Thursday, May 18, 2006

Blogging about blogging

Despite the fact that thousands of new blogs are created each day, it feels to me like my own little universe of blogginess is diminishing. I have bookmarked my favorites to check in on periodically and I keep adding new ones, but I am noticing a trend toward fewer and fewer posts and, disconcertingly, sometimes blogs are just disappearing.

On a couple of occasions I have located the blogs of former colleagues and/or friends, by doing a Google search in a fit of wondering “whatever happened to good-old so and so?”
One night I was reading through the blog of a former co-worker who moved away and it suddenly vanished before my eyes. I clicked to the next archived entry and got that “not found” page. I clicked back to where I had been and it was gone, replaced by “not found”. Apparently at the very moment I was reading, she was making the decision to pull the plug on her blog. Or, creepily, I wondered if she, sitting at her computer thousands of miles away, had somehow divined that I was there reading her private thoughts and had quickly snatched them away. That is something to contemplate. I did feel like a voyeuer, and a little guilty. That same feeling compelled me to email another former colleague to tell him I had found his blog and read it. He replied that he was glad to have another reader and inquired about my life and family, but then he stopped posting, finally coming back with a short entry saying he was trying to decide whether to continue writing his blog or not. I hope it wasn't something I said!

A couple of the art quilt blogs I used to read have gone. I haven’t removed them from my list yet and check in occasionally in the vain hope that they have changed their minds and come back. Others now post so infrequently that it’s hard to maintain much interest in what they are doing.

I have been at this for 8 months now and my posts are not as frequent as they were early on, but I still feel like I have things to say. Maybe at some point I will burn out and fade away as well. Meanwhile, I have some favorites that I continue to read and enjoy. Gerrie and June are consistent and interesting and fun. Deborah and her young family and Deborah’s artwork are always great to read about. Sandy’s quirky links and clever commentary keep me coming back. Dad Gone Mad just cracks me up. And, of course, there are many more. I have to admit that there are a couple of blogs that I read just because they are so annoying—how perverse is that?

And now, just because I am fundamentally opposed to blog entries that have no photos, here is the scene outside my window that calls to me as I work away on my computer today. Ray hung the hammock last weekend. That is the official declaration of summer at our house. Now, if I can get up the gumption to make some iced tea—the hammock, a good book and a tall glass of said tea, all rattly with ice cubes, is just about the perfect combination for a lazy afternoon.

7 comments:

  1. Terry, I always know that my blogging is for me first and foremost and readers and commentors are sparkles from heaven. I must admit that I don't quite understand the dilemnas that some speak of about blogging...do it or don't do it...it works for you or it doesn't...

    I do get attached to people via their blogs and find myself hoping that life is "alright" when bloggers are absent for long periods of time but it always comes back to reminding myself that a person has to have the inner drive to blog/write and really doesn't have a responsibility to me, the reader.

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  2. oh, and the computer i use to upload images is out of commission, so thus, very little blog entries for me...but when i do, i got a feeling i'll ramble on and on and on...:)

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  3. Isn't it sad to go through your blog list and find they haven't updated in months, or since last year? It's too bad. Sometimes I'm busy and don't have time for creative stuff or pics, but I still try to post, just in case someone out there is wondering...I read blogs to learn about people...not just the things they make (that too, but mostly about the creative people who are interesting!)

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  4. Terry, thank you for the kind mention! I am thrilled to hear that you enjoy my blog. I've noticed fading blogs too. That's life I suppose. I try to search out others that are interesting and inspiring. Yours is always superfantastic!

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  5. Without wanting to sound too too desperate and sad, blog people have replaced some of my support network of arty friends since we moved away from them all. It's like show and tell, all the time. And if I hit a wall creatively, scooting around the blogs helps me get back on track. Just love it.

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  6. Ah...hammock and iced tea sound hevenly.... I'm one of the occasional visitors (if you've got site meter, I'll bet I show up as Camden, Maine). Anyway, I noticed the same thing with visits...230 the day I posted to QA about a current piece, but around 40-60 a day otherwise.

    It is, though, also "get quilts ready for entry deadlines" season, so many of the regulars may be otherwise distracted. Which is what I ought to be doing!

    AND, good job for all of you at the Tea Garden...I saw a notice in the new QNM magazine that just arrived (alas the photo was of someone else's piece, but what the hey!). Wish I could see it in person.... the crow looks phenomenal. Maybe he'll join his compatriot in June's collection!

    Cheers, Sarah

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  7. Iced tea and a hammock...are you absolutely sure you're not from Georgia darlin'?

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