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09.30.06 01:43 AM

the truth about blogging...here anyway

Truth is, I want to write. I always feel the urge to write. But after the day is gone, sometimes the will and intent don't cross paths. Shame.

I could blame it on the workload, or even the personal life. All too often those seem like excuses. Every day, there's at least 3-4 posts that run through my mind. Often I draft them out on the MDA, but they never seem to make their way to this web page called diary. And I suppose that's the problem. This is a diary, and most of the matter that crosses my mind from the personal realm finds itself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Nowadays, to blog is to really expose yourself. I remember when blogging meant you only wrote for a select few. But now, thanks to Google, or is it thanks to the ease of blogging software, or is it both — the whole world can read your personal space.

Either way, either someone else is trumping you on a pop culture post, or you think twice about displaying the personal to be etched in the search engines until eternity, or at least until some other technological force comes onto the scene.

I blog, write, and edit as a FT gig. I blog, write, and edit as a contributor elsewhere. So the energy here, in this space, lacks. There's got to be at least 10 unpublished posts sitting in the queue, another 5 or so typed up on the MDA, and various other link-type entries scattered across my gmail account.

I don't even know the point I'm trying to make anymore.

I suppose it's something about how I often find myself at this crossroad. The one where I'm not writing anything significant here. The one where I'm thinking about taking a hiatus. Yeah, that crossroad — that moment.

The reasons:

  • Because I'm no longer writing for the small audience I once wrote for back in '01 - '02 on this page, I find myself thinking whether that many people need to know my business or even what I think.
  • There are far too many writers, just as there are readers. And many all write about the same thing, with little variation in their hook or angle. So why write here what's being written on 1099 other sites?
  • Sometimes, the stuff I want to write about here, I'm writing for some other venue — and often, there's a conflict of interest.
  • I'm really tired of writing about music, media, and my life.
  • Comment culture seems to have changed in that only controversial topics brings out the commenter in readers nowadays. This relates to #1 becuase when there was a smaller audience sharing ideas, there was an inclination to comment on one another's blogs. People visit here, but I often don't even know who they are anymore.
  • My top former most blogged topics — hip-hop and technology — are being blogged about en masse (ad nauseam), and to some degree, more or less, well, hip-hop is dead. As for technology, as stated above in not so many words, I gotta give all my tech posts to other spots.

No this is not one of those Lynne is going off for weeks at a time again posts. It's just that Lynne is rethinking her game. Lynne's juggling a few ideas about making things interesting and spicing it up. Lynne's looking for a new angle — a new schtick.

It's about time I stepped up to the level of this design.

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Comments

I just wanted to say that I feel you on this. The dead zone is a frustrating place to be. To have the creative fire with no real direction or drive behind it. You want to express, but what? and where? And if you're really analyzing, why? The who is you, and the how? Who knows where that went. Too many options, too much of the same thing. And is it really all about being unique, or saying something different? Or is it simply about being heard?

And then is devolves into rambles. I SO feel you on this. Best of luck working it out.

posted by pclarity | September 30, 2006 10:45 AM #

*co-signs*

I'm with you, Lynn. When I started blogging back in 2001 it was an unique way to get my thoughts, opinions, and observations down. As the comments increased something was lost along the way. I was in Florida last weekend and realized that my connection with (popular) hip hop was faint. I kept turning the XM radio from The Heat to The RAW or The Groove because I have no desire to hear Young Joc. And to a certain extent I have less desire to blog about it.

Yes, Hip Hop is dead but please stick around. We need intelligent sistas like yourself to continue to represent.

posted by KB | September 30, 2006 5:42 PM #

Ain't THAT the truth. Enough so, that I had to cite you: http://www.elisepps.com/diary/2006/10/06/341

posted by Elisabeth | October 6, 2006 3:55 AM #

ditto. I feel you on eveything you said here.

I don't blog as much on my own site as much because the itch that I used to scratch there is being taken care of somewhere else. And for money.

posted by Hashim [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 8, 2006 12:09 AM #

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