- January 19, 2018
- 11:15 am
- Al Gini
- no comments
To Blog or Not To Blog
To play on a phrase from Shakespeare: “To blog or not to blog! That is the question!” Why do I do it? Why do so many of us do it?
- Is it because technology makes it easy to do?
- Is it because we are exercising our democratic right to “free speech”?
- Is it because we have something really important to say and share with others?
- Is it because we are bored?
- Is it only narcissistic indulgence?
Probably it’s a little bit of all the above, and perhaps a great deal more as well.
Royston Cartoons
Let me be honest. I blog, because it is part of my job. I was asked to do so by the powers that be. Their argument was a simple one: “You (me) are an educator. We are an institution of higher education. We want you to write ‘interestingly’ about topics in your field. It’s good PR.” It made sense to me, and so I’ve been at it – with greater and lesser success for the last number of years. But, I’m not really sure that I would bother to blog it if it weren’t required of me. Frankly, I think we are all super-saturated with too much trivial information and barely worthwhile data and facts.
Ok, I admit there’s a lot of helpful stuff out there in the blog-o-sphere; “How to tie a bow-tie”; “Exotic Recipes”; “Sports Stats”; “Comedy Blogs”; “History Blogs”; “Investment Blogs”; etc. But, boy am I sick and tired of “Pictures from my Vacation Blogs”; “How I spend My Day Bogs”; “Why All Cats and Puppies Should Be Loved Blogs”. And the never ending list of “Here are a Few Thousand Words on This and That – Political, Social, Religion – Issue That I’m Deeply Committed to Blogs but I Have Nothing Else to Do Blogs”.
Frankly, I’m beginning to dread penning and/or reading blogs in the same way that I detest “three page single-spaced family catch-up Christmas letters.
Or maybe to be just a tad more cynically nasty – why do so many of us – (including me, and especially including this blog) – feel it necessary to share our thoughts with others? What even happened to the virtue of “silence”, or “no comment”, or simply “keeping it to yourself”? Don’t get me wrong – an important issue or situation – deserves attention and debate. But when it comes to blogging – I think more in less. And, all too often, even the less is too much and not worth sharing!
Descartes said: Cogito, ergo sum! (I think, therefore I am!) Not: Blog, ergo sum! (I blog, therefore I am!)