Blogging turns 10

Worldwide words: blogging turns 10 : "'Blogging has gone from an unnamed, or even nebulous, concept to helping form a nascent community, and then to the fundamental evolution of the social web.'"

This article gives a potted view of blogging and lighlights some of the facets of blogging and how it contributes to our current society. It tends to suggest it will be short lived and will probably transform into something else. Later on in the article someone is quoted as calling bloggers "digital narcissists". So what are novel writers? Film directors? TV show hosts? Musicians? Oh yes, blogs are proliferating. I look at them more like a home on the web. Digital real estate. Just about everyone has a physical place to live, so blogs are a virtual piece of cyberspace and they are as varied as people's homes. I set my blog up my way and run it my way the same as I do my home. My home is about the guests I invite, the people I visit the discussions and interactions I have in real life. My blog is a facet of my virtual me. Some blogs make a lot of money. Some blogs have a profound impact socially. Some blogs are very artistic. Others are very technical. I love blogs because they are organic and grow with people. Their function and impact vary because they are fluid. A blog can have a feel and a personality or it can be as dull and routine as washing the dishes. Blogs centre on the self because that is how you project into cyberspace. It can be self indulgent, it can be self serving, it can be very satisfying and a healthy outlet for things you'd otherwise bottle up. There is no compulsion to have people read your blog but it always gives you a buzz when they do. I think they will stay because we and our homes stay in the real world. There is a lot more to blogging than meets the eye, but you have to blog long term to realise the intricacy of how the links and connections work. I am grateful for all my blog has done for me...and the other blogs I run. They all have a different purpose and fill a niche in my life and the lives of others.Besides, everyone is entitled to my opinion! For some people, blogging is their life and their livelihood so it can be more than a self serving passing whim or fancy. In any case, may we all blog on and on...and on...and on....we like blogging!