Monday, June 08, 2009

Whadya Mean I'm Irrelevant?

In reading the excellent Whatever blog of John Scalzi, one of my favorite S/F writers, I find myself on the defensive. He blogged on 6/7/09 about a NY Times article referring to bloggers and the problems they have with quitting when they realize that, well, no one is bothering to read the blogs that they have dutifully put out into the blogosphere 'lo these many years...

Well, me anyway. I haven't quit, but I sure have a lot of the same symptoms the NY Times and Scalzi refer to--long times between posts (guilty) and the nagging "whattsa matter with ME?" attitude when no one bothers to read or at least post replies, good, bad or indifferent (or even insulting!).

Scalzi's right--a blog worth reading IS a lot of work. I certainly haven't bothered to post every day or multiple times a day (Jeez, I DO have a life and career, you know) and haven't gone to the trouble of learning the niceties of web or site design, downloaded pictures or other bright, shiny things from other websites to sweeten the deal for you prospective readers out there. Of course, it would matter if I really gave a hoot one way or the other.

Of COURSE I give a hoot one way or the other! Why the heck would I be posting anyway? I do see this as something of a public version of a diary, but on the other hand, I just saw the trailer for the new movie coming out with Meryl Streep as Julia Child and the young woman who decided to post a blog about cooking every recipe in Child's cookbook over the next 365 days of her life, a blog first published as a book, now turned into a movie. THAT'S what all us frustrated bloggers are hoping for--the publishing rights and the possibility that someone from Hollywood will end up portraying a much prettier or handsomer version of ourselves when the movie comes out.

I think Daniel Craig would be able to crank out my slighly Midwest-tinged Southern accent, don't you?