I was alerted to this problem by an article on Guardian Unlimited by Jonathan Freedland.
He reports on the need for a code of conduct for bloggers and those who comment on them. He compares the land of blogging to a public meeting on Iraq which is getting out of hand. Herein lies the problem. People are not taking themselves seriously enough. Taking yourself too seriously is what blogging is all about. That is what makes it truly wonderful.
Too many bloggers are trying to be journalists. Too many bloggers are writing about Iraq. Once again I am a total hypocrite having written about Iraq only last week. Read back what I had to say and you will see it's really not worth worrying about. Just a basic 'why didn't we think more before going in'. The journalistic equivalent of a tut.
Look! Real journalism is exemplified by Alan Johnston. Here is a journalist who not only worked in Gaza he actually chose to live there. Let's hope he gets to live there again. The mainstream media are not perfect but they are quite well informed and the only reason not to listen to them is because you've watched one too many '9/11 Truth' videos on youtube (if President Bush was capable of organizing 9/11 then the war in Iraq would be easy).
Let the mainstream media report on Iraq and then Bloggers can get back to doing what they do best. Talking about themselves.
Think about all the best blogs and they involve the same stuff individuals talking about their lives. Their Bilingual toddlers. Their life in Norfolk. The fact they like to tie up good looking men. I don't know what it's like to do any of that stuff so I read.
It's time we got away from all this serious debate. Let's just have fun. Just tell me about you. That's all. Make it fun, my life is miserable enough as it is. The Internet has lost it's sense of fun. That is really why people are getting comments threatening them with death because it's all got serious and if someone is a popular blogger then other people who haven't got as many hits will just get all bitter and if they can't get their own stuff on Iraq read they'll just leave hateful comments on someone else's website.
Forget about other people. Make. This. About. You.
I don't write this for people to read – oh I do except that some people do read this regularly, and I#d like to take this opportunity to thank both of you- I write this because I love writing. Don't worry if something newsworthy happens in my patch, I'll tell you.
Even though I'm crap at it because I can't spell and I have no idea how to 'do' grammar.
So. Internet. Tell me something about you. Or just take a photo out of the window of the place where you blog. A place which is mundane to you but I will never see without your help – you see that's what matters in this global world: The local. Then send me a link. Use the comments or e-mail it to me (it's not hard to find my e-mail address when you know what I do for a living) we can collect them all in one place and it'll be just like the Gallery on Tony Hart's old programme from when I was a kid.
If you can't take a photo out of the window because you are an anonymous blogger then take a piccy of a small detail of your home. Like a plug. Even that will tell me a little bit about you.
For example this suggests an unmarried person: Single appliance and neutral wall colouring.
While this is more suggestive of a couple with kids.
Seriously Internet, if you've ever loved me, you'll do this one small thing for me.
Go and have fun and play nicely.
Oh and yes I do go round other people's houses and take photos of their plugs. I'm a blogger and I carry a camera everywhere.
Church of England Chaplain University of Southampton
7 comments:
What the blogosphere definitely needs more of is pedantry. In that vein, I point out that you actually took photos of people's sockets - only one of the pictures contains a plug!
Speaking of which...
Errr, what if you're technologically challenged and can't work out how to post pictures on your blog? Would a word picture do? Here goes. Half a greenhouse, seedlings in pots on the shelf at the end. Above the greenhouse, to the left, a sparsely blossoming plum tree in the foreground, backed by two huge copper beeches just coming into leaf across the road. Behind the greenhouse, a too-long lawn with a single dandelion flower leading to an untidy hedge, about six feet tall, with holly, privet, laurel and beech all visible, unlike the small birds that I know are nesting in there. Above the hedge, part of a white wall, grey tiled roof and red brick chimney are visible - that's next door - and best of all, in their garden, the huge mature willow tree, trunk and branches spiralling up beneath its pale green spring garb. And to the right, the wild cherry tree is just coming into blossom. And all this lightly kissed with hazy sunshine.
Yay I like the word picture idea. Let's try describing my flat:
On the dining table - a completely devoured KFC meal awaiting washing. In the kitchen - a pile of dishes (from someone else's lunch), and I'm sitting here typing while folding the laundry.
That's it, you guessed right, I'm a desperate housewife :D
Oh and if you're interested here's a video made by some people who studied in Southampton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiNetYLlv18
ooh a word picture. Currently I can see a very small bedroom looking rather untidy at the moment. Well at least I know what Friday night's "entertainment" will be...
Outside the children are playing in the park on their way to school and the garden is looking quite pretty with one bush covered in yellow flowers and another in powder blue flowers. There are bluebells everywhere and white flowers (possibly called phlox). On the bank is a pink flower with four leaf clover like leaves (no it isn't clover, the flowers are wrong for clover) and an orange flowering plant.
Aah much too nice for a student garden...that's why I love my house
Well, I'm pleased to to tell you that I have done as you asked and published photos ov both the view from my window and my plug sockets on my blog. I hope you enjoy them.
Oh, dear. Did I really write 'ov' in the comment above? How terribly embarrassing.
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