Did your blog do what you wanted it to do in 2008? Was it worth the time spent?
For me, the answer is an unequivocal yes to both questions. This blog exists to chronicle my journey through self-education. It also exists to promote my moral and philosophical views, very succinctly and cleverly described by frequent commenter Dean as "prudiciousness" - judicious prudery.
Success at achieving the latter goal is obvious in the growing library of posts I have yelling from my bloggy pulpit about St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and Dave Ramsey. The former goal, self-education, has been a signal achievement of this blog. Here's short list, in no particular order, of what I've learned because of the way blogging has focused my thought processes.
- Watching the election unfold, I gained an understanding of the limited usefulness of political talk radio. I used to listen to Rush and others, but in working my way through my own political philosophy, I have little time for them any more. An exception to this is Dennis Prager.
- I learned that politics is an interesting diversion, but it's not personally useful. There has been much more applicability to my explorations in economics.
- Political discussions in comment threads can quickly devolve into the vile and are rarely illuminating. The discussions on technical blog posts can be nasty, but are frequently educational.
- Photoshop is a fun thing to play with. Even a very rigid thinker like myself can find creative things to do with it.
- Sunsets and clouds are very perishable things. Carry a camera around with you at all times.
- You can't change people's minds by mocking them or yelling at them. Still, it's (evil) fun to just rip someone to shreds in a blog post now and again.
- People who disagree with you can teach you a lot. Even if you conclude that they're wrong, they force you to clarify your own thinking.
- The growth of blogging and the decline of newspapers proves again what happens when barriers to entry fall for a particular industry.
- Dittos for music and film. I don't watch TV any more. I watch YouTube.
- The blogosphere offers so much in the way of educational opportunities. With a little effort, you can find people smarter and more educated than yourself to follow and learn from.
- Hannah Montana is 20x more powerful than macroeconomics.
- People who stop by to read your blog and leave comments are as precious as diamonds. It's their interaction with your material that makes blogging its most rewarding experience.
I take my camera around with me wherever I go. Throwing up a good and/or amusing picture is a post-saver if I'm pressed for time.
ReplyDeleteI am much more knowledgeable about the world around me as a result of blogging as I am reading more and varied accounts of current events. The downside, however, is that my book reading has fallen off dramatically. I need to find a better balance.
One thing I knew going into blogging is that I better have my act together, my facts straight and my views expressed in a clear and concise manner. I hope that has been the case.
Oh, and I sincerely hope Ms. Mulvey is fully recovered by now from those 3rd degree burns.
P.S. Thanks for the props.
KT,
ReplyDeleteNice insights. Blogging has been a bit more challenging for me than perhaps for you or Dean. I don't consider myself a natural writer, I often put in lengthy edits, even on emails and blog comments.
Blogging has challenged me to order my priorities so that I have the time to blog.
Blogging has forced me to face the fact that I occasionally suffer from depression, which impacts my creativity both at home and at work.
Finally, I say ditto to Dean about getting my act together and facts straight.
Sounds like you had an awesome 2008.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure out why I blog, so I can't say if I've been a success. I guess it's a way for me to interact with other people and try and influence them. I can say I'm successfully interacting with people. And some have said I've made them think, so I guess I'm a 2008 success, too!
Thanks for your insights! I would bet one thing for certain: blogging has made all of us better writers.
ReplyDeleteB-daddy, you know how to contact me. Depression can sometimes be helped by a sympathetic ear.
Blogging has helped clarify how pathetic my day job can be....
ReplyDeleteI followed a link from Winds of Change here and have been perusing. I recently launched my own blog, which is neither deep nor philosophical. It's just for fun, cataloging those things I run across on the internet that are so cool (to me) I just want to share them with other people. I'm trying to avoid the viral video and other cultural phenomena and blog things that are, hopefully, interesting and educational.
ReplyDeleteSo far I'd say it's a success. If nothing else, I've got my own catalog that I can refer back to when I can't remember where I saw something.
I agree with your assessment that comments are like gold. Without them, I feel rather like I'm simply talking to myself and I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that's not a good sign.