Over the last 10 years we have been tooling around with the idea of what a blog is or what it should be. Obviously there is no right answer, but those of us who are still blogging are trying to figure out what purpose it has for us.
Are we just link collectors? Are we spending too much time trying to sound profound? Is it all just YouTube and cat videos?
Yes, yes, and mostly.
But here is an idea for those of us who are trying to figure out if it is worth our time to blog anymore. And that 10 bucks a year we pay for our domain name could end up being worth it.
What if the blog is the new whiteboard in the sky. What if it is our corkboard that we throw unrefined ideas up on, and don’t expect or seek comments, but just use the space to fuel what is going on in our mind and life. If you create art then this is just a background to story board.
How could this change the platform? For me, I think I will use my blog as something to stimulate thought so I can get back into writing. And possibly a foray into theological thought. Who knows, it’s only a white board.
Tags: inspiration
yes, sure, certainly. There are few ‘completed’ thoughts on my blog anyway. But then, I pay $0 per year for it, not $10.
Some will argue that the big difference with a whiteboard is that the blogosphere has a long memory – you write on its whiteboard with indelible pen that even methylated spirits will not shift. So, they’ll say, you should be careful what you write.
But I suspect that the indelible pen is just part of the future. More and more of our daily lives is going to be captured, stored, indexed, and searchable. Will it change us? Yes. Should we be afraid of it? No, I don’t think so: not till totalitarianism overtakes us, anyway.
Yeah I can see two points at which it breaks down. The long memory, and the over editing.
I know some people who spend way too much time grooming an entry before hitting that publish button. On top of that there is the record that stays on record, unlike the whiteboard that can be completely cleaned. The minus side to that is that we change, the plus side, is a lot of times while we are spit-balling we come up with something, scratch it out, then later want to recall it.
Enter the indexed whiteboard.
Great thoughts Nick. When I started blogging this was exactly what I intended the blog to be, a place where I can dump stuff that I’ve been thinking about. A quote, a few reflections on some idea I like, an image from an artist or designer that I admire or that inspires me. It really does function as a sketchbook of sorts for me and a way for me to flesh out and organize my ideas, which tend to be chaotic. I listened to an interesting radio show on creativity and it was said that people who do blog or journal tend to ruminate more and be in better touch with their thoughts and feelings and therefore tend to be more creative and happy. But who knows.
Any linkage to that radio show?