New to blogging, me. I suppose that any time we enter a new cultural space a certain amount of self-consciousness is to be expected. This past week spent doing blog research ( a fancy word for screwing off at work – not that much ’cause all hell breaks loose in a fourth grade classroom when you turn your back for more than five minutes) was going along in a predictable way. I’ve been looking at many, many blogs. Trying to get a sense of what they’re mainly about. I followed a link to The Fifth Annual Weblog Awards which turned up some interesting bits. I looked through a few, but since the blog form is new to me I had to check out an article, How to Blog, by Tony Pierce, that was up for an award. The word, ‘blog’ took on new meaning for me after that. This is going to be very very time consuming. I fear it is only the beginning. This was a post written about 7 months ago, evidently. According to Tony, it got him quite a bit of notice. Aside from the practical advice, it’s funny. How to Blog is a list of rules, I guess you could call them, for blogging. They are good rules. You could read them a few times and still learn something. There are 30 of them.
Rule 26, for instance:
26. dont be afraid to come across as an asswipe. own your asswipeness.
Unconventional advice. And so you want to look around. He’s got pictures and links all over the place. The pictures are funny. That’s a rule: use pictures. I decided after I saw what he was doing that I wanted pictures on my blog. But I have to learn how to do it. I looked back at How to Blog in order make this post and I noticed the rule for making pictures. It’s rule 17. Some of the pictures are of half-naked women. That’s ok.
He’s a cubs fan. Lots of stuff on the Cubs. I don’t care about the Cubs. My mothers father played ball for the Yankees in 1912. But it isn’t popular to be a Yankees fan outside of NYC anymore. I don’t mind reading about the Cubs. I just read a little faster. Tony uses profanity. That’s another rule. Rule 4. I’m not sure about that one. I don’t curse when I write.
This blog is altogether original. Irreverent. Rich. Because of that, it’s hard to describe. Definitely non-commercial. Makes me realize how conditioned we are to expect (and not expect) certain things from media. When someone REALLY makes a statement, you know. Tony’s not imitating anyone or anything as near as I can tell. And I really appreciate the instructional commentary for blogging that he hands out. I’m taking lessons.
One Comment
Yes! That piece by Tony Pierce is, in fact, one of the items I plan on using when we come back to blogging as an activity. What you are saying here is *exactly* what I want all of you to discover as part of the class– and part of what I am talking about when I refer to taking risks and putting something out there.
Blogging has many forms, most predictable. The kind I like most are fascinating not because they are blogs– that’s just the tech that allows someone to publish and me to find. They fascinate for the same reason I am an avid reader– they are good writing. You don’t find that kind of writing in print except in some of the most short-lived, self-published rags. Poetry has always been most vital at the edges in this way, the blog has created a whole new edge for the art. I think the same thing is happening to traditional media.