I miss when the Blogosphere felt like a neighborhood with all sorts of takes on the same reality, with slices of home life here, theology there, humor another place, sarcasm another. I miss feeling like walking through the internet like browsing the North End of Boston, or all the hidden lovely places in New York. Now, everything feels like Best Buy and Walmart with a Starbucks on every corner.
There are sharp moments and glimmers of beauty and whimsy, but most of what we find, is what we've always found, and very little of it stretches us, challenges us, or delights. I wonder, have I stopped looking, or have the shiniest of places been discovered and moved?
Wandering Facebook doesn't lead to anywhere I haven't been, and it isn't that I want to go somewhere new, it's that I want to feel welcomed. Every site feels like a place that's lost some of its luster, some of its joy. Maybe we ran too fast to start, but now we're crawling.
Everywhere I look, there is condemnation, condemnation of the condemnation, condemnation of those apologizing, condemnation of those criticizing the apologizing, and all of it, leaves a bitter aftertaste like I burnt my mouth.
My own blog's become simply a link spot to published pieces. In one sense, it's smart, not to give away writing for free, but in another sense, it's wrong because it means I don't play with my words, I think about what I want to write in hopes of getting published. It's eliminated a lot of whimsy. The Small Success Thursday exercise kept me blogging on a regular basis for free, but now that's gone too.
So I'll try to restart this party, to do my part to reopen the Mom-Pop store of the blogosphere. I'll still link to pieces, but I'll try to keep this spot lighter and brighter...to that end...
I'd better get to writing.
I feel better already.
If you read this, leave a comment. It's old school I know, but so is blogging now a days so come on in, I'll serve chocolate and diet coke and a side of humor I hope.
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3 comments:
Your humor = great. Your hitting the nail on the head on serious matters = great. Please keep writing.
Keep being a light, Sherry. Yes, the neighborhood has changed, but the message still needs to be shared. I miss the camaraderie, the shares, the link-backs, and the fun.
Let's bring the fun back to Catholic writing!
I read! I read! And left a comment, which is very difficult for me because I feel like leaving a comment is akin to sending en email--mushrooms erupting all over the place! But maybe there is a place for mushrooms. :)
Many of the blogs I used to read have either gone away or become so commercial. You can usually tell when a blogger is about to get a book deal (they get vague and their "adventures" get very staged and well-photographed), and once that happens, it's time to stop reading. They plug their own book, plug other authors, plug the next speaking gig, but that homey, friendly feel evaporates. While I understand it, because everyone has to make a living, that sense of giving for the good of humanity, of sharing with a friend because that's what friends do--is gone.
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