I remember an elder saying , " you know you have reached the status of an 'elder' when you think the world is going to Hell in a hand cart". Yes. Well. Just go into your local big box store and ask where the hand carts are.
One of my current grievances is Pinterest.
Yes, I know, it is fun and interesting and actually very useful in my business. But I think our blogs are suffering because some of our key blog community contributors are AWOL to the P.
I get it. I do. I have a board. I even have a blog with strictly visual content.
But I miss the blog writers well ... writing. And commenting, And arguing. And thinking.
cursive writing in our public schools because of the use of "devices".
Most of us mastered cursive writing in third grade. Now this skill has been classified as "obsolete". A waste of time. A non -essential subject.
Is reading next? Students are no longer reading the classics. Now our students are viewing Shakespeare from graphic novels and cartoons. A teacher friend says the current generation of "learners" are saturated with visual stimuli from birth onward. Now "visual learning" has become the new norm.
My elder view of this is not positive.
Are our blogs going the way of Shakespeare and cursive?
This trend to blog less and pin more disturbs me. Blogging is an awesome form of communication. I do not actually "know" the people I blog with regularly but I do know their importance to me. Even those with whom I disagree on key issues, I still want to understand the path to their positions. To quote my Dad, understanding the "why of a thing" is how progress is made.
Mute Mondays. It was how I came to join this blog community.
First I sort of lurked around visiting all the MM posts leaving comments as an anonymous participant. Eventually one of you recognized me as a stalker and challenged me to get in it. I am still glad I did!
Our current game is Haiku Monday .
I like this game. I like the players too.
Some of us play a visual version of this game, others do not.
Both are good games. But. The elder in me still misses Mute Mondays.
Especially the Mondays where the subject spawned written posts.
I can happily look at pictures of fruits and veggies but it does not mean the same to me as reading about and seeing what happens in the gardens of Chickory. Had Chickory not written her posts about chickens in the gardens or teaching dogs not to eat chickens or trample veggies or how to sky rocket the hawks away from her flocks, or life within the gray truck empire would we be engaged in this life story?
Unlikely.
What would we all have missed?
Speaking of missing.
How do you suppose we would feel if one by one our blogs went missing?
Right.
There's going to be a run on hand carts.
A wisp of ether
wafts o'er moss draped emptiness.
The net burn'd master!
11 comments:
Wow--nailed this one, Fishy!
Ain't necessary fer Aunty to make note that I'se a written word sorta person--but the quip "one picture is worth a thousand words" needs a pithy rebuttal.
An' people? WHAT's this thang wif' Troll? How could his blog be snatched fer TOS violations iffin' all ours ain't snatched too??
Yes. Something has shifted. Not sure it's all Pinterest's fault, though.
But I for one will pout (and perhaps stop eating chocolate) until Troll comes back.
I think with any community it waxes and wanes. I appreciate this post, however, because I think it's important to acknowledge we've all invested a lot of time with each other and I've grown to depend on you all. That said, I'm on Pinterest and I find it VERY inspiring. Why? because I actually try some of the things I see and "pin" to boards. I have an old friend who does not blog, but we communicate through Pinterest and I love it. Aunty is right; one picture (or comment) can be worth a thousand words as long as that's not the only way we communicate. Posts are not Pinterest. Facebook, Twitter, is NOT Blogging. And true friendships weather every kind of “storm”. J
well, this is what came to me:
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how come 2 hours of pictures at the movies is almost never as good as the book?
Or, iffin' ya come to mah porch fer tea, it ain't enough to jes' see ya--tho thas' pretty good. I wanna know what youse doin'/ thinkin' so we --yep--use words to tell MORE than a picture alone can say.
Aunty,
You know I am an extremely visual person. I make my living on that ability and a bit of knowledge.
I get there are lots of things clamoring for our limited time and attention but ...well my elder is showing up a bit.
Moi,
I am soooooooooo annoyed with the ethernet sending Troll up in smoke!
The "shift" is likely caused by multiple factors. I just am hoping we will all preserve our blog community. I am the top offender having been a total no show of late.
Boxer,
I know, I know. I have a Pinterest board too. And, Like I said to Moi I have been a blogger no show of late and not at all due to Pinterest. But.... there are only so many free hours and I am praying our blog community will choose to not back burner this blessing!
Aunty,
I get that. FishyDesigns visions for clients are always fabulous but not as fabulous as the reality once people are living their lives therin
I'm in a parking lot commenting with my phone. I've had a bit of the blues and a ton of work lately and just haven't felt like writing. I pin more in this state because I like to curate. But I am not abandoning chickory. There's a lot of ebb and flow to blogging I've seen several dry spells over the years. I've had a blog for almost ten years so....don't worry old timer
Chickory,
Okay. I will postpone the hand cart for a spell.
What I don't understand about what happened with Troll is that his blog is still there and people can comment on it. Only the photos are missing, and him as well it seems, but not the content. Bizarre.
Hi Fishy! I appreciate this post also. I do think everyone has been especially busy latelly and that affects quality posting. But I do feel as if this group of folks are always going to be tight. Like old friends that you may not have seen in a long while, but when you do, you pick right up where you left off ... But I have been missing Mute Mondays also. I had a reason to look up something on my page recently and what I was looking for was hidden in a MM post. So much was said by not saying anything. Same with the haiku -- so interesting where people's minds go with it.
Having said all that -- Pinterest is good but it is no replacement for the blog. What it is for me -- is mindless. I pin loads of stuff. Right now, with lots of new and different and crazy in my life, sitting and pinning is therapeutic. Something is beautiful and interesting and I keep it for my own. Here late in the day, I have an hour or so to myself finally and I catch up on Words with Friends with my sister (she never lets me win), go pin a bit, and veg out.
You might be right in that it has kept me, personally, from writing more. Can't speak for others. But then again, am in a spot where it is difficult to talk about a few things due to various reasons.
Is Pinterest any more of a distraction than Facebook or Angry Birds? I think not. People who need to write will always find a way to write.
Fishy, your haiku @ Chickory resonated so strongly, I have posted a haiku for you at http://serendipitouswildmoments.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/paprika-mustard/
The somber theme and black and white monochrome are somehow unsettling.
Serendipity
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