How Blogging is not the modern Diary
For long, we have read about blog being online diaries. This might be true if all the evidence pointed to people to putting their private thoughts onto their blogs, not afraid to be fearless exhibitionists.Some people do reveal their inner selves on their blogs.
The occasional sex worker, frustrated entrepreneur, the odd perturbed youngster, the wannabe writer, and some other types.
We might put out everything online, however 'unpretty' that might be, were we savvy to put 'nofollow' notices to search engines and were able to create password-protected blogs, but that is not the case.
Many blogs are notebooks in nature - professionals use this route to share what they are thinking about issues.
Blog Posts like mine are notebooks guised under the garb of newspaper-type, albeit more free-form, columns.
Others are like pamphlets - used by activists, self-promoters, PR people, so-called consultants/advisors and are often advertised as special research reports.
The Online Diary is a advertising medium. A megaphone.
The Online Diary is a conversation.
Wikipedia describes a diary as "a book for writing discrete entries arranged by date" and goes on to say that "some diarists think of their diaries as a special friend".
Even I can't say my blog is my best friend.
A tool, yes.
The Real Diary is often a conversation with yourself. Or with a very close friend.
So, there is a difference.
You, the reader, is not my close friend.
That takes us to the most prized community of all - youngsters.
You might say they have a lot to learn about privacy as they get used to Social Networking sites, which are Instant Messaging services on Speed.
But, youngsters are savvy enough to know that blogs and other online publishing services are not diaries, merely almost free communication tool.
Labels: blogging, blogs, social networking
posted by Pramit Singh @ 2:56 PM
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