What It Is to Blog

Truth be told, I am not much more than a kid playing make believe, and I'm playing with some pretty dangerous toys.

I like to pretend that I'm a real writer. Heck, we all must. That's why we blog. We want to be read and to feel somehow validated by the comments of our plethora of readers. In my own mind, the approval of readers proves that my opinions are not worthless.

The more time I spend roaming around the blogosphere, admiring the words and works of much more widely read writers than myself, the more reasons I can think of to not blog.

1. Blogging to Scratch an Itch
I'm sure that it is not entirely uncommon to want to be well-known, respected or even "famous." It gives me an "oh-so-special" feeling to know that someone might be reading my thoughts and appreciating them. But sometimes when I sit down to blog as a discipline to achieve greatness, I notice that I hate it. I've read more than a couple posts about blogging. One thing that always stuck with me was one writer's claims that an effective blog requires a write-often-about-everything mentality. As I think about how I really feel about the art and philosophy of writing, I can't help but believe that it should be something slightly more noble than writing for writing's sake.

2. Blogging to be Heard
I read a lot of blogs, a lot of which are written by some pretty well-respected scholars. Often, these people have incredible things to say. I read posts about biblical interpretation, philosophy, church leadership and congregational issues, politics, writing, pop culture and just about anything else I can find. Their voices challenge, inspire and educate. They deal with the issues in critical manners, reviewing written works, movies and even events with a delicate precision and excellence, generally speaking. When it comes time to put myself out there with my thoughts and opinions, I either feel that what I might say doesn't compare or would not be much more than an adding to the great "noise" of the blogosphere.

3. Blogging to be an Author
For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated with books. Probably because my mother was a librarian and didn't give us the option. Either way, I love to read and am excited by the prospect of writing. There are several that I have experienced in my very limited encounters with the land of Blog who have used their sites to accomplish such desires. I think of Tim Challies and his new book deal, for example. There are several reasons that I can't justify using a blog to accomplish my inkling towards authorship.

The first probably has something to do with my mother's imparted love of books. When I think about Twain, Hemingway, Eliot and the other classic authors I have grown to love, I can't help but feel that blogs are cheap imitations. I miss holding something. I miss crinkling the pages. I miss the new books smell. And no matter what I might learn from a blog, reading a book feels so much more productive. Reading books is always good. It seems that the addiction to the blogging world just promotes and endorses a continued dependence on technology over the real world.

The second is the availability of the blog. Anybody can get one. Writing is something that requires work. Before the blog, one had to be excellent to become a writer. Now, one must only sign up. The whole concept just seems to cheapen the whole affair. And not only are blogs incredibly easy to acquire, there is absolutely no accountability. Not only can anyone start a blog, they can say literally anything they want to.

Why would I blog?
This post is, of course, somewhat of a paradox. But despite all of these reasons not to blog, I have one great reason that I do. It allows me to sort out my thoughts. Try and try as I might, I can't seem to journal. I sympathize greatly with Donald Miller who compares it to "schizophrenia." And luckily for me, being young and undiscovered in the electronic world, this blog is virtually a journal. It is my hope, while I strive to keep my conscience clear that someone can be encouraged by these thoughts.