Sometimes I have to wonder….
28May2007 Filed under: JournalishHas blogging made it so that for me, the joy isn’t in having experiences, but in sharing them? If so, that’s sort of fucked up.
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13 Responses to “Sometimes I have to wonder….”
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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PastaQueen
May 28th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I don’t think that’s all that fucked up. What’s the use of having good news if you don’t get to share it with other people? Maybe it’s best to find joy both in having the experience and in sharing them.
Ernie
May 28th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Holy crap, I’ve thought the exact same thing. But I figure that it’s better to have the experience in the first place, no matter what the justification truly is. The “sharing” part just ends up being just an excuse to do it in the first place.
harryh
May 28th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
http://xkcd.com/c77.html
Brodie
May 28th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Maybe it is all part of the same existential equation.
jenB
May 28th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Maybe sharing it is just a bonus?
tlc
May 28th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Having watched you type, I think it’s a part of who you are, but never has, and never will be, a replacement for the magic of your every day. It’s just a bonus, and a reinforcement of who you are and how people need to connect. T.
amy
May 29th, 2007 at 7:37 am
I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I know when I’m feeling really lazy/hesitant/anti-social about going out and doing something, I tell myself, “well, at worst it will be blog fodder.” And that thought makes me get dressed and leave my apartment, ironically enough.
Sonya
May 29th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I think that feeling that a great part of the joy of living is being able to share your experiences is something that has always been a part of people’s lives…way before blogging. Story telling is one of the oldest art-forms. Essentially, blogging is just the newest form of that art.
amy.leblanc
May 29th, 2007 at 11:24 am
i was going to post the same xkcd comic….
amy.leblanc
May 29th, 2007 at 11:29 am
although, on second thought, i have to say that it does annoy me when i find out that people have attended events/participated in something JUST to blog about it not really because they wanted to go and enjoy the experience themselves but because they knew it would be good blog fodder. it’s sort of the web 2.0 version of the “i’m going to go because i want to tell everyone that i went” artwhore/hipster mentality, which, yes does = yuck. but that’s not what i think you’re talking about - you’re not going to events just to blog about them, but you’re enjoying events more BECAUSE you blog about them. is that so bad? i think not.
i agree that if you can’t share something, it’s not much fun, and also that i catch myself “typing” up blog posts in my head while at events, which is why i think the xkcd comic is SO FUNNY.
Ellen
May 29th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
How meta a question is that to post on your blog?? But, case in point.
Shannon
May 29th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
That’s not fucked up at all. It would be a little scarier if you hoarded your experiences and got joy out of not sharing them. But half the joy in doing something fun is getting to say, oh, my god, i was there and it was soo much fun! Keep living and keep posting!
dori
June 18th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
responding to this weeks late but with plenty to say…
this may be an old post, but the question is even older…
*ahem* i know a lot of *ahem* people who’ve thought about this *cough*.
i finally came to this personal conclusion - i’m throwing it out there for others to chew on.
some people are writers, plain and simple. i call myself a writer, tho most of it is chronic journaling and blogging. i do it because i cannot help myself. some people are writers because that’s what they get paid for. others are writers because they do it compulsively - for those people, the word “writer” is not defining their profession but their obsession. ariel, you have the specialness of being both a professional and a compulsive when it comes to writing.
so be it. the feeling of writing something that generates reaction from people, the inspiration that comes from being able to recall a moment, or find something entertaining, unique or informative in the most minute of circumstances and having the ability to share them eloquently, is a beautiful gift.
at least that’s how i justify it.