Metablognition

Technology and Writing
The ubiquitous writing form known as blogging has dominated the Internet since . . . well, since I’ve been familiar with the Internet. Think of any topic on earth, and there is sure to be a blog dedicated to it. Some have complained that technology has contributed to the decadence of the writing art, and in some ways I agree. The popularity of electronic communication has taken the formal wrapping completely off of what is now considered acceptable writing for communicative purposes—no one would bat an eye at the receipt of a text message like this: u wanna mt @ strbks @ 8 2nite? It’s the microwave popcorn of writing. Neither is it uncommon to see emails, even in more formal settings like the workplace, without a professional gloss. Technology has de-formalized writing for sure, and blogs are not exempt.

The Revolution Will Not Be . . . Posted?
Publishing writing used to be a long, drawn out process that involved quality ideas, painstaking revision, the need for approval and support from many others, and, simply, a whole heap of time and money. But with the advent of Blogger and others, there was a publishing revolution. Quality ideas? Painstaking revision and proofreading? Need of approval and financial support? Meh. Now anybody’s ideas could be literally spread to the world for free in very little time with the simple click of the “Publish” button. Now anybody can technically be a published writer. One short troll through the bloggery of cyberspace would show you that this is not altogether a great thing. But it is not altogether a bad deal either.

Harnessing the Power of Blog
As a blogger, one great thing I have found about the power of blogging is its connectivity element. My personal blog is just that, a personal blog. I don't pretend to have any lofty aspirations for it—its primary purpose is as a creative outlet. But it was simply amazing to me how quickly and easily I connected with people of like mind and shared experience with whom I simply would never had connected had it not been for the blog.

But beyond the personal benefits of blogging, I’ve been amazed to see how it has radically impacted rock solid institutions in our world, namely politics. It is not uncommon at all to read about well-written and well-organized political blogs in newspapers and popular news magazines. I’ve always been intrigued by the mobilizing power some of them seem to wield.

What if A/Ps were to focus on producing well-written and well-organized blogs like those in political spheres have? Could we harness the power of blog to radically impact our world? I believe we may have already begun.

(Still) Currently Reading: Never Eat Alone by Kevin Ferrazzi and bunches of Latin American Modernist poetry