I have been deliberating and conundrumating and ruminating and positing and depositing lately.
It seems, with a few notable exceptions, that there are three types of non-specific "Mommy" blogs* out there:
1. The blog that used to be fun and witty and quirky and is now either : a place where the writer shows us pictures of random things that are "artsy" or "organic" or "flowers" so that she can justify her expensive camera/newly found photo business; a treatise on how awesome she has become, thanks to this or that sponsor; a never-ending cycle of self-promotion i.e. Tweets about my post/Facebook about my post/What people are saying about my post/I got this award/Here is my badge for your blog/Wouldn't it be great if I wrote a book about my posts?!
2. The blog that has NEVER been fun and witty and quirky but has a loyal following of friends and "fans" and now people think it MUST be fun and witty and quirky and it STILL stinks on ice.
3. The blog that bosses me around and tries to get me to become organic/vegan/crafty/Green/irritating/pious/political/suicidal.
I don't want to be any of these blogs.
Of course I want ten thousand people to read my blog every day, and ten thousand comments every day telling me that I am the greatest thing ever. Of course I don't want to respond to any of these comments because I am really lazy and typing makes my fingers need ice cream. Of course I want someone to publish a book that I have written and put me on Oprah and give me a million dollars and things to give away and sponsors.
The problem? I don't have anything remotely interesting or of good enough report or praiseworthy to say. I don't have a catch or a theme or a hook. And I don't really want to have one, either. If I don't have a catch by now, the only one I will ever get will be one born of tragedy. ("My blog about having twelve arms from a Nuclear Meltdown. Get my badge!" or "My blog about being the Octomom of El Paso! I got a Cuddly Panda Award from this lady!" or "My funny blog about how I am on methadone! I should totally be sponsored by the Cupcake Factory of Cuteness!")
I don't want to be the aggrandizor or the director of outraged blog minions or the one who spends all day photographing my day instead of living it. And this isn't my journal. I have a journal. I am not self-centered enough to think that my journal is something of interest to anyone but me (and Jooj, one day, who will break into it and try to get some dirt on me so she is allowed to wear a bikini and French Kiss at a young age).
So there is my dilemma.
Do I keep posting about things that, really, are substandard, or do I stop altogether? I mean, I can keep telling you about the things Jooj says or does, but that won't last forever. She will read soon and get all pissed I am talking about her bowels and boobies.
P.S. I talked to Fig the other day, and she says life without a blog or Twitter or Facebook is very charming, and gives her more time for TV. And you know how I love TV.
*I am not including the blogs that are, genuinely, designed to just be a place where grandma and close friends can see the kids. I mean the ones where Mommies are actively trying to be creative, with all that entails.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Thinking About Ending it All.
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26 comments:
Bahahaha! Keep posting what you want, when you want.
I like you. And so do my sponsors.
woo. gurrbonzo sent me a link to this post. so here i am.
post whatever the hell you want. i think you are funny too. but seriously? you couldn't post an artsy photo of you typing this? i would have understood you so much better....
Your thinking about this all wrong. Blogs are not journals, professional websites, cults of personality or anything else. They are a massive online form letter. Like the type that you would send to people during Christmas. They have replaced email so that instead of having to write individual messages to friends you can write one message and make your friends come to you. That said my blog is completely non sequitor and reflects nothing of my daily existence so maybe I'm just full of BS.
I notice that Quit Shaking on your sidebar is not --Done!
(I've been dying to know how Fig is...but far be it from me to ask, duh.)
Um, I don't know what to do with this post. I will spend the rest of the morning trying to figure out where my blog fits. And then quit caring about it, which is what you should do.
Seriously, though...I get it. But cannot for the life of me shut up.
And neither should you.
i just wanted to say that you should post whatever the freak you want. screw being popular.
The shaking is only once or twice a month. It hasn't COMPLETELY gone away, so I don't want to be a liar. I think I will just take it off.
Stew, I like the idea of just making people come to me.
And Stephanie, welcome. I like you.
gurrbanzo, shouldn't you be studying?
And Alissa, I LOVE your pictures. Because they are of your kids, not the random flowers in your vegan organic garden that you toll painted and then had your children bless by doing a traditional Inuit dance around the perimeter which you crafted from discarded sea glass.
I pretty much never click over from Reader to comment on any blog, but here I am. Does that mean something about your blog/post?
You are the greatest thing ever.
And this is why I haven't posted in over a month. I am similarly flummoxed. Let me know if you figure it out.
Here's how I feel:
When we first started this it was to keep up with family, friends, and have a creative outlet.
Why can't it still be that? Why not make it work for you?
I made a few rules for myself in the beginning: don't write if you don't want to, write about anything you want, write however you want, and if it's too stressful then don't do it for a while.
I don't care how often I hear from you, or read your funny words, but I know I want to keep hearing about whatever it is you want to tell me about. Screw the rest of the stuff.
Whew. I'm so glad I haven't posted pictures of my chickens lately. Although I've been thinking about it.
Seriously though: Pretty much what Azúcar said.
To be honest, I've been feeling much the same thing and seriously considering going off the grid, too. Blog. Twitter. Hmmm...maybe not Facebook (I like being able to "remember" people's birthdays and get the occasional blasts from the past from old high school or mission friends). But the fun has kind of gone out of blogging for me, too.
That said, I just met someone (for the first time) at a baseball game the other night who told me she reads my blog. And I kind of like meeting people at parties and having them say, "Oh, you're compulsive writer?" I'd be lying if I didn't find that a little flattering even though only about three people read my blog. (Apparently four.)
So I decided to keep it for now. Post when I feel like it. And write whatever I want. And to mostly not care when no one reads it or no one comments.
But I would abso-freakin'-lutely miss your witty presence if you were to drop out of the blogosphere. So I do hope you decide to stick around. Besides, don't we sort of get extra points for being here before everyone else started doing it?
Undefined, that makes me feel nice.
And Sue I will let you know.
And Az, I like the cut of your jib.
We were practically ep neighbors. but never met.
But I keep reading your blog...because you make me laugh.
I don't read boring or overly creative blogs unless they are really good friends & I have to.
I think this rings true for a lot of people now. It certainly has for me. Blogging has almost no appeal to me now--at least, not the way it used to. Maybe it's because I've let Twitter replace my blogging? I don't know. But it has lost its luster.
I will say though, the three types of blogs you mention--I think they too will fade eventually, or at least more people will start to wonder why they even bother reading a lot of that crap anymore. We're just ahead of the game, because we cool like dat.
In other news, I think you should post at least once a month because I don't think there are a lot of people out there that have the guts you do. And you're funny as hell.
I don't care what you write or don't write, I'll read whatever is here. Do you remember how happy I was when I stumbled upon your blog? I was sincerely happy.
Not to mention, you make me laugh out loud, even when you don't mean to, which makes you even funnier. Does that make sense?
I post naked lolcats
so I'm not sure which category that puts me in, probably #2 but maybe #3. I have been known to tweet about my posts so MAYBE I AM #1 and I should go jump off a cliff.
If it weren't for our lame-o blogs I wouldn't know you and my life would suck significantly more.
So don't go, even though more time for tv is SO appealing...
p.s. I talked to fig too
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I will stick it out until I feel like I won't. Or something.
And I am glad I am not the only one who thinks some things I think.
Also, I want to clarify--Those kind of blogs are not bad, per se (did I use that right?), but just TOO much for me right now. I like feeling like I am reading something genuine. Not a bunch of product placement. And I love looking at beautiful pictures, just not ones that, all of a sudden, are forced on me because someone got a camera for mother's day and everyone is doing it. And I don't want to be that person. I have tried, briefly, to publicize and check feeds and things, and it is too much. It is not me. But if it is you, I will still love you. Because we are tight like that.
Also, I am posting tomorrow. So don't count me out yet.
Besides - what will I do with my time?
Do what suits you best. No matter what you're a funny chica. It doesn't matter what you're writing about it is always a good read(though the crazy signs in EP do help a lot). Plus if you quit, I'll go through withdrawls until the Fates send you over here.
If you need/want to though, enjoy your extra time.
I'm all insecure now (like I wasn't before, but still). I don't like when blogging makes me feel back in junior high trying to "fit in." But I love reading real blogs - like yours.
I think I blog to keep some semblance of sanity. Sometimes it works and sometimes not so much.
Exactly. If doing a blog is going to make me feel like I have to reinvent myself, then I don't want to do it. Because I am lazy.
If you quit blogging I will come to EP, look up "La Yen" and "W" in the phone book and come to your house. When I get to your house, I will punch you in the face.
I consider throwing in the blogging towel every other month, practically - either from a perceived lack of quantity or quality ... or more often - both!
In trying to figure out why I would continue I have examined (or tried to) why I started blogging to begin with, and I can't say I've ever gotten a full answer to my question but what I do know is .....
WE ALL THINK WHAT WE'RE WRITING IS CRAP!
We all think our blogs are nothing but drivel, and none of us can really figure out why ANYONE in their right mind would bother reading any of it! And to some extent, we're all (probably) right. But we keep reading other people's blogs because we care about each other's lives - drivel or not :)
For the record - your blog IS funny, and smart - it would always be entertaining to read no matter what you were writing about (if I were Oprah you'd totally be on my show!). But I, for one (and I know I'm not alone), will ALWAYS want to read WHATEVER you want to post (whenever you want to post it) because I care about what's going on in your life.
So don't quit (I'd miss you), and don't go to the trouble of reinventing anything (I'm too lazy to keep up), and don't worry about what category your blog fits into (you're in a class by yourself anyway!) :)
i am mommy blog #1 i believe. i used to be witty and funny and then i turned into a divorced workaholic. now that i'm recapturing my own, i think i am in the process of giving up all things online as well. it's quite therapeutic actually. (all things except email so just email me the fun cool things you want to say cuz i agree, i'd miss them if i didn't hear from you ocassionally.)
Your blog is genuine...so completely honest. I read it sometimes just to learn your big words and try to impress my husbands' friends on game night. Your blog also gives me perspective. It makes me realize you can be completely dedicated to the gospel while still retaining your wittiness...something I never thought possible. Oh yeah, and for those out there that think being 'witty' and being 'funny' are the same thing, they're not. They just aren't. It's not hard to be funny. So cousin, you will continue to post because you just have the talent to do so. And darn it, where would I be without big words?
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