after blogging for 7-8 years, i thought it would be nice to write about blogs itself. and i think it is an appropriate topic for me considering a major part of my post-grad research centered around the use of new media such as aod and blogs, the affordances, the theories, the motivation behind bloggers, etc. but above all these theories, what has been the most interesting about blogs for me has been the ability to have a glimpse into people's lifes and to learn through their life experiences. when i met up with germs recently, he reflected on the high levels of sexual energies expressed in the writings of many of the writers (many of whom are young enough to be our sons, had we chosen to deny our own sexuality and gone over to the dark side and have babies aeons ago). and we concluded that this energy and new sense of identity amongst younger glbts was a direct result of the borderless nature of the cyberspace. screw whatever rulings the local government has, the blogosphere allows us to express our thoughts whenever and wherever we like... but how far this logic can be stretched remains to be defined.
anyway, back to the topic... blogging had allowed me to journal my own thoughts and through the journaling, learn more about myself and at the same time, allowed others to learn from my experiences (although that was not my purpose when i started my blog). i also noticed that different people has different writing styles and certainly, each style comes with their own unique ways of bringing across the writer's thoughts. for example, some like to have entries that reflect an interplay between what they write and what they think.
these people present their thoughts clearly in the most politically correct language, tone and pitch and at the same time display explicit indiscretions and/ or most politically incorrect and crude (yet most likeable and socially accepted) terms behind a strike-out line. while others prefer to display explicitly previous dialogues that captures the sometimes unsaid nuances of 2 person's conversations.
m: oi? are you talking about me? heh, so, what are your thoughts?
p: heh heh... i thought it is really interesting.
m: yup, it does give a glimpse into our thought processes during the coversation ya?
p: but hor, i suspect at time, additional words have been included to spice up your post.
m: of cos la, else things would seemed terribly boring right?
as for some others, it is even more interesting cos the way they express their young, cute and unadulterated thoughts on possibly sensitive and explosive topics, as well as how they wildly sow their seeds, i mean words and comments, in other people's blogs make their presence and perhaps blogosphere's alter-ego larger than life. of cos, there are those who shared about their life's woes (who doesn't rite?), health, relationships, and so on and also, those that actually write a lot but write nothing... doh! there are just so many different writing styles that one can find in the blogosphere. the blog allows us to adopt a different alter-ego in the net and perhaps play out a personality that we hope to be in real life. also, for some of us, the blog is an escape. a space for us to write and pent, not that we are like that in real life. i for once am a blogger who tend to sound very serious and depressive because i tend to only write when i am down or when there are tensions in life. thus, my blog topics tend to be more heavy and depressing. on the same token, i am more expressive when i interact in the blogosphere. i can go omg omg omg and lolx in my writings, but in real life, i am possibly one of the most boring, serious and difficult person to be with. i thought about it yesterday and concluded that as i grow older, i can perhaps see myself fitting nicely into the typical "eccentric old man" mould and perhaps some would also qualify me as a dirty old man aka dom, but that is not for me to judge! one more thing, it feels very good and warm when someone tells you they are inspired by your blog, and/ or that they are motivated to blog after reading your blog. and certainly, it is also very warm to know that people do get to know people better in the blogosphere and that at times, this blossom to real life friendship.
ok, i am starting to blabber... damned, it must have been my research again, i could go on and on when it comes to writing about people's motivations and behaviour online. well, this is a weekend again and it is good to be able to get back to my personal space and express what i want to express in my blog... weather today is iffy. the might rain, might not rain, sunny yet cloudy, la la la kinda weather. in short - good. so... will do my laundry, have lunch and then bring my mum and
dog out for a short weekend afternoon excursion.
:-)
