Since I started this blog, I've read lots of advice/how-to columns on blogging. Lots of good advice, but I've failed to follow some (or most?) of it. First, the idea of blogging everyday is great but I can't pull it off. I actually become guilty when I'm about to write some crap just to write something. A few weeks ago I almost took the bait and submitted a piece of writing about expat life to a blog that was looking for writers. Why didn't I? Well I started reading that blog and the related blogs that all feed off of one another. What did I discover? The writing was mediocre, and worse there were far too many articles that were "slapdash" (thanks, Izzard, for the term). By that I mean the writer just wanted to publish something and post it on his/her site, and then have it linked to another site that linked back to the original site (blog tautology). Many of these blogs are lists/top tens and they say nothing. A recent one I read discussed the top ten new eco-adventures for 2010 (or something like that). This area I can speak with expertise: the adventures weren't new, the descriptions were prosaic, and the accompanying pictures were stock photos. But hey, the blogger fulfilled the "publish no matter what" ethos.
The publish no matter what and publish quickly ethos results in sloppy writing, which of course reflects sloppy thinking. More, it reflects a self-satisfaction on the part of the writer that can be dangerous: "Hey, I'm writing and my blog is followed so therefore I am legitimate and my writing has weight." I question this about myself and others.
And where does that leave me? I've started doing this to kick start my writing, my self-examination, and to dabble in new media. However, does this sort of writing and the time it takes up really serve me well? I don't know. So for now I am ambivalent on blogging as a form and where it will take me, and whether I want to take me anywhere.
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