"Finding your voice is not about fame or publication. It's about giving the gift of yourself to your readers."
-John Angelo, "The Bricks with Which We Construct Our Lives," Writer's Digest, 12/77
As my wife was taking her turn driving home from our Thanksgiving visits, I thumbed through a stack of magazines I'd thrown into the back seat to help pass the time. I chanced upon this article by John C. Dvorak, a regular columnist for PC Magazine. Mr. Dvorak believes that personal weblogs are on their way out:
"We're told that blogs will evolve into a unique source of information and are sure to become the future of journalism. Well, hardly. Two things are happening to prevent such a future: The first is wholesale abandonment of blog sites, and the second is the casual co-opting of the blog universe by Big Media."
A couple of our compatriots have also seen Dvorak's article and take exception to his premise, as I do. Signifying Nothing's Chris Lawrence has perhaps the best refutation, but Matthew Stinson makes good points in his post too.
I'm pretty sure that my blog has zero influence on how the media reports its news, but I don't believe that's true where the heavyweights like InstaPundit, Andrew Sullivan, Talking Point and others like them are concerned. These guys, with daily readers in the thousands, have a positive impact on journalism every week, I think.
So why do I bother? Well, to me, it's fun. I've journaled almost all my adult life, and kept most of what I've written to myself. Going public with my thoughts was a stretch for me, but I've found I enjoy knowing that people are reading what I write. Some even react to it, and I like that too. I'm not changing the world for sure, but I'm certainly learning some new things, and for me, that's enough to keep me going.
3 comments:
Amen!
That's what it's all about I think. I don't think blogging will go away. Those like us, who like writing and sharing our views with others, will keep it up and the others will fade away.
I've seen journals with only one or two entries -- that's all. Hell, I've seen a couple with no entries. The authors summed up everything they wanted to say in the "About Me" section.
Ron, if you don't think you can make a difference. Please look again. I think you are changing the world. One mind at a time.
Many of us who have never met you look to your journal for the rest of the story.
Thank You!
Bill Garvey
Great post, Ron! I think you have hit on some of the most important aspects of this new hobby. I think we are all tired of having a few news outlets speak for us, especially when what they say is so different from what we think. We are being heard.
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