blog or diary?
(i thought i had posted this like on the 4th, i dont know why it didn't publish?)
So it seems like everywhere I go, people are talking about blogging. I mean, in the news (newsweek, USA Today, Washington post), it’s everywhere. I thought I would write a few blog entries about some of the stuff I have been reading…
Well on Saturday there was a front page story in the plain dealer about teenage bloggers and how popular it has been, particularly among highschoolers. The article stated that 19% of US teenagers who use the internet have their own blogs, that’s like 4 million kids. The beginning of the article said that back in the day, kids would keep their own private diaries, read only by them, kept in a secret place. Now, kids are sharing their thoughts and feelings online with their friends, and others they haven’t even met.
However, as one of these blog-keeping teenagers, (until Monday, my 20th), i must say, the blog to myself and my friends isn’t really the same as a private diary. While writing in my personal blog, I never write anything I wouldn’t want anyone else to read, like I would in an actual journal or diary. I started my first blog while I was on my exchange year in Panama…I gave the link to all of my friends back home, who eventually started their own blogs, and we created our own community. Writing in my blog helped me stay in touch with my friends thousands of miles away for FREE…I could share my pictures and experiences from panama, and at the same time, I could read about their first years at college.
But I must admit, I’m a blog surfer (not to be confused with a blog-stalker). Livejournal has a search feature, and sometimes I’ll look for people with similar interests or whatever. And sometimes it is surprising to read what people write on the internet. Everything from illegal activities to trash-talking, I think people forget that the internet is a public place…some people have wised up and made friend only features, but—to say the least, these aren’t the most safe places to brag about your Friday night exploits…
However, this article brings up MySpace…which is not closely related to blogging, leading me to believe that the reporters didn’t read up very much on the subject. MySpace has a blogging feature, but many don’t use it. Correct me if I’m wrong but I always saw MySpace as more of a networking site. For example, a lot of bands have myspace sites, on which they can share streaming music, concert dates and general news about the band.
So, what do you think? I think that there is no replacement for the personal diary, and that blogs come nowhere near the intimacy of writing your personal thoughts and feelings in a place that’s only for you..
Comments
Posted by: Suzy
Posted on: November 14, 2005 12:46 PM
I agree, keeping a personal diary is a combination of many things, literary work, creative usage of space, scrapbooking, timeline of ones life, etc. Although there are substitutes for these things online such as clip art, blog entry space, and picture sharing, it is not the same as having something 3D in your hands that you can physically show a person. It is in my opinion more personal whereas something online isn't...online blogs are more for communication and networking with those farther away...for sure you aren't going to be sending your diary miles away from you to show friends. Personal diaries and online blogs are the products of many of the same ideas, yet they serve different purposes and have different audiences, hence I doubt that the content of a person's diary will be the same as their online blog.
Posted by: Britt
Posted on: November 14, 2005 02:51 PM
I agree. My blog is pretty much a summery or a run down of my college experiences and what I have been up to. Kind of like letting my friends from back home know that I am still alive. I do keep a journal here at Case which is the good old notebook and pen. I feel like I can write more intimate things about my family and personal trials (things I would never put on the internet.) I don;t think either one has replaced the other, but they each serve their own purpose in our daily lives.
Posted by: Linda
Posted on: November 14, 2005 11:03 PM
I think it varies between different people. For me, a blog is nowhere near a diary. In my diary, I think to ramble aimlessly about specific events or emotions that I went through about the day. I can get really emotional, pissy, bitchy, or sad. I don't do that in a blog. Too many people read it. However, I have seen a few pretty personal online blogs. Some people don't care about talking about all their personal life. In fact, some people just need the attention, so they hope that everyone will read how 'great' or 'miserable' their lives are. Also, online blogs can even be a better form of a diary because people have the capability of creating aliases or screennames. In that way, they can share the world everything, and not worry about people knowing who they are, while in the meantime, they can release their energy.
Posted by: Joanna
Posted on: November 21, 2005 12:33 AM
I agree people don't tend to write about anything they wish to be kept private on their blogs. MySpace serves a similar purpose as facebook. What is interesting is when I was watching the news last week they were showing the blogs of two kids on MySpace that were suspects in a double-murder. I think its relevant b/c it shows how blogs are used to show only what people care to share with others since their blogs gave the impression that they were normal teens. So a blog a diary do serve different functions b/c the blog expects an audience while the diary doesn't.
Posted by: Ben Makinen
Posted on: November 27, 2005 03:06 AM
I can not trust a diary with my truths, desires, and dreams. A former girlfriend found my diary: irrepairable damage, fighting over trivialities, guilty for being honest. Years later, still not having learned my lesson, my wife "found" my diary. The misunderstandings were so vast - a dairy has become a liability. A diary filled with dreams!! So where do these dreams and ideas go? I srtuggle to sneak them into my art, an art that used to be free and uncontrived, an art that used to be joyful has now become a desperate burial ground, a hiding place, sonic code for that which can not be spoken to a lover, for that which can't be written down in a diary for fear of persecution!! I'll see how long that'll work until I start lugging a secure vault around with me...
You can hear my music at www.benmakinen.com
Posted by: Lauren Georgeson
Posted on: November 28, 2005 12:52 PM
I do not particularly agree, but I can see your point. I pretty much write how I feel in my blog, and I really do not care who reads it. I write my true feelings and thoughts. I have not kept a personal diary since I was about eleven. I would just rather discuss how I am really feeling with my family and friends instead of writing it down on a piece of paper. I guess I am just an open person. Everyone is different though and prefers different methods of revealing their true thoughts and feelings, and that is okay!
Posted by: zach newman
Posted on: December 1, 2005 06:45 PM
i denfinitely agree. it seems to me that blogs are less diary and more communication tool. for instance, on of my friends worked at los alamos in new mexico this summer and really had no way of keeping in contact with his friends. in order to keep people informed on his life and to express feelings he had, he creted a blog he would post on every so often during the summer. he posted blogs not for himself but so his friends could keep up with what was going on in hs life.