My take on Blog.

Scary thought to a relatively new blogger : what if the server crashes?

This is not just random crap I'm spouting here y' know (at least, I try not to). These are genuine thoughts, ideas and feelings which I'm not recording anywhere else. Is that the mistake I'm making? Even now, I already enjoy going through my own old posts..what if one day, some little band of rebel microchips in the main server decide to go on flippin' strike? With my luck, they will probably be the ones with MY data on them. And they will be the ONLY ones.
Then maybe I should be storing all this somewhere else too. Like on a hard disk or something. But a, this is my office comp, and b, that's not foolproof either, is it? Aren't hard disk crashes even more common? I would feel bloody cheated if I lost all the stuff I put down here. So solution...solution..['here...copper sulphate..sodium chloride...potassium cyanide. Now, pop quiz. First, we pop...']. CDs, floppies...nothing.

Ah, I have it! I must write them down. All these wonderful ideas of mine. Pen and ink, words, by hand. That's the way. Ha ha! I'm smarter than you, you little computer virus buggers.
No wait, how is that different from what people have been doing for ages? Where do the advantages of info tech come into the picture? Come to think of it, what ARE the advantages of 'blogging'? Well, you can have a very valuable and mutually satisfying exchange of ideas and other things over vast distances, VERY quickly, like from opposing ends of the earth, for example. Then what's the bloody idea doing it for the sake of your friends and for their comments, friends who live in the SAME city and with whom you can probably communicate in far better ways anyway?? If you really want them to read what you've written, pen and paper is as good as anything. I find writing for others' comments somewhat shallow, and SPECIFICALLY for that purpose, even more so. Like that oh-so-profound line from that movie, "Become who you are". Not what you want others to think you are.

Alright, back to topic. To be fair, another advantage I see in blogging is a convenient marriage between a journal (online, though) and a chatroom. It has the best of both - you can say pretty much what you want, can control access to your blog (right?), random people can give their opinions on your views and like c-rooms, you could find someone beautifully on your wavelength. And this usually has excellent results. Nice. I'm all for it.

Now, I've seen a lot of egomaniacal, self-congratulatory, full of attitude, in-your-face, abrasive, sycophantic, ooo-I-love-my-friends-and-am-dying-to-hear-their-comments kinds of blogs. But for every 3 or 4 of those, I also find one blog which runs on the true spirit of blogging. Which touches me as genuine. Which shows a person trying to express him/herself. Isn't that the same as when we actually 'physically' meet people?

Hey, there are enough and more lies on the net. Another good thing about blogging is that, if done right, it can be purely an interaction between minds. Intellects. Not a damn dating service. It's not to advertise if you're good in bed or a "fun-loving Arian looking for love". The battle of the sexes, if it occurs, more often than not, remains at good-natured banter. Or if it gets heated, doesn't (shouldn't) get sexist.
And nobody's gonna throw you out of the chatroom for being abusive or opinionated.

This lack of the concept of a body attached to the mind is inherent. I would just as happily love to interact with someone's mind (on the same wavelength, of course) and not necessarily feel the need to meet them. I don't think I could necessarily meet Mysticity from Montreal, but if I can have great discussions...great! Maybe I don't WANT to meet the blogger I interact virtually with. Maybe we will, if we feel we want to. But things like bloggers meets...I mean, what's THAT all about? And people make such a big deal out of it.

Hmm..let's see. People who know each other meeting somewhere, having fun talking (isnt that what you do now on the blogs as well?)..with various optional parameters factored in as well (such as drinking, hooking up), whaddaya know..it's just another bloody PARTY!

Well, not that that's bad in itself. I mean, hey, it's human social interaction. We wouldn't be what we are without it (we could argue, but some other time). No problems there. Even associating it with blogging is fine. Like minded people meeting. Great. And who doesn't love a party? I do too. I'm just airing views, opinions and ideas here (what blogs were meant for!), not looking to propagate or convince.

So, blogging. A novel concept (some time ago, at least) basically intended to be a personal and private record of thoughts and ideas. To further isolate individuals rather than integrate (positives and negatives of this- another 4 hour discussion). Morphed into yet another device to facilitate social gathering and interaction, to further, conceivably, the selection, mating and evolutionary process. As has been done for ages.

Full fucking circle.