Being A Real Human
If you’re watching my list of recently read blogs, you might get a preview of something I’m going to blog here. Often, it’s entirely an accidental result of reading several things in close succession which turn into something connected in my head.
Sometimes it’s as if an idea is floating in some collective blogosphere unconscious, although really it’s just that some topics are things bloggers come back to repeatedly. Inevitably, at some point, they sync up when they do.
Nicky writes of returning to blogging after a months-long absence:
I tried to write this post three or four times now, and I think the reason I deleted it all every time was the same reason I struggle to start most things after a prolonged period of avoiding them; it felt like a Thing I had to Get Right, that I had to really Nail and give Meaning to. Like I had to make it worth doing by bearing all and creating a Message, and every time I tried it just felt fake.
Colin writes to express empathy about this:
There is a misplaced need to make the return a worthy one, of saying something profound, when all it really needs is a quick “Hello world, I’m still here.” No essays or explanations needed — just a foot carefully placed on the first rung of the ladder.
Ben isn’t talking about blogging, specifically, but thinks the hardest part of writing is writing:
The deeper I get into it, the more I’m comfortable with the idea of failure. I think I started with the idea that I might be intentionally writing something that a lot of people might enjoy, but at this point it’s for me. The more I pour in of myself, and the ideas I have about the world […], the more I feel comfortable with it.
Amit also struggles with “meaningful writing”:
The most meaningful thing I do is live my life. Isn’t everything happening to me, around me, of the most importance? Why won’t, then, #writing about it be meaningful? It is to me and that’s all that should matter.
Tracy becomes the latest blogger to hit a notable anniversary (I’ve noted others):
I’ve seen others blog about how publicly publishing isn’t that important to them, but it’s been valuable to me. In the past I struggled with self confidence and taking up space and feeling unheard — but the Internet is somewhere I always felt there was room for me.
It’s years old now, and not specifically about blogging, but this week I either came across or rediscovered Laurel Schwulst’s thoughts on websites:
Today more than ever, we need individuals rather than corporations to guide the web’s future. The web is called the web because its vitality depends on just that—an interconnected web of individual nodes breathing life into a vast network. This web needs to actually work for people instead of being powered by a small handful of big corporations—like Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, and Google.
Earlier this year, Manu expressed fondness for the asynchronous forms of online communication:
It’s not a mystery that I’m a fan of asynchronicity when it comes to online interactions. In a world where it is imperative to react and be first, the concept of doing things slowly at your own time and pace is refreshing. And it’s even better when conversations are conducted this way through blog posts on personal sites.
It’s not about blogging or the web, but Robin expresses frustration at the idea of presenting things to “a room full of people who don’t care”:
That feeling is just the worst because I want folks to be on the edge of their seat! If not moved by the work, then in my performance of it, or even just some vague interest in the problem that I’m trying to solve. Isn’t this a fun puzzle I just shared with you? How would you do it? Doesn’t this thing completely suck? Ugh! Let’s see how I worked my way through it…
I don’t organize anything by tags here, but you can see other posts about blogging thanks to search.
All of these things are interconnected, even if barely any part of it is in direct response to any other part of it. Even when not talking about blogging, specifically, all of these people are talking about the same things.
In a very real way, even if none of them ever see the others’ posts, they’re also talking to each other.
Matt Webb tried to figure out what we could use as wards against “fake humans”. My ward is this. This post. Everyone here is a real human trying to write their way through being a real human.
Me too.