this phone is tapped...

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