This is about me and you, the ones who blog and the ones who read, the ones who use it to express themselves and the ones who use it to know other's views.
Why do we blog? rather, why should we blog? Invariably I have seen, including myself that such writing starts to tend towards creating an impression in the reader's mind. why is this needed? why can't blogs be used just to express oneself rather than to impress others. Now, I can understand if it's a journalist or a newspaper columnist or a novelist who is forced to do so to earn his livelihood, but why should bloggers of all, be doing that?
I am not writing this post to establish the purpose of writing blogs, probably there are many and I am not questioning them. But I am trying to point to an invariably common phenomenon in our everyday actions without even being conscious about it. This is not just about blogging. Whether it is using a social-networking site such as Orkut or it is having a homepage on 360, whether it is having a statcounter on your page or changing your status on Yahoo, whether it is to set a favorite tune as ur ringtone or having a wallpaper on your pc, it all seems that we are trying to get someone's attention. These are only some of the myriad examples I can point to.
Though we can all comfortably deny that this is to keep us hooked with our friends and probably find new ones, to express our likings and dislikings, it requires an unbiased thinking. It seems rather obvious that we are trying to create an impression upon others, but why is it required? I might not meet you in my entire life or even if I did live next door, does it matter? It seems to be a human tendency to try to earn appreciation from others. Again not to lose the scope of this post, I am not trying to say if this kind of behavior is right or wrong, the question is what are we missing out in the process.
To me, writing is a way to get clarity to my thoughts, giving it a structure and to know myself better. This understanding that I get either by writing or the fact that I strive a little to get the clarity to write is what I am looking for. Probably, everyone who blogs with a purpose might agree with me on this. But it is when we start trying to keep the reader in mind, that's where the trouble begins. We start to decieve ourselves catering to the reader's mind thereby losing the true purpose of writing.
I was listening to one of Jiddu Krishnamurti's recorded interviews in which he says that the observer and the observed are one and the same and only when we realise this do we truely understand ourselves. Jiddu was actually referring to mind and the self when he talks about the observer and the observed, but this specific context can be corollated here as well. Almost all of our actions seem to follow this.
"The understanding of what you are, whatever it be - ugly or beautiful, wicked or mischievous - the understanding of what you are, without distortion, is the beginning of virtue. Virtue is essential, for it gives freedom."
-Jiddu Krishnamurthy(1895 - 1986)
It is important, that I and You put an effort in understanding ourselves better. Neither you are the observer and I am the observed nor is it vice versa, but we in ourselves are both the observer and the observed.
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True Colors: Phil Collins
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8 comments:
Why do we blog? rather, why should we blog? Invariably I have seen, including myself that such writing starts to tend towards creating an impression in the reader's mind. why is this needed? why can't blogs be used just to express oneself rather than to impress others.
That is human nature maga...We got to remain indifferent to what others think....and keep blogging....we blog for our pleasure and that is the end of story.
haha, well said mate, 'tats all the answer please' anta :)
i failed to put across my point and made it look blog specific. the point i was trying to make was that the duality one faces with the sub-conscious permeates to all our actions and we invariably fail to understand our true self, let alone understand others. and the natural tendency that we have to 'market' ourselves at every instance only worsens it.
Hmmm....i never thought bloging as a way to impress others....may be....yeah...people do tht often!
some times blogging can be way to communicate with otehrs :) indirectly.
A nice thoughtful post and very true also..
For me blogging is to log my daily/frequent thoughts and it i made public to know other people's opinion about what I think/feel.. I agree in the process of making it public, when I try to log something, I keep the reader in mind, and flow of information is not spontaneous, if not to impress, atleast not to make grammatical mistakes I keep eidting my posts sometimes..
I think there are some notions which one must get cleared...or else you end up in a wrong place !
One writes in blog to jott those ideas and views which one may not generally go out and share with ppl...and when one writes so..he/she is not thinking of readers...as u dont know who wants to read ur blog..! But when u do get a reply on ur blog that means...there is something in ur views that u expressed and it gives u more opportunity to be urself...rather than impressing someone or blah blah!
When u say what u like u have peace in mind!
Think about it..& yeah happy bloggin ;)
cheers
very well written. made me ponder a great deal. i found some answers here on "to blog or not to blog". i am a critical observer of self and others. this adds a certain pressure when i am the observed. it works in a positive way & pushes me to do my best. thinking of the reader makes me write better. i appreciate the deep philosophy in your blog and wish i can get there...someday...
good post. but i never thought it was to impress others, for me and I believe even for great writers, writing needs and means further clearification on one's thoughts, ideas and opinions. It is a path to freedom.
Thansk for dropping by, I use canon s1, there is a link to my tool, on my blog.
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