I don't think I have the mental organization to respond to that question as well as I wish I could!
Given where I work now, my specific role with the company and the field it is, I've found that blogs are a HUGE part of communities and societies. Since I work in the digital photo community, it's very Web 2.0 and as much as I hate that term it's a fact of life. So much in this business (and the photography business as a whole) depends on what's out there, what the pros think, what the media is saying. And especially these days when small companies are staying competitive with the big ones, the blogs of key members of that community are vital. So much can change with the wind either way, and blogging is a great thermometer of that.
I see a lot of this since I take care of most of the company's public outlets (Twitter, LinkedIn, two blogs, Facebook, Dgrin) and the blogs are the "meatiest" of these options. Even when our customers are saying the same message over and over and over to us, sometimes our CEO needs to write to his blog to soothe the masses. These days, the personal voice of Joe Anybody is just as important as that of someone on the top tier and blogging totally evens out the communication field.
Personally, blogging is very important to me. I keep up with my friends that way, since I rarely see any people in person. And I would be a mental miss if I didn't have a place to store/organize ideas.
(Is this what you asked or did I totally answer a different question?)
I'm not sure of the exact question I want to ask anyway, so yes, you answered the question :)
I occasionally toy with the idea of writing a completely public blog, and I've been thinking a lot lately about blogging and how it relates to/is replacing other forms of media.
I think that each service has a very different purpose, and even how each service serves us as individuals even more so.
I've always thought Twitter was really useless, but I have to use it for work because it's a powerful tool for businesses. I think personal Tweeting is, honestly, just an indulgence that I don't really need because you have to keep watching it constantly to really get the gist and fully enjoy it. But lately Andy said that "Twitter should be like haiku" and voila! A new use for it has been borne. I don't care if anyone reads my personal Twitter, but I really enjoy using it to write daily haikus because it teaches me to say more with less.
Same with my Daily Photos, which is sort of a photo blog. I don't care if people are watching it (though over time, it turns out people do) but it started as an exercise for me to be creative each day and to be more comfortable in front of the camera.
I don't mean for this to be all self-centered sounding (because it sure does!) but I find your musings really interesting because it's stuff I've been processing a lot over the last year. If you need that space to blog publicly, then do it! The way you think when you're writing for a faceless audience is vastly different than how you say the same message to your friends. Personally I think both are a healthy thing to practice.
Given where I work now, my specific role with the company and the field it is, I've found that blogs are a HUGE part of communities and societies. Since I work in the digital photo community, it's very Web 2.0 and as much as I hate that term it's a fact of life. So much in this business (and the photography business as a whole) depends on what's out there, what the pros think, what the media is saying. And especially these days when small companies are staying competitive with the big ones, the blogs of key members of that community are vital. So much can change with the wind either way, and blogging is a great thermometer of that.
I see a lot of this since I take care of most of the company's public outlets (Twitter, LinkedIn, two blogs, Facebook, Dgrin) and the blogs are the "meatiest" of these options. Even when our customers are saying the same message over and over and over to us, sometimes our CEO needs to write to his blog to soothe the masses. These days, the personal voice of Joe Anybody is just as important as that of someone on the top tier and blogging totally evens out the communication field.
Personally, blogging is very important to me. I keep up with my friends that way, since I rarely see any people in person. And I would be a mental miss if I didn't have a place to store/organize ideas.
(Is this what you asked or did I totally answer a different question?)
Reply
I occasionally toy with the idea of writing a completely public blog, and I've been thinking a lot lately about blogging and how it relates to/is replacing other forms of media.
Reply
I've always thought Twitter was really useless, but I have to use it for work because it's a powerful tool for businesses. I think personal Tweeting is, honestly, just an indulgence that I don't really need because you have to keep watching it constantly to really get the gist and fully enjoy it. But lately Andy said that "Twitter should be like haiku" and voila! A new use for it has been borne. I don't care if anyone reads my personal Twitter, but I really enjoy using it to write daily haikus because it teaches me to say more with less.
Same with my Daily Photos, which is sort of a photo blog. I don't care if people are watching it (though over time, it turns out people do) but it started as an exercise for me to be creative each day and to be more comfortable in front of the camera.
I don't mean for this to be all self-centered sounding (because it sure does!) but I find your musings really interesting because it's stuff I've been processing a lot over the last year. If you need that space to blog publicly, then do it! The way you think when you're writing for a faceless audience is vastly different than how you say the same message to your friends. Personally I think both are a healthy thing to practice.
Reply
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