So I’ve been sitting around for about a month or so trying to determine what my first blog post should be . . . in fact if you had looked at my blog a few days ago you would have seen a posting that I have since removed. Why? Well to be honest I didn’t use “I”. Now that may seem like a silly statement to make, however having since read some other blogs I’ve realised that this whole phenomenon is more about well articulated and informative rants. This of course is something I do on a regular basis with my colleagues and friends but have no clue how to do over the Net.
So why does this seem like a bad plan? I have a few answers to this but here are my top three:
- First, actually posting my opinion (or “musings”) seems rather self-centred. By no means do I present this reason as a commentary on other blogs, I don’t mind reading the opinions of others, especially those I consider to be experts in the topic they are commenting on – however I’m not sure how much of an expert I am at any topic.
- Second, as an undergrad I was taught to strive to be objective, however I am by no means an objective ranter, leaving me to ponder the validity of statements I make that are very un-objective
- And third this is not a private forum, it isn’t a coffee table with a bunch of my close friends it is the Internet, there are an infinite number of people who can access my thoughts and eventually I am bound to insult others or to be vastly incorrect in statements that I post.
Perhaps with these three points in mind my new audience (that would be you – the person I am having a one sided conversation with) will understand if I falter along the way. I am going to do my best to write in this new style, and be personal while still maintaining an informative and well-articulated ranting structure. Your comments are appreciated, as they will help to make this conversation less one sided, but please be gentle I am by no means an expert, just a grad student with many musings.
A Community of History 