Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Blogging Questions . . .

People frequently visit this blog from nearby suburbs of Cleveland and from my seminary city of Pittsburgh.  Who ARE they (you) ?   Just curious.

My friend Lisa sometimes writes about her frustration and sadness when blogging buddies simply disappear ~ no warning, no forwarding address.  Its happened to me in the past couple of weeks; one of my favorite bloggers has disappeared completely. Blog gone and visits ended.  I miss her!  What gives?

I used to comment a lot more than I used to, and so did other folks.  I'm afraid that the rise of various programs for quick accessibility to blogs, programs like Google Reader and Bloglines, has diminished the community aspect of blogging.  Now that we can simply scroll through our list, we seldom pause to engage in conversation.  Why is it that every advance in technology seems to pair increased efficiency with increased isolation?

And hey, is it  a gender thing? I have noticed that almost every time I post a comment on a woman's blog, she comes over for a visit at least once or twice and generally posts something in response, either at her place or mine.  Men on the whole (with a few wonderful exceptions, one of which I encountered this morning) seem to ignore their visitors.  Or at least they ignore me!

Just my musings this morning.




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13 comments:

  1. I personally don't comment very often on many blogs because I feel like I somehow always end up writing about myself. And I don't want my comments to only be about me--I want to affirm the writer and let them know I care or something touched me or whatever. But so often I haven't figured out how to say it.

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  2. I think the combination of the rise of other social networking sites that encourage brief comments and the increase in the number of people blogging, facebooking, twittering etc discourages comments on blogs.

    I notice that I have to remind myself that if I want comments on MY blog I must comment on the blogs of others. And it is sad when a regular commenter seems to drop out of sight!

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  3. I almost always leave a comment on every blog I visit. Granted that may mean that what I say is not particularly insightful...but I try to think of it as a dialogue and offer not just a supportive comment but what I hope is a relevant comment regarding what the post caused me to think about.

    I'm really curious about the folks who read my blog regularly and never leave a comment. But I've never asked who and why, I am thinking about a question along these lines....

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  4. These are interesting comments and questions that you have posed. I read your blog and a few others frequently, and will comment from time to time. I suppose that since I don't have a blog, it often feels a little odd to me to comment--as if I were an intruder and that I am not "permitted" to participate in this blog world (this is my perception; it's not about anything you or any other blogger has said). And I also echo what "Silent" said in her (I assume "her"!)comment that it feels as if my remarks are too much about me and not affirming enough of the writer. So...even though I really like your blogs and feel very inspired and moved by them, I don't comment very much.

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  5. Since I started my own blog, I've tried to leave comments more often on other people's blogs. I feel awkward, though, when I comment on every single entry. And then I lose track for awhile and then I want to comment on old posts, but that feels weird. I'm still working out this online community thing. And thanks to Robin, Silent, and Mompriest for all making visits to my blog and commenting at various times.

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  6. I'm with you still Robin. Mompriest has raised a good point. Friends tell me they read or visit my blog, but I wish they'd leave a comment. One of the reasons I like your blog is that the veneer of respectability or that you're having a victorious Christian life are both well and truly dead. Other blogs degenerate into having to post something almost every day, but there's no content. Merely quoting a book one is reading will not do for me or hold my interest. So keep it up my sister in Christ.

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  7. And here is your friend Lisa weighing in...

    The community aspect of blogging is surely shot, for me at least. Facebook seems to have pulled the trigger. But still...my blog will celebrate its 7th anniversary this month. Don't post nearly as much as I used to (or would LIKE to...) but I'm nowhere near giving it up.

    It's enough that I have a treasured few good friends--you, Cynthia and a couple of others--that I never would have "met" without this medium. So it's certainly been worth it.

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  8. "One of the reasons I like your blog is that the veneer of respectability or that you're having a victorious Christian life are both well and truly dead."

    Rob, I don't *exactly* know what you mean but I am having a good laugh nevertheless.

    And I'm not sure, but I think that I might actually be living a victorious Christian life. I fuss and fume every time someone tells me, whether in a post or real life, that they know God is with them/calling them/loves them/whatever them because "everything has just fallen into place," and I say "so that means that where I'm concerned God really has just taken off???" -- but perhaps the victorious life is found in faithfulness despite the challenges and heartaches and in the certainty that you are well and truly aligned with those for whom earthly victory is a phantom ideal.

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  9. Yes, laugh. 'Victorious Christian life' was a late Victorian age saying which "muscular" Christians extolled. I think it might have developed out of the Keswick Conferences in Britain during that time. It emphasised that the Christian could overcome all obstacles, including sin and live a positive, victorious life in the Spirit. It had an 'upward' and 'onward' emphasis and was underscored by triumphalism. When I crashed and burned, I knew it wasn't going to work in my life. Now, the victorious Christian life is just being faithful, struggling along, learning a bit more each day about God and myself.

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  10. so there I was at Google Reader, so I stopped by ;')

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  11. I try to comment if a post I read moves me, even if just to say, "thanks"...but Google reader means that takes another step. I enjoy it when someone leaves a comment on my blog that adds a bit to what I've written, or offers a different slant.

    And if we hadn't commented on each other's blogs, would we ever have met (epistolarily anyway!)? would we be thinking back and forth about Into the Silent Land? Meeting people in the limninal space of the comments has enriched my life.

    Fr. Christian Mathis at the blog Blessed is the Kingdom has a page with an invitation for readers to introduce themselves. An idea I've been thinking to swipe...

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  12. p.s. Rob's comment made me laugh, too....

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  13. You know, I'm afraid I'm a perfect example of your male blogger. I read things, I'm moved by them, and I fail to leave a comment. Someone leaves a comment on my own blog, I think, "Wow, that's nice - they got it!" but I don't leave a reply. Dashed bad form, what? (I'm English, you see...)

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