Are bloggers real writers? I wish I could give a straightforward answer – yes, bloggers are real writers; no, bloggers aren’t real writers – and leave it at that, my answer, whatever it may be, an incontrovertible fact.

But this question has many parts.

To begin answering, I have to first ask: What is blogging? What is writing? And is there such a thing as real writing?

Please understand that the best I can do is ruminate, the best I can always do is ruminate, and ruminations change with the passing of time.

That’s what makes it possible for ruminations to become beautiful – growth through change – and this potential towards beauty is what makes ruminations always beautiful, no matter how misinformed, misled, and mistaken they may be.

Getting back to my questions, or should I just end there, with my last paragraph? I really don’t see where else I can go with this pseudo-intellectual post, and besides, I feel like I’ve already reached great enough heights.

Tags: ::BLOGGING::, austin, blogging stigma, funny signs, sXsw sign, the point of blogging, why blog

Don’t feel bad about spending time on the internet.

Just make sure it’s more than an hour per day.

Because that’s how long it takes before there’s a measurable boost in brain function.

This tidbit comes to us from a study done by Dr Gary Small out of UCLA.

Small got even more specific with this study.

Here are some of the facts about what blogging does to your brain…

Click to embiggen

Building a blog or website

What it does: Building a blog or your own website improves frontal lobe function, reasoning and memory.

“As you learn to build a site or blog, brain areas that are needed for making logical connections as well as medium to longer-term functional memory are challenged and enhanced,” explains Professor Small.

“Your memory is improved by learning and remembering how to construct a site or blog ,and will be enhanced the more you actually use and update your site,” he adds. To keep these brain functions active, add to your skill levels by learning new web-building functions and updating your site.

Small also found that sifting through your email can cause stress.

[source]

Tags: ::BLOGGING::, ::HEALTH::, benefits of blogging, brain, frontal lobe, gary small, memory, the point of blogging, ucla, why blog

I’m always debating in my mind about what constitutes a good* post.  I don’t even think I have ever in my life wanted to post, and yet now I find myself wondering constantly, What constitutes a good* post?

I walk around with the spigot flowing copious, like a champagne supernova, ideas pouring out of me into a lake of other ideas, and every single one of these ideas are a quest for the truth, the good* post.

By good, I mean a combination of useful, novel, and entertaining.  At least that is what I think I mean.

Because, to be honest, writing a useful post seems arduous. 

Novel and entertaining, alright, I can see that happening once in a blue moon, but useful, that’s just a bit too much to put yourself through, creating a useful post.

@

Tags: ::BLOGGING::, posting, the point of blogging, what is novel content, why blog

One of the best parts about blogging and debating with people on-line is that a person isn’t measured by where they’re from, the color of their skin, their background, even their accent. That’s because in the blogosphere, all that you know about someone, at least initially, is their choice in avatars. Once you get past the avatar, the only thing that can be measured is the depth of a person’s ideas and opinions. And those are reflected in whatever comments they choose to leave to a post, news article—any place where the owner turns on the “Comment” functionality to their web site as TOE has done here.

The vast majority of people I’ve met since I started my own blog have been superb. Occasionally, though, like a gooey maraschino cherry in the middle of a perfectly fine piece of chocolate, a troll breaks through.

X.

Tags: ::BLOGGING::, the 100 most annoying things, the open end, the point of blogging, TOE, why blog

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Tags: ::BLOGGING::, experimental, latin, the point of blogging, what is novel content, why blog