Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Memorial and Reflection

I had a good Memorial Day weekend.  I hope you did too.  More on that soon.


A week ago, I posted about my weekend.  After re-reading it for the fourth time I started to reflect about blogging; my motivation, my creativity, my popularity.  So naturally, I turned to other people's blogs to see what they are up to.

What started out as an innocent response email turned into this:  Read more [+/-]

From: Jase
To: no milk please
Date: May 25, 2005 1:16 AM
Subject: Hey No Milk!

It's been a while since I've had the time to read anyone's blogs..  I made time tonight and read your post about googling people's names.  I do that sometimes with former crushes to see where they are and if they're still hot... sometimes to imagine how we'd look together now if I was brave enough to be out back then and somehow ended up together...

Have I told you how much I love what you write and how you write lately?

My next question would be: How do you do it?

Sometimes I feel as though I don't have the inspiration to blog.  More recently I've been feeling a lot of mixed emotions about blogging.  I don't really know why I'm telling you this -- maybe because I remember you commenting when I wrote about being a 'hit whore'.

I've convinced myself that I stopped caring if people read [this] blog (90% anyway).  And then I read other peoples' blogs and wonder how they get all those comments...  am I just contradictory?  I'm in this weird situation and it's strange trying to figure this all out, thinking "What am I blogging for?"  What do you think?  Has this happened to you?  How do/would you deal with it?

At the end of the day, I'm left with the final thought, "I'm not these other people."  I guess sometimes I just want to be someone else, just to see how it's like to be a blogstar...

Hm.. look at the time.. Anyway, hope you're doing well!

xo,
Jase

So kids, what we learn today is that Jase still has some issues he needs to deal with; and that he doesn't like to use proper punctuation in his emails.

12 comments:

JaG said...

I just blog. Try not to think about why. It's mostly just to express myself I guess. And I try not to worry about who reads either or I get paranoid for being "outed".

Kevin said...

I think of blogging as yet another outlet to be obnoxious.

amanda. said...

Hi Jase! Read your email on NoMilkPlease. I'm a comment-whore myself. Here's the deal, you comment on my blog, I'll comment on yours :o)

www.thisartlife.com/blog

Matt S. said...

We all have troubles thinking of new things to say on a daily basis, if you get too frustrated just walk away from it for a few days. Don't measure your success on the number of comments people give you. Readers are fickle, they may read everyday for a month, then not come back for another 3 months. Good luck, and keep up the blog.

Tuna Girl said...

I hope you weren't referring to me as a blogstar, because I'm far from it.

I seriously wish I could go back to just 40 or 50 hits a day. That's when I really loved blogging and made some lifelong friends.

But you know, it's all about time. Blog long enough and your hits will keep going up and your comments will keep growing. As long as you have something to say, and you do.

Anonymous said...

came to your site from nomilk. :) i have to admit i don't know the answer either as i've been going through that blog writing crisis myself.

but i have to agree with author mcnally said, you don't choose your audience, they choose you. just write what you feel.

Jon said...

I do well enough on my comments, but I'm not a blog star. When I started it, I honestly didn't think anyone would read me other than the 2 or 3 real life friends I told about it. And while I have a readership, I don't do blogexplosion and bloglines, I'm just too lazy for it.

I've seen your counter get larger and larger, and your site linked on plenty of others. My only advice is to be real, be candid, and write what you know. You're basically doing those things now, so stop worrying! :P

Wayne said...

I hope you are not going to post our exciting steamy ultra sexy cyber-sex-emails on your blog.

Anonymous said...

I don't get a lot of comments really and I don't comment all that much anymore. That said, I've made some great friendships via this blog thing - hell, I met you via blogging.

The other day I recieved a pet symapthy card from a woman that reads my blog. (I didn't even know they made pet sympathy cards) She got my snail-mail addie from my professional site. I thought that was a really nice and thoughtful thing for her to do. In my opinion that gesture is worth thousands of comments.

Your offer to make me cookies - another example.

Remember with each person that comments you get a person with an opinion. Too many opinions can get taxing after a while. Like when I was bartending - customers felt they had the right to tell me shit like, "You look better with longer hair" - "You look better with shorter hair" - "Why are you going out with him?". In other words when your life is open for public comment - people will comment. Fortuantely bloggers in genereal are a pretty decent lot, but there are weirdos and assholes everywhere.

If it's simply validation you are after, and we all need some sometimes:

You Jase are an amazing and wonderful man.

Joe said...

oh we all write for an audience. we express ourselves to be heard. so, I think most of us can relate. but you have to be you. and so far, I enjoy your blog, which says how much I like what you are.

Valerie - Still Riding Forward said...

NoMilk also sent me. Here is what I said.

I would love more comments as I am a social creature but writing as always been a solitary activity for me so I don't sweat it.

One blog is for my kids and one blog is just my life now. Rare to get a comment from anyone but I am not aiming at entertaining, just at tracking.

Want to feel real pity? I had 10 years of daily journals go up in smoke when the house burned down.
That was misery. I didn't keep another for 5 years. Now blogging has given it back.

While there are few comments, I now can check what date the pups were born or the last time I saw someone again.

So blog on, for whatever reason. Write it and they will come - eventually.

Anonymous said...

got here thru NoMilk.

i blog mainly to express myself in ways i cannot normally do. it has become some sort of therapy for me, and yes, it works. most of the time.