Sunday, January 17, 2010

Bloggers Block

Incase you hadn't noticed....I've got a real case of blogger's block. I did what I usually do and roam around the internet reading other blogs to get inspired. That usually works. One little sentence or even a cooking recipe can jog my memory into something that happened to me.

Usually a good tool but not lately. Making sure I am politically correct leaves very little room for imagination. I don't feel that I go out of my way to offend, but I do. Someone will find something offensive about anything. They usually tell me in my comments section which is what I encourage.

I've been called on the carpet recently on something I didn't write, and made the appropriate acknowledgements to the Los Angeles Times. But that wasn't good enough. Apparently I must do a maya culpa and fall on my sword simply because I found this particular article interesting.

The week before that I posted the "Get Over Yourself" article and that was written by me and found more folks agreeing than disagreeing. But there is always the exception....for that benign article as well.

You can't please everyone all of the time...that is a given. You can't control what your readers will say in response to one thing or another. Yet blogging has become more and more restrictive. You now must police your readership and call them on something utterly childish or insensitive in their beliefs.

I wholeheartedly agree that if something gets out of hand and personalities are trod upon "call the offender on it". I did do that, but feel too much like a school marm disciplining rather than teaching. What a bloody waste of time. "IF you can't behave you can't come to my sight anymore". huh...we are all adults, why not act like one.

Misunderstandings are at the crux of these petty outbursts. Either make yourself perfectly clear in your article or you invite this type of squabbling, and time consuming making nice. I don't make nice too often, I rather use the 'delete' button and get on with it.

Think about it....you are talking to perfect strangers, so why wouldn't objections be raised? Take care of it, clarify yourself and if that does not satisfy click, click and they are gone.

Don't get me wrong...there is always room for improvement. There are acceptable ways of voicing your opposition without becoming a shrew spewing personal attacks. Let's grow up! Writer and reader alike.

Although I began by stating my blogger block I will close with the idea that this has become more of a burdon than a relaxation excercise. Careful, careful careful you just may have stepped on someone's toes.

Drive carefully, dress warm, and don't forget your umbrella.RD

3 comments:

JBinford-Bell said...

I certainly do hope I was not one of the insensitive ones, RD. I must admit to being in a horrid frame of mind this January. But evidently that is true of a lot of others because I have deleted more comments than usual.

But I must say I do like delving into the controversial areas and even the not politically correct opinions. Sorry, but I find it hard to support Haiti relief efforts when people are chasing doctors around with machetes. But I digress.

My answer to the whole stepping on toes issue was to have one blog (Travels with Charley) devoted to just that. Then I try to play nice on my other blogs.

Blogging should be about freedom to say what you want. Originally they were on line journals for the blogger. And Blogspot has a way to make a blog totally private for that purpose. I recently set myself one up so I can vent.

From time to time I find my rantings there have some substance I want to share and then I just copy paste it to a public blog. But the private one has allowed me a freedom that I needed and sounds like you could use too.

I would miss your blogs and your wonderful opinions if you stopped just because of some nerds that need to be sent to the principal's office.

Intelliblog said...

I think some people are likely to be offended by even the most innocent remark said in the most convivial of gatherings. Similarly, even the most benign blog post will upset some people with bees in their bonnets. it has hapenned to all of us that blog...

As long as you are honest and offend none, then you may write whatever comes into your mind.

Oh, and this is what Ralph Waldo emerson said about inspiration:

"What is indispensable to inspiration? ...sound sleep and the provocation of a good book or a companion."

:-)

The Blog of Bee said...

I have to come back tomorrow