I still remember reading Charles Dickens' Great Expectations my freshman year of high school. A widely-acknowledged bibliophile, my immediate reactions after reading the book were a) to draw and quarter the pompous, so-called, literary experts who suggest that Dickens has any talent b) flog the sheep-minded school administrator that followed said experts' advice and therefore put the book on the curriculum and c) shoot myself for having actually read every single page of said garbage, instead of sparks-notes-ing (yes I did make that word up) the novel like the rest of my infinitely wiser classmates (having integrity can really suck sometimes).
Luckily for you, my friends, we now live in the age of internet publishing. If you read garbage, you don't have to take it lying down any more. I therefore encourage you to exercise your right to speak about what you read, to talk back to the authors whose opinions you had previously been mutely force-fed, starting first and foremost with this blog here. If you have an opinion, I want to hear it, about the things you read here, about the things on your mind, heck just about anything. As long as your opinions are not racist, sexist, vulgar or obscene, I promise to publish said comment and get back to you in a timely fashion.
Please stop by and introduce yourself. I know somebody's out there reading (the Blogger Stats tab definitely seems to suggest so, and hopefully these readers are not just the friends and family I strong-armed into reading said blog via a very admittedly pathetic Facebook status). Why do you read this blog? Do you relate to any of the situations I write about?
The blogosphere is an amazing place to make friends beyond the barriers of geographical distance. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity and definitely stop by and say hi. You don't even have to use your real name if you comment (I promise I won't be offended). If you think my blog's worth reading, please add yourself to the followers list and recommend this site to anyone else you think would be interested.
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Hey miss! Your latest follower (Marc Pierre) is a friend of mine. I follow his blog and I recommend you to take a look at it too. I think he is good.
ReplyDeleteI recommended ur blog to him and that's how he became ur follower.
On the content of ur current post... I think that blogging offers the freedom to just read and be anonymous. I was tempted to post my blog id on the Facebook (Twn b'er). But I thought I would lose the limited anonymity that I have right now. So I restrained from doing so. Similarly I think that the stats column gives enough room for the writer to gauge his/her standing, is sufficient.
I think that it is better to let readers read what they read in peace and reflect about it. I think that we belong to a genre of bloggers who don't mind opening up ourselves for the greater benefit of others who would like to reflect anonymously...
Please feel free to drop in a reply comment, if you defer with my view...
I don't think I really agree with you here. The yester-years of publishing, when writing was actually printed material, afforded the reading public the chance to "just read and be anonymous." The only readers who got their opinions out to the authors were the really motivated ones who persistently sent fan mail in the off-chance that said author would actually read the mail and offer a reply; that option didn't even exist in cases where the author was already deceased.
ReplyDeleteWith the blogosphere, I think the reader also has a responsibility in the creative writing process. It is the audience's duty to keep the authors accountable for their words and to challenge the views said author presents. Passive reading is now a thing of the past, and reading becomes a dialogue rather than the author's monologue to a nameless, faceless audience. On the whole, it is the writing itself that benefits from this author/ audience interaction, and the author is kept grounded from his otherwise godly role. In what other capacity is a human afforded the opportunity to remain immortal in the memories of the people long after his/her physical death, and the opportunity to create his own world where he is the omnipotent deity that decides the fate of all those who inhabit the universe of his own creation.
As such, blog readers have an obligation to comment, for the sake of the betterment of literature and writing in general. They can definitely do so anonymously or under a pen name, but it is imperative that they comment nonetheless.
That was one post that shook the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow blogger, I share your feelings in every way and felt it important to write a comment on this.
Let me introduce myself. I came wandering into your blog through rantingsofapilgrim and had been reading your posts every now and then. I felt the same when my stats tab showed a good number of hits and no real comments, except from a few family members.
Though I refer to blogging as shameless self propagation, I understand that every blogger expects criticism and of course followers. Though there are a thousand reasons to refute this , there are million others to agree to this.
We do feel like losers when people don’t respond to what they read. I feel it only proper that everyone who wanders into a blog drops in a comment.
And let me tell you, your posts are fabulous and your openness in expressing your thoughts ,is something which really impressed me. Keep on going!
Thank you so much Butterfly Traveller. Can't tell you how much your comment made my day. I'm glad you enjoyed the posts.
ReplyDeleteHey Out of the Box! Both of us are talking about different genres of audience/readers. You are talking about the critical bunch of readers who are duty-bound to respond. But I am talking about the timid, shy readers, who are always doubtful if they are on the right track and have a very low self-esteem. They don't value their writing skills too much either. When they are forced to write, they are ever so conscious about making mistakes.
ReplyDeleteLet such people have the pleasure of just reading, that's what I meant! On the other hand, the critical readers can always drop in a word or two, to encourage the writers... I do agree.
Thanks for visiting my blog and also for joining!!!
ReplyDeleteJust a comment on the freshness of blogging as a concept. It is not as "simple" to grasp the values of digital interaction for a vast majority. Take my profile for example. Happen to lead development at a company that serves 50 million users move to the internet to do their day to day chores there. Guess how many blogs I follow: Two!
ReplyDelete