Skip to main content

To Blog or Not To Blog

That is the question. What even is a blog? What are they supposed to be about? Anything in particular? A play-by-play of one's life? A venting session about certain things? A cathartic release? A time to keep friends and family updated on life? An opportunity to write about situations and ask for advice? What really is the point in writing a blog?

I ask all these questions, because in all honesty, I have no idea what the answers are. I just started blogging in not too terribly long ago and it seems I hold a different philosophy of blogometry than others I've read through. The majority I've read through are the x's and o's of one's life, the play-by-play. It could be referred to as "The (name of the blogger) Daily News." It's nice to read about an exciting event in one's life: A trip that one took, a first date that went well, a graduation, a new job opportunity, amongst other things. But, sometimes, I think people go a bit too far. I'll give an exaggerated example:

"At 6:43 am, I woke up, groggy, not wanting to start the day. At 7:01, I found the strength to shower and get ready. I used Tone soap and Head & Shoulders shampoo. I finished my shower at approximately 7:20. In a hurry to get to work by 8:00, I put deodorant on, cleaned my ears with q-tips, got dressed, did my hair, brushed my teeth with Aquafresh-whitening toothpaste, made some toast and was out the door at 7:43. I made it to work just in time, at 7:59..."

Okay, I'm sure you get the idea. I love hearing great news or funny stories, but do we need to know everything? Even when talking about a special date, are there some things that people really want millions of strangers to have the opportunity to read? Surprisingly, some people don't mind.

I also read love letters from one person to another. Can't that be done in private? Does there really have to be a blog posted about it?

"Oh honey, I love you so much. I miss you. You only left 3 minutes and 22 seconds ago, but who's counting? Who am I kidding? I am. I can't wait for you to get home and give me a call. I will always love you. I really look forward to our date this upcoming weekend."

Ah, yes, isn't that shpeshal (special)?

I don't get it. When I started blogging, I thought to myself, "Why in the world would any stranger want to read about my daily life? I'm going to try and write about topics that the majority can relate to, discuss or debate. It'd be nice to add some humor as well. A good laugh can never hurt."

So, I've done Late Show-like Top Ten Lists, written random comments about holidays and celebrities, done movie reviews, written about political issues and covered other topics. When I got personal, I shared some humorous date stories from my past, just because, well, they've received plenty of laughs from when I shared them previously. But, the more I browse bloggerworld, the more day-to-day personal news stories I read.

Is there an official blogger's manual one can read? I'm a newbie with this sort of thing, so I'd like to catch up on all the secrets on which I'm obviously behind. "To blog or not to blog" isn't even the question anymore. The rest of the questions I opened this up with are.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Another look at "The Nightly Show" with Larry Wilmore

After its first week, I gave The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore a B+ grade. While I didn't think the show appeared to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I also liked the Daily Show  meets Politically Incorrect vibe I got from it, and thought, with the proper adjustments, the show would indeed provide a great fill-in for The Colbert Report . In the show's succeeding weeks, however, I've been less impressed by it and think that if it doesn't make certain adjustments, it could be in jeopardy of losing many long-time viewers of the show's time slot. One major issue I think the show's had to this point is a lack of direction. It's been unable to decide whether it wants to be a comedy show with serious conversation sprinkled in or a serious show with comedy sprinkled in. It's almost as if the show's writers want to give The Nightly Show a Real Time with Bill Maher feel. The problem with that idea or format is the fact Real Time is an hour lon...

My first book review of "Penetrating the Heart of Life: Ambiguous In Thought, Ambivalent In Feeling"

Well, I received my first book review on this poetry-compilation book I completed and published late last year, but have finally gotten around to marketing now. The reviewer gave it 5 out of 5 stars and said: "I enjoyed the poetic journey the writer has taken me on. From darkest days and hopeful optimism to the conclusion of hope realized. The visual images that the poem titled "Room Temperature" elicits, made me think of the song, "Horse With No Name" sung by the band America. In a similar manner, another poem – "Deafening Sigh-lence" reminded me a great deal of Simon & Garfunkel’s song, "The Sound of Silence". There are so many poems in this book that I related to, that I felt a connection to the author and felt that we were traveling on this journey together." http://www.lulu.com/shop/craig-rozniecki/penetrating-the-heart-of-life-ambiguous-in-thought-ambivalent-in-feeling/paperback/product-18677501.html

A closer look at the Scramble With Friends power-ups

I am unashamed to admit that I'm a nerd. My idea of a good time is playing a word game like Boggle or Scrabble. Thankfully, I (and many others) can play such games via Facebook and/or my (our) cell phone(s). While it seems that cheating has become more commonplace in these games (Words With Friends in particular) than San Diego has had nice weather, I've yet to give in to that craze. One element present with the game Scramble With Friends (Boggle) not present in Words With Friends (Scrabble) are legal boosts called "power-ups," which cost a number of tokens from the 15 available. I've now tried all five power-ups, including the latest one which costs money. So, in case anyone's curious about playing the game or giving these power-ups a gander, here's a rundown of them all: Freeze - I think this is probably my favorite of all the power-ups. With the freeze, time stands still for a matter of seconds, which allows you more time to find words and improve...