The Truth About Blogging

Although the world of blogging is a fairly new concept, remaining relatively unexplored by the Baby Boomer generation, the majority of Generation Y are not only familiar with this idea but participate daily in this world. While blogging first started in 1994 as a form of personal webpage, it had grown to become the “weblog” in 1997 and is now a popularized concept that can in many ways be relevant to the world of literature. Today, books, novels and any other printed texts are only one small part in the world of words as technology has opened up the possibility for online information which includes blogs. Comparing this world of blogging with the literary works that have been appreciated for generations, it is evident that the two have more in common than first expected. In order to fully realize the similarities between the two, one must have a clear grasp on the concept of blogging. Once it is understood that a blog is just a collection of writings based around the inner thoughts of an individual, a clear connection between literature and blogging can be noted. It is evident that any form of literature is writings based upon a topic, story or event, which show the initial connection to blogging. This initial similarity shows that both capture that inner most thoughts of the writer, more specifically, short stories as well as poems seem to capture the blogging concept of a collection of seemingly random thoughts and ideas. While a novel such as Ethel Wilson’s The Innocent Traveller portrays events that are compiled in no particular order, this stream of consciousness found in blogging is not seen in the majority of novels. Switching focus to the main differences between literature and blogs, we are able to find a number of minor differences. Besides the ridiculously obvious fact that a blog is posted online and literary works are printed in paper, novels are not generally composed of the genuine, raw emotion that is seen in blogs, with a few exceptions such as Douglas Coupland’s Hey Nostradamus!. This novel, especially the section narrated by Jason, allows us to experience the raw, unedited emotional burdens the characters carry around with them, although most novels are not like this. A genuine blogger often includes stories, songs, pictures and descriptions about the different emotions they are experiencing at that time. Because a blog can be updated at any point in time, it is an ongoing journal showing exact emotional responses to any number of events. On the other hand, a novel or short story is likely to be written looking back on the events therefore providing a different perspective on the situation. While I am by no means suggesting that a current perspective is better than a reflective one, I am merely pointing out that the two provide different versions of an event. In the end, blogs and literature have unique qualities that are both similar and different from each other yet each provides us with a valid interpretation on either past, present or future events.

Howell, Landon. "The History of Blogs". 1995. Juicee News Daily. 16 March 2007.
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