Monday, May 07, 2007
Blog needs work
I'm really happy to have a daily outlet for writing in public. But I also recognize that the ivantohelpyou blog isn't the ultimate destination in blogdom. After a few months of blogging and regularly reading blogs, I'm starting to think that the best ones are those written by people who have jobs outside of the technology or publishing industries.
For instance, soldiers in Iraq have great blogs, and while we're at war, every American with an account at Google Reader should subscribe to at least one, such as The Sandbox at Slate.
Miss Snark, literary agent (which is a publishing job but I'll give her props anyway), recommends Clublife, a blog written by a bouncer.
And after you've had a run-in with a bouncer, maybe you need a nurse blog from the blogroll at code blog. Or try searching for firefighter blogs, police officer blogs (very big in the U.K. it seems) or blogs by anyone who's not sitting behind a desk. Bike messenger, even.
It has become so easy to insulate ourselves from anything but the news and media we choose to consume, surrounding ourselves with perspectives reflecting our own. As we rely less upon the mainstream media, we can no longer blame them for doing an imperfect job in defining and filtering our relationship with the world around us. If we replace the editorial voice of major newspapers with the self-selected voices of the people most similar to ourselves, we're bound to miss out on something important. That would be a shame, especially since blogs have given us an unprecedented opportunity to understand one another.
So, go out there and subscribe to the blogs of good storytellers, no matter what they do or where they do it.
For instance, soldiers in Iraq have great blogs, and while we're at war, every American with an account at Google Reader should subscribe to at least one, such as The Sandbox at Slate.
Miss Snark, literary agent (which is a publishing job but I'll give her props anyway), recommends Clublife, a blog written by a bouncer.
And after you've had a run-in with a bouncer, maybe you need a nurse blog from the blogroll at code blog. Or try searching for firefighter blogs, police officer blogs (very big in the U.K. it seems) or blogs by anyone who's not sitting behind a desk. Bike messenger, even.
It has become so easy to insulate ourselves from anything but the news and media we choose to consume, surrounding ourselves with perspectives reflecting our own. As we rely less upon the mainstream media, we can no longer blame them for doing an imperfect job in defining and filtering our relationship with the world around us. If we replace the editorial voice of major newspapers with the self-selected voices of the people most similar to ourselves, we're bound to miss out on something important. That would be a shame, especially since blogs have given us an unprecedented opportunity to understand one another.
So, go out there and subscribe to the blogs of good storytellers, no matter what they do or where they do it.
Labels: blogging
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