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Day’s Verse:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Prov. 15:1

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Blogs are online, they are public, and they are not for venting personal feelings. The internet is a free space, excellent for airing opinions and sharing facts, for communicating information and for cataloguing experiences. A blog is a web log, “a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. A blog is often a mixture of what is happening in a person’s life and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people.” It is a place to log events in your life on the web, or to collect online articles that interest you and comment on them, or to share amusing tidbits with people. Blogs offer a wonderful way to communicate with a diverse set of people, who need only check a web site to update themselves on what you feel is important day by day. If you feel the need to post “unedited, authentic self-expression” online, expect people to read it, even people you may desire not to (total strangers, stalkers, terrorists, or – eek – your mother).

In the end, describing a blog is near impossible because its content depends so completely on the writer’s personality – a good reason most blogs are total junk. Some, however, are interesting and informative, frequently updated but only with a worthwhile thought. They provide both information and entertainment, but they should not be used as an opportunity to spew forth personal emotions, for several reasons: 1) Nobody wants to read them; 2) Somebody might accidentally read them; 3) Personal is em>personal but the internet is not. So if you’re thinking of starting a blog, or have expectations for them that haven’t been met, please bear this in mind: blogs are only as good as the writer, the comments only as wise or foolish as the readers. What you gain is what you’re looking for, as with any part of life—and what you offer your readers (few though they may be) mirrors what kind of person you are.

The internet is full of junk. Blogs, for all there difficulty in defining and maintaining, will be read if they’re posted. Perhaps they contribute to the junk, but perhaps they brighten somebody’s day. Like a dog: feed it daily and it will be happy. Take it for walks down new neural connections, and it will love you. Kick it from frustration, and it will bite you. Bite.

– KF –