Blogosophy

I think probably anyone who has blogged for any length of time has probably experienced varying degrees of love and hate for this whole blogging phenomenon. Whatever your feelings are it seems to me that blogging has hit a nerve and is taking over the earth. I feel like perhaps all of us are a little starved for a sense of community and blogging is allowing us to fill that void. Instead of bemoaning the fact that our fast-paced lives, garages (we pull right inside eliminating any chance of chatting with a neighbor), fear of child molesting creeps, and so many other things are now the reality and have slowly pushed out the casual openness and sense of community as depicted in Sandlot, we have grabbed hold of a new substitute. The question is, is it filling the void or only drawing us into our homes more and away from making "real" relationships?

There are those who use their blog as a creative outlet, a journal/family history, a way to connect with family and friends and a way to make new friends. When I started mine I didn't know this entire culture existed. I had only seen group blogs that existed to support some common ideal or theme like Mormon Mommy Wars, Times and Seasons, Millennial Star, etc. I felt like a brilliant pioneer as I realized I could start my own personal blog to transition from writing a somewhat regular update/journal email to friends and family to a much more broad way to record my thoughts, my children's (and husband's) sayings and antics and photos with those who truly want to be part of it and can do it on their schedule. Then to my amazement I discovered this whole individual/family blog thing not only already existed, it was this major sub-culture that had been going strong for quite sometime. There were cute backgrounds, slide shows, background music (which still scares the tar out of me EVERY time I go to a blog with music), sidebars features galore, give-aways, tags, etc.

Plus in a few clicks you can know everything there is to know about your 2nd grade bff or your husband's ex-girlfriend. Weird. Good weird or bad weird? That's a whole other issue, what are the rules? Where are the lines of propriety? Then, just when you're pretty sure you're writing to an audience of your faithful 5 commenters and therefore feeling pretty comfortable and safe in airing your every thought someone you kind of know makes a casual reference to one of your posts. At first you're kind of flattered and then you panic and wonder what you've written that could possibly be offensive or insensitive or something to people you had no idea read your blog.

I've decided that for me I love the access I get into the lives of those I love. Even my family and friends I see regularly, in some respects I know and see way more through their blogs than I do in their presence. And for those family and friends who I never see, it's invaluable. I love that I will have this record of these days with my little family. I love that I have this outlet for my thoughts and feelings as I navigate the ups and downs of motherhood and life in general. I love the rare occasions when there are no misspelled words when I spell check. I love when I get through the word verification letters on my first try.

However, I still struggle to know where the lines are, how much time is too much time to spend posting and reading? Do I want to belong to the "blogging community"? Are comments a healthy way to get some validation or just another popularity contest? Am I endangering or humiliating my children? Am I always true to myself and my family when I post or do I sometimes play to the audience? Have any of you come any conclusions you'd care to share?