The internet is a vastly overwhelming place. It’s like the universe in that way. The more you consider its size and power, the more miniscule you feel.
You feel insignificant on a starry night looking at flickering lights that travel years just to be recognized by you.
Some might ask, where do you belong amongst this, and how can you make your mark?
Blogging is a format many people use to find their place in the “world wide web”. I feel like blogging is an unnatural tendency to most people.
To talk about yourself, to focus and aim everything you do in your life on a public forum is so different than how most people live. Extroverts especially would find this a daunting task.
The best blogs have a specific theme or style. They only discuss a certain genre or they discuss all genres in a very specific way. The bloggers become someone you know, someone you trust to give you pertinent information. You want to be their friend, you want to keep up with their life and their doings. You follow their tips and distract yourself from your own life. The best bloggers give you a great ride into a world separate but aligned to your own enough that you feel related to their posts.
Not everyone is so enigmatic that people wish to hang on your every word. Good bloggers type a different language that speaks directly to you. Bloggers somehow manage to help visualize their everyday life into a well organized and efficient platform to be read through a computer screen.
Seeing professional blogs continually convinces me that everything that was ever good to blog about has already been done. Every aspect of every thing in life that anyone out in the universe that could ever relate to has been talked to death via the internet.
Blogging is overwhelming in the fact that you constantly feel like you need recognition from others to convince yourself you’re not filling the abyss with more shit. To take on a unique angle or a unique style has already been done. In the blog world (and most other things), content is king. Even if you have the flashiest blog with the most well designed site and the most beautiful, memorable logo, if it lacks personal style you are just adding to the ether of crap on the internet. Copying others is something readers pick up on quickly in the “blogosphere.” You don’t want to be known as a crappy copier.
So, after blogging for the past few weeks and the fact that I’ve tried to blog before this a little myself, I’ve realized that it’s better to do something good then to do something unique. Keep a tight brand to your blog, stay true to yourself, and don’t allow others make your blog feel legitimate. The blog should be for you. It’s your way to remember and document the things that are around you. If you are happy with your content and looking back at past posts reminds you of why you liked it in the first place, then you are doing it right.
My advice? Don’t be afraid. Even if you are doing things that others have done, you need to believe that your vision is important and what you say is worth recording.
Here’s my blog: blog.emjahn.com
What’s yours?
Photo uploaded to Flickr Creative Commons
