Narratives vs. Blogs (not really)
Narrative:
* a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events
* the systematic recitation of an event or series of events
Blog
* a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer
Like personal Twitter accounts, many blogs exist on the internet solely to act as validation for the author. Really, Bob, I don’t care that you went to the store today and bought cereal, nor do I care that you enjoyed last night’s episode of [whatever]. Granted, some people use them as an outlet to vent or to organize their thoughts. It’s the 21st Century version of “my secret diary”, except for the whole secret part.
Other blogs, on the other hand, have some narrative substance. Some are a joy to read. These authors have a vivid imagination, exceptional writing skills, and the ability to convey their thoughts to print. Do these outlets for storytelling still technically count as blogs, or are they in a class of their own? I don’t know, nor am I an authority to make such a classification. I’m sure you have your own opinion.
“Let me tell you what I heard today about Apple/Microsoft/etc … “, comments Bob, pretending to be an expert in the technological field, “it’s going to change technology as we know it”. On another site, probably even hosted on the same server, Sally writes: “…and today the polls show…”.
This brings me to one of the biggest paradoxes on the internet: news blogs. Finally, some real-world applicable substance… Is it still technically a blog if it’s written by a respected journalist…is the “blogosphere” an actual news outlet? It’s tough to say, and it depends who you ask. You will get answers ranging from a simple “it’s a blog” to “the blogosphere is real, aliens are coming!”. Personally, I consider news blogs to be a separate category. It’s news…but at the same time it’s someone’s personal interpretation of an event. Is that really any different from someone’s personal interpretation as it would appear on the front page of the New York Times?
When it comes down to it, I wholeheartedly support anyone that takes time out of their day to write. It doesn’t matter if they write political commentary, what they did the day before, their problems with significant others, or if they publish a book. Writing is becoming a lost art. I see the aggregate writing levels decreasing, and it worries me. Throughout the day, I read a lot of technical documentation: Technical documentation written by co-workers, documentation for software, and various miscellaneous web sites. Honestly, some of these are painful to read. I, admittedly, am a grammar Nazi, and I pay attention to elements of grammar as I read documentation. It pains me to see college graduates write the way they do. I feel that if they have the opportunity to write more often, then they should; their writing will improve greatly.
So I say: Read…read all you can so that you can become a better writer by example. Write blog posts, write narratives, write books, write letters. Write…write all you can.
