trisweb.com

I was reading an article in the SF Chronicle this morning about a blogger Justin Hall (links.net) who had been blogging for eleven years (in some form or another). That’s quite a feat. I’ve been going for only three, and while I don’t feel like a newcomer anymore, man, eleven years I can’t even imagine at this point. For thousands of people, blogging is a way of life; we share details of our lives, link the internet together inextricably, and share knowledge to no end. But someday you have to stop. Like life, blogs can’t go on forever. So the question is, when do we stop? And what happens to our blogs when we do?

Justin was very attached to his blog, and when he quit, he posted a final video, apparently very emotional, explaining why he had to. In the article, it all makes perfect sense –”Closing down a Web log is part of the life cycle of the Web log” says Rebecca Blood. It’s something you don’t think about as a blogger; a sign that it truly is part of your life and not just a side hobby. It got me thinking — When do I plan on closing up shop? What would bring me to do that?

First question: I don’t plan to stop blogging. I’m not sure anyone does. So the only real reason to stop is for some spontaneous personal reason (like Justin had, I’m sure) or if the desire to do it somehow wears off. It’s not something you can explicitly plan for. Think about it — in ten years, will you still be blogging? Will everyone be blogging? How about in 50 years? What is the idea behind weblogs that makes them so successful and popular? How are they sustainable?

I’ve been meaning to get to this subject for a while now, about “why weblogs work” — maybe this is obvious, but I think it’s basically social. In a normal society, you’re put in contact with people who live near you; distance is a major problem for finding people who truly share your interests. On the internet, of course, it isn’t a problem at all. If you find one blog that you’re interested in, then you’ve found a hundred. That’s the second reason weblogs work: links. The blogosphere is the ultimate social network. A blog without links is just a journal in my opinion; might as well be on paper, because it’s not leading me to new and interesting things at every turn (unless of course the writing is really really good). A blog is only as good as the sites it links to. The internet, specifically the blogosphere, is amazingly interconnected. People have studied this. I recall reading an article about degrees of separation between blogs, but I can’t find it at the moment. Perhaps the blog dissapeared.

So why do we keep blogging? I think we all have our reasons. Here are some of my top ones:

• The people I meet — I feel like I know someone (to an extent) after reading their blog for any extended amount of time. I try to participate enough so that hopefully they’ll get to know me in the same way, through my blog.
• The writing — I’ve always loved it. Blogging is a way for me to keep writing even when I don’t have anything to write about.
• The links — I like cool stuff; science, technology, little movies and memes; and linking to them is a way for me to share cool stuff I discover with the world.
• Share with the world — Didn’t I just say that? On a more fundamental level, I like to share my interests and points of view and hear about what other people think about them.
• Design — this should probably be closer to the top, but I am a designer, and my blog is how I share that with the world. The blog is my main personal outlet for my digital creativity. And musical creativity, and visual creativity, and literary creativity, etc. Again, it’s a way to share.
• To be popular in the blogosphere — While I admit that in the past I dreamt of being one of the “popular blogs”, I realize today not only do I not want that, but I also just don’t care. I’ll just write; if people are interested in reading, then go right ahead. It may seem pointless at times to write something that no one is reading, but every once in a while I get an e-mail or comment from someone who found my blog and read an article and found exactly what they were looking for, or heard that I was a Berkeley CS major and needs advice or something like that, and I think, yeah, it’s worth it. I’m still writing for other people; but not to aquire some following or something.

There are a lot of reasons we blog, and not a lot of reasons why we should stop (as long as we’re responsible with it). So we continue. I imagine when I get tired of it or run out of time in my day or just don’t want to think about it anymore I’ll take a break, but there’s no reason, barring nuclear war or the death of the internet, why I should ever stop completely. Unless I die, and then I can’t really anymore.

Will my last words be blogged?

If they are, and if I keep this up for a significant part of my life, then it becomes a personal history — a continuous memoir of sorts, and since it’s digital, it can last forever. My blog is a very detailed poitrait of my life, my interests, my world, and ultimately, myself. My blog makes me immortal. I can’t think of a better reason not to stop.

Except of course for Justin Hall’s: “I have this girl, and we’re spending time together. It’s good.”

Yep, that’s a good reason.