Blogs You Should Read
After 70 or so entries in this thing of mine I can't honestly say I feel I have this blog thing down. Considering how easy is (literally anyone can do it) it's harder than I thought it would be to do it well. Blog writing is very specialized-it needs to be universal enough to have wide appeal to people who don't know you but specific enough to ring true. That can be a tough balance. There's also the other, private considerations. Some people in your life don't want to be written about and blogging about work can totally come back and bite you on the butt.
The blog that made me want to do it because she does it so well is my friend Lisa's (thetalkingtoaster.blogspot.com). The subtitle is "Thoughts that pop into my head" which is very apt. She has a fun way of getting at some basic truths and her enthusiam shines through. She's also a MySpace person now but after the Vanity Fair article I'm a little skittish about MySpace though I am sure she does that well too.
The other great blog we're into right now at my house is Kristen Hersh's. Kristin is the singer/head muse in Throwing Muses (and my boyfriend's rock n' roll girlfriend) and she keeps a blog at their site (throwingmusic.com). Anyone who has heard her intense lyrics knows she can write but she is very deft at the blog format as well. Check out the one called "Not in This Lifetime" where in the space of a few paragraphs she makes you laugh (on the subject of how hard it is to rent with a dog- "Don't landlords know cats shit inside the house?") and cry (how her ex refuses her custody wishes-the not in this lifetime of the title). She could be the Jedi Master of the blog world.
If you're trolling for something new to read, check these ladies out.
posted by Sam @ 10:05 AM
2 Comments:
Thanks for giving me a shout-out! There hasn't been too much to read on my blog for awhile, but I'm catching up and blogging about all the stuff I meant to but never got around to blogging about when it happened. That's right, I'm back to changing dates and faking that I blogged about something in June, when I really posted it in August. I still think it's a terrible habit, but otherwise, I would have 16 posts on one day and then nothing for three months and I just don't want the average stranger to know that I'm THAT unbalanced. Summer is going great, but we've been outside a lot and on vacation and having a blast and I just haven't been at the computer much. Ah well. It will be cold some day again and then maybe I'll be more diligent. Reading through your old stuff now.
What article in VF did you read about MySpace?
I think that some hesitancy is in order. Employers seem to be using MySpace to check up on employees' characters. I've heard of conservative universities using MySpace to find out what their students are really up to and discipline them appropriately. And you never know when your mom, your grandmother, or someone who's reporting back to your mom or grandmother might be on there viewing your profile.
As a result, I'm pretty sparse on my page and haven't done anything with blogging (heck, I can barely keep up with one blog) or photos. I'm ultimately not enthusiastic about strangers knowing a lot about me, so I have kept it basic.
The negatives I've seen on MySpace are: (1) the search engine is not very refined so it is hard to find people you want to find, (2) the site is pretty slow to load for me, (3) sometimes people you don't want to find find you, putting you into awkward situations, (4) there are more half-naked people than I would like to have exposure to, (5) sometimes you can find out un-flattering things about people you're friends with via the things they blog about or post on their site (too much information).
The pros of MySpace for me are: (1) it has been cool to hear from some people I have not heard from in over 10 years; and it's not like you're creating a "real" friendship -- it's a lite version with very little time required on your part, (2) you do sometimes stumble upon interesting people with interesting ideas via friend of a friend of a friend connections, (3) it's just good to be a part of such a major phenomenon so that you know what people are talking about, (4) as an inheritantly nosey person, MySpace gives me the ability to snoop around without any repurcussions because some people just put everything out there for you to see.
So, you should try it . . . become a part of the modern age!
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