It’s carnival time, which means you get to throw three balls at this post and try to knock it over. (Ouch! Hey, watch the aim, mister!)
Oh, you sillies. It’s not that kind of carnival. This is a Carnival of Beauty. (Just typing that phrase makes me laugh. “Yeth, my friendth, behold my amathing lovelineth thpreading acroth thyber-thpayth.”) But it’s not about my beauty, stunning though that may be. Ma belle amie, Mary of France, is hosting a blog-a-rama on the subject of “The Beauty of Blogging.” What motivates us to pour our precious time and limited creative impulses into little posting boxes and then launch them out into the cybervoid? What are the benefits and beauties of blogging?
For me, the biggest benefit is the friendth, er, friends. If I could make a living off surfing blogs and conversing in the comments, I’d be on that action like Paris Hilton on a photo op. How else can you meet fascinating people all over the world, get a glimpse into their lives, and glean from their wisdom, all without spending a nickel?
I also love blogging as a way to remember little events I’d most likely forget otherwise. Those who read my journal know it’s mostly slice-of-life anecdotes. Writing these things seals them in my memory (and on my hard drive).
And finally, I love the feedback. Writing can be a lonely existence, but blogging lets a writer connect instantaneously with readers. It may not be as personal as face-to-face interaction, but it’s much more intimate than the relationship between an author and a distant reader she’ll never hear from.
At its best, blogging builds communities. Sure, something’s wrong if the bloggerhood takes the place of physical community. But there’s a real joy in connecting with people you’d never get a chance to meet if the world hadn’t shrunk to the size of a blog-post box on a computer sceen.
Okay, if you’ll all scooch a little to the right, we can move a few more chairs in here. Cozy. Thanks for coming. Now let’th party!
Cooper Dreaming….
Hey, Miss Jeanne, do you still have that mini cooper? And will you be driving it to the conference in September? Because I have this weird cyber spacey fantasy that involves you, Mary of France, perhaps the Snyderman and me in a cooper, going as fast as my minuscule medications will allow without screaming.
What do you say? Does that sound like community to you, or what?
Katy McKenna, who’s now using her maiden name in writing circles with the full blessing of her devoted husband, the amazing Doug Raymond http://www.fallible.com
Re: Cooper Dreaming….
Yes, the husbandly blessed Katy McKenna. I still have the Mini, and I’ll be driving it to the conference in September. AND I still owe you the ride you never got to take in Nashville. Let’s just plan on a medicated romp around North Dallas, shall we? If M. of F. and the Snydermeister join us, that’ll be about as cozy a community as ever zipped around a metro-plex mix master. I’ll wear ear plugs.
Re: Cooper Dreaming….
Allow me to provide the earplugs for the group, since I’m the one who screams at high speeds on the highway. Also because I’m currently running a twofer special on ear plugs, as I only need half a pair personally. I’m very thrifty, huh? 🙂
Katy McKenna http://www.fallible.com
PS–There is the small person of Lisa Samson to be considered for the Mini, also. I’ll keep losing weight. That should help!
Yes, I blog for all those same reasons, too.
Jennifer, Snapshot
Yep
And let’s face it, writer’s are needy…aren’t we. Blogging seems to fulfill a certain need.
~michelle
http://zanesmilkmachine.blogspot.com
And the humor continues
I was a tad concerned that my blogging entry was going to be too bubble gummy and low-brow for the Carnival of BEAUTY (what else can you do when you only have 2 brain cells to rub together?), but here I see another side-show blogger hamming it up in fine style!
Your comments on Mary’s blog have always made me laugh.
And then scratch my head in bafflement. -Erin
I have arriveth lateth for the party….
🙂 Yes, I do love the blogging community! I’ve been blogging long enough now to actually have booked flights to Denver to meet a family of bloggers I met as commenters on my blog! I’m so excited to meet them in person. No longer will I have to speak of them in hush-hush terms-the rest of my world will now accept them as real live people once I return from the visit! Actually–we bloggers know–there is an authentic connection even in spite of the distance and absence of company. That’s the beauty!
Diane
http://www.prayingforaprodigal.blogspot.com
Re: And the humor continues
Loved your little ditty, Erin. Truly. 🙂
Re: I have arriveth lateth for the party….
You’re not too late. The party never ends around here. 😉
I read several entries on your blog, Diane. What a unique outreach! Thanks for what you’re doing.
Re: Yep
Thanks for stopping by and helping fulfill my attention needs, Michelle. I feel much better. 🙂
You’re always welcome in this part of cybertown, Jennifer.
Re: Cooper Dreaming….
If Lisa wants to come, we’ll make it work, even if you have to stand up and stick your head through the sunroof. You wouldn’t mind, would you? Hey, wait . . . that way we wouldn’t hear your screaming. Brilliant! 🙂
Contact with readers
I enjoyed reading your perspective that blogging gives more contact with readers. I had not thought about this before. Bloggers generally have fewer readers, but they have more interaction.
http://sherrinward.blogspot.com