Blogging to me is a bizarre concept. What is the point or purpose? You formulate ideas, write down your feelings, and send them into the void. Will someone read this? Will someone be intrigued? What if I become an overnight sensation! The Perez Hilton of the non celebrity world. Or what if I don't... To be a successful blogger I think you have to be a bit of a narcissist. You have to deep down believe that whatever it is that comes out of your finger tips is going to make someone stop Facebook stalking for a minute and read.
I am a child of the digital age, sort of. When I was little we had desktop computers, I played with gigapets, and Nintendo 64 was about as good as it got. Since then the world of technology has exploded. 9 year olds have iphones, infants have facebooks, and if you don't know what tumblr is then you are SO lame. Blog wasn't even a word until a few years ago, and now it is a way of mass producing your own writing. Everyone and their brother has a blog, but I stick to my guns about needing to be a little narcissistic to do it well.
The first time I blogged I was trying to be cool like everyone else. I'd write about my day, rant about my feelings on cyclists on the sidewalks, and generally bore the void with all of my pointless goings on. I quickly gave up, my 1 follower must have been incredibly disappointed.
The second time I blogged I had a theme, and a good one. As a Starbucks addict I am overly aware of the lack of ability they all seem to have in spelling my name right. "Melody, no not Melony, it's Melody! Like a song.." I began to photo blog pictures and captions for all of my misspelled cups. Some of my friends began to follow me to be supportive, but soon people I barely new began to send me pictures of their Starbucks cups. It was really a kick to see how completely illiterate some of the Starbucks staff were.
Sadly, as the semester powered through, my blog became more tedious than joyous and eventually I forgot all about it. So today as I was walking to my car the thought of writing a blog entry was quite daunting. What could I write about that would make people want to read my work? Out of everyone else in the class, what can I do to stand out. As people walked by I tried to allow my creative juices to flow. A guy in military fatigues walks by, I could write about how hot men are in uniform. A car passes with the music blaring out of the windows, I could write about how freakin annoying that is. Through this whole day I have worried about this assignment, and now as I sit on my couch with a bowl of pasta and a glass of red I find that simply writing and not over thinking was all I had to do.
Not thinking is harder than it sounds though, if I were to write this stream of consciousness style it would be very confusing.
"blog...blog...blog... Oh I need to go check my laundry, crap I'm writing about blogs.... blogs are...fun? interesting? bold?"
In conclusion my fellow bloggers, I hope that my blog about my blogs has been a window into the chaos that is me.
Melody DiSalvo
The act of blogging can be a daunting task; there's a lot to write about. Sorting through all the bits and bobs associated with...well...everything, is just plain nerve fraying. I have to disagree though. Narcissism in writing, in particular a blog, is kind of useless (my opinion of course).
ReplyDeleteWe (the reader) know its your blog...and..? We (the reader) don't care if your hair is great or, not to be rude (just blatantly honest)whether or not people can spell your name right while you're paying too much for a Venti-non-fat-we burnt this shit-it-tastes-awful-no whip-latte.
What is interesting about your Starbuck's misspellings story is that it happens to A LOT of people--it creates relationship!--and it is a little funny. Kudos on that clever picture/caption blog.
Last thing. I worked for the company for years. They make us ask for your name. We don't really care. We are being paid to make your drink, not to learn the particulars of who, what, when, where or why your parents named you what they did--that's all make believe pretend enthusiasm. Deal with it. If it bothers you that much, I recommend taking the proactive 4th grade spelling bee approach: say your name, spell it slowly, say your name again. It's really helpful. Someone being paid minimum wage who has to spell quite literally hundreds of different names a day (and listen to complaints about misspellings a large pie-chart's slice of the time they do it)might sincerely appreciate you taking that extra minute. Then, when they still get it wrong, proving they really don't care about anything but the buck-or-two you leave in the tip jar, you can start a movement about the grammar skills of baristas (or apparent lack there of). Also, if you don't leave any tip, they'll do it on purpose. I always did.
I'm a Starbucks addict too! (Maybe just coffee...) Blogging can be daunting, but you're off to a good start! :)
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