you call that a post?
Dina does a wonderful job on her blog, continuing a conversation we had about nasty comments on blogs. We've had this conversation in bits and pieces and on other blogs when discussing some bloggers' decisions to shut down commenting in their spaces.
There was a thought I did have, but fearing backlash of some sort that I haven't put. But now that Dina gets the ball rolling, here come some more reflections.
Blogs to me are essentially spaces, which enable spontaneous thought processes, and connections. It is a medium and not an end by it self. However, it is far more democratic and sometimes exclusive than any other space that we have been used in India. The only kind of feedback we have been able to give back to the world has been Letters to the Editor section of some newspapers, and depending on the newspaper, you'd have your letter cut to about 5% of what you wanted to say.
This dynamic space disturbs some people. It's not a concept that can be digested by a community that places great faith in conventions or community-censorship. And disagreement is not taken well too. While I am not going to sit and link specific posts either, in recent times I can think of the Great Save Indian Family War vs. Dude, Take it Easy war that we had on one of the blogs. This was a specific instance where neither party wanted to listen the other out. We surround ourselves with our own words and opinions, and don't want diagreement.
Blogs cannot be controlled, and they have a life of their own. They might begin with what I ate, what I wore etc, and yet that is reflective of the priorities of a person. It is no cause to judge that blog as frivolous. It's something I see very frequently when dicussing other blogs, and someone comments on how childish a blog is. Who's is to say that discussing Economic Situation of Sudan is less childish than personal confessions? The respect for Spaces is similar whether in the virtual or the sunny world, and we are yet to stop elbowing each other on the way all the time.
There was a thought I did have, but fearing backlash of some sort that I haven't put. But now that Dina gets the ball rolling, here come some more reflections.
Blogs to me are essentially spaces, which enable spontaneous thought processes, and connections. It is a medium and not an end by it self. However, it is far more democratic and sometimes exclusive than any other space that we have been used in India. The only kind of feedback we have been able to give back to the world has been Letters to the Editor section of some newspapers, and depending on the newspaper, you'd have your letter cut to about 5% of what you wanted to say.
This dynamic space disturbs some people. It's not a concept that can be digested by a community that places great faith in conventions or community-censorship. And disagreement is not taken well too. While I am not going to sit and link specific posts either, in recent times I can think of the Great Save Indian Family War vs. Dude, Take it Easy war that we had on one of the blogs. This was a specific instance where neither party wanted to listen the other out. We surround ourselves with our own words and opinions, and don't want diagreement.
Blogs cannot be controlled, and they have a life of their own. They might begin with what I ate, what I wore etc, and yet that is reflective of the priorities of a person. It is no cause to judge that blog as frivolous. It's something I see very frequently when dicussing other blogs, and someone comments on how childish a blog is. Who's is to say that discussing Economic Situation of Sudan is less childish than personal confessions? The respect for Spaces is similar whether in the virtual or the sunny world, and we are yet to stop elbowing each other on the way all the time.
posted by neha vish at 08:03
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