Here is a blog I wrote on Blogger in 2009. Nothing much has changed, in fact I believe it's worse these days.
I have since left Facebook.
2009-12-06T22:26:39.223+10:00
How have our lives changed sharing personal stuff? I just read a blog. The lady had 1045 followers and all of her posts had no more than one or two comments. That gets me wondering. Why are these one thousand and forty-five bloggers following her? Is it all about them - getting their blogs out there but not one scrap of interest in this lady's cooking blog? Hello, love to be your friend. Goodbye, nice knowing you but I'll still pretend I'm around. And do we really know these people? Not a hope in hell.
What is our motivation? People are hoping they'll get noticed. I'm hoping my art gets noticed. This is, after all, an art blog and not about my relationship problems, health issues, my motivation or lack thereof or my frustration trying to be heard and get my "work" noticed.
I'm on facebook. I have 20 friends. But only one or two consistently take an interest and comment. Why don't more of my friends/family pop by, I comment on theirs. It starts to become a comparison. Now years ago, none of these feelings popped up if I didn't receive a letter in the mailbox. Because we all knew it takes effort to get out a pen and paper and you rang if you hadn't heard. And chatted voice to voice. Plus people were busy with Real Life. Now we/I stare at our facebook profiles and whatever else we're created online and wonder where everyone is and what the heck we're doing this for and why. Then if we're considering deleting our fb account we think, oh all this time I've invested and oh dear I'll miss out on those photos my friends/family put up.....forgetting that if we did, they could still email us a pic or send us a link or even send us a link to their fb photos...or HEAVEN FORBID post us a printed photo. Maybe even ring us of their own volition?! Or write us a letter? (total bliss!). Remember those printed photos? Or have you forgotten already?
Addicted to Mediocrity was a book I read in my church-going days. By Francis Schaeffer. Addicted to mediocrity seems to me to be the disease of the century. Once upon a time you were good at something menial or manual and respected. Now every man and his dog can have a go on the internet at whatever they want and put up a poor showing. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good stuff out there and valid original creativity. But it reminds me of reality tv. So much mediocrity, rubbish, off the cuff garishness, boring talk, rudeness, glaring oafish trash. I'm glad for all the good in my Real Life that keeps me grounded. But I still deal with frustration every day, well nearly every day.
I have since left Facebook.
2009-12-06T22:26:39.223+10:00
How have our lives changed sharing personal stuff? I just read a blog. The lady had 1045 followers and all of her posts had no more than one or two comments. That gets me wondering. Why are these one thousand and forty-five bloggers following her? Is it all about them - getting their blogs out there but not one scrap of interest in this lady's cooking blog? Hello, love to be your friend. Goodbye, nice knowing you but I'll still pretend I'm around. And do we really know these people? Not a hope in hell.
What is our motivation? People are hoping they'll get noticed. I'm hoping my art gets noticed. This is, after all, an art blog and not about my relationship problems, health issues, my motivation or lack thereof or my frustration trying to be heard and get my "work" noticed.
I'm on facebook. I have 20 friends. But only one or two consistently take an interest and comment. Why don't more of my friends/family pop by, I comment on theirs. It starts to become a comparison. Now years ago, none of these feelings popped up if I didn't receive a letter in the mailbox. Because we all knew it takes effort to get out a pen and paper and you rang if you hadn't heard. And chatted voice to voice. Plus people were busy with Real Life. Now we/I stare at our facebook profiles and whatever else we're created online and wonder where everyone is and what the heck we're doing this for and why. Then if we're considering deleting our fb account we think, oh all this time I've invested and oh dear I'll miss out on those photos my friends/family put up.....forgetting that if we did, they could still email us a pic or send us a link or even send us a link to their fb photos...or HEAVEN FORBID post us a printed photo. Maybe even ring us of their own volition?! Or write us a letter? (total bliss!). Remember those printed photos? Or have you forgotten already?
Addicted to Mediocrity was a book I read in my church-going days. By Francis Schaeffer. Addicted to mediocrity seems to me to be the disease of the century. Once upon a time you were good at something menial or manual and respected. Now every man and his dog can have a go on the internet at whatever they want and put up a poor showing. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good stuff out there and valid original creativity. But it reminds me of reality tv. So much mediocrity, rubbish, off the cuff garishness, boring talk, rudeness, glaring oafish trash. I'm glad for all the good in my Real Life that keeps me grounded. But I still deal with frustration every day, well nearly every day.
