I’m relatively new to the blogging world. But, as a newcomer, I’ve made a few observations. There seem to be three reasons why people blog: To be newsy – about themselves or their families; To be entertaining – as in repressed writers or mommy-types who would like to BE writers or used to be writers or are writers; and to blog. Let’s start with reason number 1:
To be newsy – these blogs are some of the best, both on the entertaining level and in such that they give you someone to identify with. New mommy? You can find a blog about that. Recently divorced? You can find a blog about that. Are you a sleep deprived ninja daddy? There's a blog about that. Had part of your brain removed because it was too big? Yep, you can even find a blog about that, too. Exercise. Politics. Religion. Sports. You name it, there’s a blog about it. This is mostly where my blog falls. I got hooked into the blogging world by a distant relative (my husband’s nephew’s wife, or my sister-in-law’s daughter-in-law, however you want to say it) and her blog is mostly newsy and entertaining. And she takes fantabulous photos (although her favorite subject is adorable and it would be hard to take a bad picture of her), so she’s probably going to end up costing me money (I wanna do that. Whine. Whine.). But my format is just a little more, uh, blunt. Also, I currently have more kids so I have a little more (OK, a lot more) craziness to write about. (She’s catching up, though:)). Seriously, if you’re reading this and you just recently gave birth to identical triplets, there’s a blog about that…
To be entertaining – This is a tough one, I’ve discovered, because not everyone has the same idea of what “entertaining” is. I generally like to either laugh or cry. I like the stronger emotions. I don’t really enjoy things that make me think too much, because, frankly, my brain just can’t take it right now. Maybe someday. Hopefully soon. But right now it’s full of things like, “Does my boy need a special diet to help his poo?” And, “How much coffee is really too much?” There’s no room for that existential stuff. But I still read it. It entertains on a superficial level (and on another level as well, if you have time to think).
To blog – This one irritates the hell out of me. If you’re writing a blog and you have nothing to write about, don’t bother. Blogging about blogging is just, well, stupid (*gasp* - Mommy, you said a bad word!). But it is. Stupid, I mean. Who wants to hear about how long it took you to blog? Or the other blogging methods or conferences or whatever. Stop the madness! If you’re going to entertain me, then go right ahead and blog. If you’ve got a unique situation, type away. But if you’re going to tell me how long you’ve been “blogging” or what “blogging” is like, keep it to yourself. Sheesh.
This was all just a way to make known that I’ve added links to my (many) favorite blogs. Some that will entertain, some that will inform, but none about blogging. Click away!
4 comments:
Your kids are adorable! I love how you own up to the craziness...I have no shame in admitting that I have totally lost control of my life most days.
I have a post that has been in draft status for a long time about this very subject. Why bother doing this? I have people that get mad that I don't post about them enough and people that claim that I post too much about family stuff and that I should stick to humor and thoughts about motherhood and have a purpose to generate traffic on my blog. The long and the short is that I do it for a lot of reasons, the most important being for me. I need a outlet. I have had to grow a thick skin and not be offended if someone doesn't like a post I wrote or if they feel they aren't being properly represented in our lives. I do it for my own reasons and they can find something else to read if they don't like it.
Being a mom is hard, that is the bottom line. How you do it with three I won't ever be able to comprehend unless I do it one day. Blogging has helped me in so many ways to understand that I am not alone in being sad or frustrated or angry. I have gotten more support from total strangers or in your case, a relative through marriage that I would know nothing about otherwise, than I have gotten from many of my very best friends. Blogging has gotten me through some really dark days, it has inspired me to learn about hobbies that I might not otherwise learn, it has taught me little secrets to raising kids.
Wow . . . ditto to everything that Gina said! Blogging is not only a tremendous outlet for me, but it has yielded some of the best friendships that I have ever had - even though they are with people I have never met in real life! I know that some people see that as a bit weird, but I explained it to hubby this way: the blogs that I read are written by people who are similar to me - in their parenting style, in their lifestyle, in their thoughts, etc. I have made a choice to seek them out. The friends that I have in real life have been around forever, but our lives have gone in very different directions, and I sometimes think we are still friends simply because we don't know any better. (Ie., My best girlfriend and I have known each other for 12 years. She is now the mother of a one year old, and while I still love her and I love her daughter, I do not agree with very many of her parenting ideals, and if we were to meet for the first time at the playground, I don't think I would exchange numbers with her.)
And I too can't stand blogging about blogging!
(P.S. I am posting a bit later today with a meme that I invited you to do - if you are so inclined!)
I blog solely to record stories for my daughter, but I love that I'm able to entertain anyone besides myself. Thanks for the compliment!
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