I am usually fairly late in adopting new technologies. The Internet, though, has been an exception. I was on Prodigy before hardly anyone else knew what the Internet was. I began reading blogs around 2002 during the debate about the Iraq war. At that time, blogging was a rough and tumble world of flame wars and impolite ranting. It was totally a man's world.
Now, however, most of the bloggers I know personally are women. They tell me that I am the "only guy they know who blogs." It has been a strange evolution.
I think my perception of change has to do with the growth in LDS culture of mommy blogs and family blogs, which consist mostly in pictures and updates on family happenings. This type of blog is particularly popular among student families, who use blogs as a way of keeping in contact with family "back home" in Utah.
This, of course, is a completely legitimate way of thinking about blogging. I like to check in on family blogs, too. But I'm sure many people find our blog to be odd, with, for example, a series on posts on economics and health care. The reason for this difference is this: I was "raised" on the Internet during my formative years to see blogs as places to debate ideas and I can't quite shake that upbringing.
7 comments:
I feel honored to be quoted on your blog. :-) I enjoy your political posts and your family posts and when you put the two together.
-Emily
I appreciate that you write on a variety of subjects. It's fun to see pictures of kids and adventures, to a point, but then I want to know what topics people are thinking about and what matters to them. Always interesting...
I'm with Nollie. I see your blog as a breath of fresh air among other "family" blogs.
And you want odd? Take a look around the many writer blogs out there. :)
Hey Bryan,
Every blog serves it's own purpose, but all reach out in some way for some reason. You're right - the mommy and family blogs are exploding and I think for 2 reasons. 1- mommies are home on the computer during the day and eager to share their lives with the outside world. 2- families are really scattered. That's why we started our blog, to stay in touch after we moved away and keep grandparents updated with pictures and stories. But, it's also nice to read entries from people like you, who have something to say about the world outside of their own 4 walls...
ps - funny that all your comments are from women so far!
I actually started mine for the purpose of having some kind of journal. I know only like 2 people ever look at my blog and thats ok cause its more for me then them. I never write anything down and Mom is always telling me I need to write down what the kids do, so this works for me. I'm sure I will be grateful to have it in the future.
The trouble with saying 'I was doing XXX way back when. . . ' is that invariably some jerk will point out that it still makes you a newbie.
That being said, I very much enjoying the variety of posts on your blog.
p.s. Seriously, you admit to using Prodigy?
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