Building Blogs

This post is the result of much introspection after I had a minor misunderstanding with Nova on one of Dagny’s posts. Those interested may check the same here www.fropper.com/posts/11363

Needless to say, my comments on the Amchi Mumbai post were not directed at any particular individual or to hurt any sentiments. i don’t get my kicks that way. However, I do think my comments were misinterpreted without fully comprehending the underlying sentiment that prompted them. To even suppose that I regard the madness that has currently gripped Mumbai as banal is ridiculous. I could never imply that. Having said that, I do maintain that the majority of the posts that discuss the issue border on the banal & make for good examples of précis writing. 

I think the meaning & scope of the ‘blog’ has evolved so much in the last 10 years that it is no longer merely an online repository of existential angst. A recent Harvard Business Review study has shown that more than 17% of people across the world are using blogs today as a medium of information dissemination, an agent of change, an independent voice that can function sans government sanction & controls. For me there are 2 kinds of blogs – those that educate & those that entertain. I have absolutely nothing against people who share tales about their children, or list down 10 reasons why they hate men/women/dogs/bathing/sex…….. so long as it evokes laughter, employs wit & induces a feel-good sensation. Tall order? Wait till u hear next. 

I’m a lil more demanding when it comes to the former category of blogs, those that supposedly deal/discuss/dissect issues of great import. Unfortunately, my reading of them on frops, blogspot, wordpress has led me to the lamentable conclusion that most of them are pretentious, plagiarised, lazy & don’t accord the attention due to the serious matters they discuss. They are little more than a summary of what various newspapers/ columnists/celebrities are talking about with regard to any issue – be it the IPL, Tata Nano, or the U.S Elections. Most posts are almost xeroxed versions of the official or commonly held views with the blogger showing lil or no inclination to examine the issue from a different perspective or strive to dig a bit deeper into the surface to uncover other ways of examining it. For example, the IPL genesis must be read in terms of the 'prostitution of cricketing talent' theme. I have yet to come across a single blog here that is even interested in examining it as a model of free trade (which it is actually) or how it will free newcomers from the petty zone politics that has crippled Indian cricket for ages. 

Similarly, the story of the Nano has been discussed solely in terms of a for/against debate & nowhere have I come across a single piece talking about how the Nano is expected to dent Suzuki’s profits & capture its market share. While everyone is crying themselves hoarse blaming the Tata’s for precipitating traffic snarls, nowhere did I come across the simple & obvious logic that it is not the responsibility of the entrepreneur to provide roads. That is the government’s duty for which we pay taxes!! For me, that was the biggest drawback in any argument against the Nano. 

I recently commented on a blog here where the author merely summarized the 2008 Oscar winners. I mean, do I stay in a place where there’s no satellite TV or newspapers that I have to read THAT on a blog? When the blogsphere is inundated with posts screaming about the absurdity of Raj Thackeray’s divisive politics, the effect on me is pretty much the same as when my mom would rant endlessly, “You’ll never do well in exams unless you study hard.” Well, thank you mom but I don’t need you to tell me that. Why don’t you tell me if there’s any way I can ace those exams without studying? When you merely summarize the obvious & much discussed, are u not showing the utmost disrespect towards your mind? If the Maker saw it fit to endow us with diverse physical attributes, what right have we to be part of a herd where the only voice is that of a collective one? 

I know this is getting tedious & I’ll try & wrap up by reminding you that the pen is mightier than the sword. Good blogs & bloggers give me an opportunity to reexamine my views, reform my beliefs. They keep me reading till the wee hours of the morning & propel me to google facts & incidents endlessly, pore over data & then arrive at a clearer idea of the issue at hand than when I started out. They prompt thought. Period. Some of Vintagewine’s (with whom I perenially disagree) & Nike’s blogs have accomplished this. Many of Asylum’s comments (it’s a pity the lady doesn’t write) have led me to introspect & revaluate my opinions. I thought Dagny’s blog not banal because she chose to take a stand on the Thackeray fiasco in a manner that was so divorced from the ordinary; that showed character & that for me speaks volumes more than any number of pious denunciations of Raj Thackeray.

Tags: information, summary, blogging

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