Why blog?

Don't you just love using nouns as verbs? Why would a neo-luddite such as myself participate in such an activity? There are a few reasons why I have decided to start my own weblog. One reason is quite practical, I need to practice writing more often. I am going to be an English teacher soon and I felt it was prudent to engage in some writing practice to keep myself sharp. I decided that a blog would be more fun than a private journal. I realize that very few, if any, readers will find their way to my site and read what I have to say, but the possibility that at least one person might see this makes me feel more inclined to actually follow through with the writing. I would love to start a discussion or even a debate about an interesting subject and expose myself to some new ideas along the way. This is simply not possible with a private journal. Another reason is that I know some people that have blogs and this will be a good way to keep up with them.

As I hinted at earlier, I do have an aversion to many technological applications and so-called innovations. It is my belief that the Internet and (and its various communication tools) has had an adverse effect on human communications. While communication is certainly more plentiful, it is also more superficial and impersonal. My limited exposure to blogs however has shown me that many people are using the medium to publish excellent and interesting writing and I am not at all opposed to participating in such a rich, literate activity. I will just keep McLuhan's adage "the medium is the message" in mind as I send my thoughts out into the world-wide interweb. Even if written well, the medium of the blog is immediate and potentially wide-reaching, but also impersonal, and disposable (among other things), as all Internet communications are. Still, that does not mean that having a blog and participating in the blogging community cannot be fun. Even McLuhan would admit that the blog is a "cool" medium. (Yes, this is the type of humor you can expect to find in future entries, I apologize in advance) As Neil Postman used to say (I paraphrase), if you understand it is entertainment and treat it as such, and use it in moderation, its fine (refering to television). I think that this notion can be applied to blogs as well and I am ready to give it a shot.