This has been an unusual week for blogging. I’ve discovered several new blogs and surprisingly a few of them have had links to each other or to blogs I already read, and yet I found them by following different paths. I was already marveling at the small town feeling the blogosphere had suddenly taken on when yesterday I sat down to read the paper and drink the morning pot of coffee.
When I reached the editorial page of the Austin American-Statesman, I noticed the column “Land of the Free-for-All” by Connie Shultz. The first sentence was “I hate blogs.” I found this to be quite intriguing. I love reading print columns that disparage blogs. They’re always so defensive. Perhaps, they know their days are numbered. I don’t think blogs will replace regular news sources since bloggers can’t afford to travel the world and do frontline reporting, but anyone can write commentary and many can write it better than syndicated columnists, and so it was with a snarky grin that I began reading.
Shultz doesn’t just hate blogs; she also loves them, and toward the end of her piece, she quoted from a few random blogs, one of which is on my blogroll: Postcards from the Mothership. I commented to let Dani know that her blog was mentioned, and now she has a very nice post up about the small world nature of the internet. Dani is a Canadian blogger whose blog is one of the first non-political blogs I came across while, as she mentions, looking for book reviews (she has a very cool and unique method for this). It’s these random connections and new friends we make with people in faraway places – and close to home – that so fascinates me about blogging. It seems to fulfill part of the promise of the web.
One more connection. Regular readers will notice the weekly link to Greyhound Pets of America’s central Texas chapter that shows the beautiful hounds up for adoption. Today, I saw that reader and occasional commenter Heather of Heather in all Her Strangeness is fostering one of these very dogs. This has nothing to do with me; it’s just one more interesting connection (and a chance to mention greyhounds).
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
I do like that word “snarky”. Thanks for being the second reference to the word in three days of my general blog reading.
Glad I could be of service on that.
Nice post, James. It is a small blog-world after all. The funny thing is, after reading this, I went down my list of linked and bookmarkd blogs…you know over half of them have a different perspective than I do? I think sometimes a different view is important to challenge what we assume are givens, and make us rethink everything. Anyway, great post!
i like the blog community, if you could call it that, because there are no real boundaries to it. another world is just a click away. so fascinating.
I don’t blame her love/hate relationship with blogs. I feel that way about most things I’m addicted to.
James,
Thought you enjoy this collection of New York Magazine articles on the biggest blogs and the incestious links that made them big.
THE BLOGGING BOOM’S MOGULS AND PAUPERS (NEW YORK MAG)
http://www.nymetro.com/news/media/15967/
Thanks again, James, for the link and for letting me know. Every day the blog world finds a new way to surprise me!
Cheers,
Dani
Scottage, Thanks and I agree completely about finding different views. I, too, enjoy reading things that challenege me.
Joey, I think it truly is something of a community. Especially when you look at the commenter communities that develop around the political blogs, left and right. Unfortunately those readers often don’t do more than mock their counterparts on the other side of the ‘sphere. I think the terms Left and Right Blogistan are quite appropriate.
Jessica, I hadn’t thought of it that way. Are you saying blogging is an addiction? If so, <denial>I’m not hooked</denial>.
Steven, Nice to hear from you again and thanks for the tip on the article. It looks interesting.
Dani, My pleasure!
[…] on yesterday’s post concerning blogging connections, I’ve recently learned that Phoebe seems to have made one on […]