March 18, 2011

Why I won't let sleeping blogs lie

My dear readers, I have not forsaken you, I have just "friended" most of you on facebook. By the time I find an opportunity to blog about something, it is old news to anyone who has read my facebook status lately. I ask myself who would want to read a long, rambling post when they can get the gist of things in a sentence or two? We're about to find out.


Blogs create a funny sort of relationship. Several of my facebook friends are people I first met through blogging. Some of them have stopped updating their blogs, as I nearly did, but I still keep in touch with them regularly. I sometimes forget that I have never met these fellow bloggers in person. I am closer to them than I am to those facebook friends from high school who weren't actually my friends when we were students. Facebook, too, creates odd relationships.


From time to time I still drop by the long-neglected blogs of people who I never befriended on facebook. I don't know their surnames, their specific locations, or what happened in their lives that led them to abandon their blogs. I keep hoping for a brief post, an "All's well, just busy" or a "Here's a link to my new blog." Instead, I see the same final posts, with no finality in their tone or content. In fact, some speak of new beginnings. One blog's last post features a single wedding photo, another lists a young daughter's first words. My stale comments still follow these posts, and the authors' comments from long ago are still preserved on my blog. It may seem analogous to meeting a friend of a friend, socializing for a while, and eventually losing touch, but there can be far more intimacy in blogging. People share things in blogs that they wouldn't discuss over coffee with a casual acquaintance. Unlike internet dating, where there is pressure to promote only one's best features, bloggers can be raw and open and brave. This allows a deeper connection to grow. In an era characterized by incivility, such a connection is precious. It is for this reason that I continue to visit, every so often, these long-deserted blogs.


Do you see what I mean by "long, rambling post"? One thing I can say concisely: I have met (virtually) a number of terrific people through blogging and I count them as friends in the truest sense of the word.


9 comments:

Cat said...

Well, as we are not friends on facebook (and why not?!) and I still blog, I am happy to see you out and about and rambling here where I don't know your every stati! ;)

Calamity Jen said...

I searched for you on facebook, but there are a LOT of women with your name! If you can find my profile, I'd be happy to "friend" you.

Mommy's Observations said...

Don't ever leave the blogging world, Jenni. I love your detailed stories - things that you don't share on FB. You have a great wit and a talent for making me smile (and I KNOW I'm not alone). Regardless of how we keep in touch, I'm truly blessed to have you as a friend.

Calamity Jen said...

I echo that sentiment, K!

Rob K said...

I'm very glad we virtually met, Jen. And I'm the king of long rambling posts.

I treat my blog like a weekly column and even that's not easy to do sometimes. I think a lot about packing it in, but then I have one more idea for a post. (I think I'll know when it's time.)

And I've met some really great people through blogging, too--including you!

amelia said...

I have just got internet back (as you may have read on FB) because of a storm last Thursday!!

I love reading your blogs so please don't stop! I find it hard to comment on blogs when people post daily or sometimes more but I love to keep in touch this way for the most part.

Anonymous said...

even i try to get a moment to visit your blog. =) i don't get to see you as often as i's like to!

Heather said...

Awesome post. I visit my blog when I have a second or two and then I remember how I used to have more time to post and how I choose to use that time in other ways now - I miss it though and thus no finality. (I'm still not joining FB though - cult.)

ryssee said...

You're making me miss mine, because I sure have liked reading yours and that's how we met. I kept your bookmark and a few others just in case and I'm glad to see you're posting again!
Maybe I'll revive mine or make a new one and post once in a while. Facebook is great for the day-to-day stuff but it's not as anonymous as the blog and I really don't want the folks at work to see half of what I really think!