Saturday 8 January 2011

Another One Down...

It looks like 'Behind Blue Eyes' has sadly closed his blog, and since there are no comments open on his final post, I'll wish him well for the future here instead.

Many blogs seem to suffer from a certain ennui from time to time, a sense of futility, of howling into the void. Al Jahom recently wondered why anyone bothered to refute George Monbiot's column on house-sharing, taking it to be 'outright trolling'.

I can't speak for everyone, but I can only say why I do it - because if no-one does it, then we have allowed the gradual (and carefully planned) softening up of ideas, as another commenter to that post puts it.

And as Anna Raccoon points out, the world of blogging may be changing, but it's changing for the better:
"The pace of life in the Blogosphere has changed. The house seems more serene; peaceful even – and purposeful.

I would venture to suggest that Bloggers have grown up; the truculent adolescents with their monosyllabic chant of ‘shan’t’, ‘won’t’, ‘don’t like it’ have left home, off to wave banners and utter two word comments on Twitter.

In their place is a new breed of Blogger. More thoughtful, less prone to knee jerk reactions, with a dedicated purpose to their prose – that of enlightenment in some corner of life that the main stream media are unable/unwilling to cover in any meaningful depth."

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

hurahh!

long live Julia

Lynne said...

People need a voice. My return to blogging stops me from blowing a gasket at all the political/authoritarian f*ckwittery going on around us.

Hopefully BBE will return after he's enjoyed a well earned break. After all, Anna Raccoon changed her mind, the Angry Baby hasn't gone far and even Obo does an occasional turn.

Old BE said...

Thanks for the tribute!

Quiet_Man said...

It really depends on why you blog. If your intentions are to change the world, you'll fail. If you just feel the need to get something off your chest you'll succeed initially, but unless you can add a bit of humour, a bit of variety it becomes one long rant.
Blogging isn't easy (at least for me it isn't) but if I didn't blog I'd probably go on some sort of rampage sooner or later.

Longrider said...

I've already explained why I do it in previous posts, but it's worth repeating. Ranting about these people keeps me sane. I'd burst a blood vessel if I didn't do or say something.

And, yes, we do need to robustly rubbish these articles so that anyone doing a quick Google gets the message.

Anonymous said...

be gr8 if we could just say what we like to each other without the threat of BIG BROTHER demanding our tweets.....etc to use as a stick to beat us with. long live Juliua

Anonymous said...

she protects us and mothers us like a good predator does to her brood, we will be strong and eat the usless, sometimes just play with them for fun.

Anonymous said...

hey what if Julia was a spider? we'd eat her, oh no!

Jack Savage said...

No! No!
More sweary blogs please!
My fockabulary has increased tenfold since I discovered blogs and "The Thick of It"!

subrosa said...

Well said Julia. I've learned more since I started blogging than I would ever learn from any formal educational outlet.

It's time consuming but the information people provide is invaluable.

MTG said...

Well, the good news is the sharp increase in blogger mortality will also provide reliable epidemiology. In the meantime, visitors to Gadget's bog are being advised to wash in bleach and carefully examine clothing for signs of livestock.

Anonymous said...

Julia, you're a bloody bore. The sooner you sign off the better. There are some worthy blogs which are no more. Yours survives because you are pig-headed and you have a huge ego. You are also shite. Well, someone had to tell you..

KenS said...

@anonymous at 04:47

Why do you read it then?

JuliaM said...

" My return to blogging stops me from blowing a gasket at all the political/authoritarian f*ckwittery going on around us."

Ditto! :)

"Thanks for the tribute!"

You're welcome. I hope Lynne's right, and you reconsider. Or rejoin us on Twitter.

"be gr8 if we could just say what we like to each other without the threat of BIG BROTHER demanding our tweets..."

Ah, yes. Big Brother sometimes has help in that.

"It's time consuming but the information people provide is invaluable."

And that's why the government fears it so - they want to control that information themselves.

"@anonymous at 04:47

Why do you read it then?"


A very good question.. ;)

Richard said...

Good post. Sweary blogs are all very well, but they get monotonous. I've lost count of the number I have read for a while and then deleted, out of sheer boredom. The more considered blogs, while less spectacularly entertaining, have more lasting value. I like Julia's blog - no-one can fillet a news story and expose the stupidity quite like her. And anon 04:47, if you don't like what you read here, there's an easy answer. Stop.