I think most OSes lack something essential in not coming with their own journalling applications. They could sync with people's blogs, structuring information by topic and date. I think the OLPC has one. That's great. I think the system creates automatic entries in it based around activities you do. I don't really know. That reminds me of the Wii, which sort of has a log.
I think one of the benefits might be more reflection by computer users. A lot of people own blogs, but those are almost always targeted at some audience, so the nature of what gets written would be different than if it were an initially private (and only secondarily published) format.
I am somewhat pleased by the increased growth of spell checkers embedded into text entry forms. Firefox has enjoyed it for a while now, providing red underlines under unfamiliar terms. I hope other browsers do as well. I wonder whether there has been a decrease in the relative incidence of typos as a result. I suppose I also hope that having an existing facility for users to write in might help encourage development of complete thoughts and their structuring in text. More so than instant messaging and many modern e-mail messages do. I enjoy how much writing the Internet forces people to do, but it's often very brief.
I'm not very concerned about the quality of people, their thoughts, their writing, etc. I don't think text messaging on cellphones is causing society to collapse. However, I do want to read the thoughts of more people, and I think this might encourage it. :) Blogs give me much joy. For instance, the following excerpt with limited context:
"AUDREY!!! THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY TENT! PLEASE COME HERE!" I shouted from my perch.
"Oooo!" she yelled back. "Is it tiny and green?"
"NO YOU FOOL, IT'S BIG AND BLACK, IT'S THE %@$#*!& COBRA!!!"
"Oh. Coming!"
Do you find that your blogging is targeted to anyone in particular? And if so (or not), how does that influence it's quality and quantity?
ReplyDeleteThis is part of why I like Livejournal. Selecting out which audience in particular (if any) will be able to read a post means I'm much more willing to write one, or to write it the way I'd like it, even if I wind up sharing it with more (or fewer) people than originally intended.
Writing purely for oneself can feel meaningless, but then, those are sometimes the things which need to be written the most. And who uses a paper diary anymore? :P
Spell checkers don't just prevent typos on computers, they also educate people who've been spelling the word in question incorrectly for years!
You. I used to have a few friends I would target with my writing. I think the bigger difference is that I do have you to say things to whenever I want, so a need to release doesn't build up like it used to. I don't lack communication. :)
ReplyDeleteI virtually despise the selectivity available in LiveJournal.
I think I write better when I write purely for myself. I just have less motivation to write it :D
Yes. It's sad when you leave school and you no longer get feedback on the correctness of your output. I have very little motivation to write bad German, and it feels like I have no method of evaluating the correctness of the German I could be writing, so I write none.
Ahah, I was afeared of that. Have you made many others aware of yer bloggy? Or wanted to?
ReplyDeleteBut understood. While I probably have more to write about, most of it just gets jotted down in conversation avec toi.
Whyhaps? I have mixed feelings, probably, or oscillating ones more like.
Is writing for yourself better because you don't need to make sure others will be able to understand it? I mean, the layers of reference and nuances aren't going to be appreciated or even understood by anyone else, so why include them without tedious (interrupting!) explanations?
There are suggestions of course, but I'll can those for now. :)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
ReplyDelete