(No, this is not a visual representation of BigSoccer.)
After watching one of the greatest meltdowns in the history of the internet again today, I thought it would be nice to step back and reflect a little bit.
I started by first blog on February 5th, 2003. I was 14 years old. That blog was hosted by a website called “Xanga” that, while sounding like Real Salt Lake’s jersey sponsor, was actually quite “cool” at the time. It was a “personal” blog, and is actually a pretty interesting look back at the thoughts, ideas, and musings of a budding adolescent. Let me give you an example. Here’s my first post:
Xanga. What a weird word. Xanga. agnaX cools cooler. I am the Brazilain Dream. I am Spanish. I am Macedonian. I am Sean. I am Rubio. Don’t you hate it when you start typing random hings when your trying to fill out space like t h i s ? I’m so pissed off that ***** has a boyfriend. Roar. Roarus maximus. bLog is cool than Xanga. CHAMP MAN 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Until next time, very soon, the BD signin’ off.
Pop
A couple of notes:
- I have absolutely no idea who “*****” is. That is how the post actually reads, I didn’t change that for their sake just now.
- Champ Man 4 was pretty underwhelming, if I remember correctly
- I don’t know why I ended that post with “Pop”. I didn’t do it again, so it must not have caught my fancy that much.
- “Very soon” ended up being three minutes later, when I posted the following:
***** is so hot. Damn that whole boyfriend thing. Cept if it was me. But enough of my bizzatching. Can someone tell me why it’s called Xanga?
Rubio
Like I said, nothing really out of the ordinary for what a 14 year old might be feeling at the time.
Throughout the years I’ve written online in a variety of places, some lasting longer than others, but it seems clear to me that although I’ve never really written full pieces consistently, I obviously enjoy this whole gig to some degree.
The reason for that is probably up for debate, and a case could be made that a blog is the perfect avenue for a loud-mouth kid (I’m still a kid, whether I want to be or not) who has an opinion on everything and an above-average knowledge of how the interwebs work.
Which is, of course, completely true.
I’d like to think that isn’t the only reason.. that I actually have something important/productive/funny/relevant to say about a certain subject (or variety of subjects), but who knows. Which is the reason, to come full circle, why blogs are wonderful.
You don’t have to know why you blog. You don’t even have to be good at it, which is what makes it so great. Buzz Bissinger (finally getting to that) believes that “the blogosphere” is dumbing down our youth, and is more or less the end of journalistic integrity.
I tend to agree with Will Leitch when he says that the beauty of blogs is its undeniable meritocracy; the best, not necessarily crudest, blogs, will get read. And its even a step above Darwinism, because there is no “survival of the fittest”. Even if no one reads your blog, that doesn’t mean it goes away. You can happily write whatever worthless crap you’d like, and no one HAS to read it!
If you’ve even read this far, and I applaud you for that, you’ve probably begun to understand why I keep my posts short, and why I have no future in journalism. This post was mostly meant to stir your brain about the “why” of blogs, their purpose, and if they are doing a good job of fulfilling that purpose.
I promise, later this week I’ll post a picture of Convey’s WAG or something to show you that I haven’t lost my way. And such is the beauty of blogs – I haven’t even begun to find it yet.
