Blog

What is it?

This not posting/updating the blog thing seems to be more of the norm than remembering to post LOL.

Not much new around here and I am not sure as to what would be an interesting topic – as not too many things in my life are that interesting no?

So your choice my three or four readers:

More next door neighbor stories?

how my ear tired to ruin my day or how I ruined my ears day?

What color my blog should be?

I dunno so glad I am not really worried about posting bra hahahahhah other than to let the cyber world know I am still kicking

Text, Video, and Blogging

The trend in blogging has really changed in the past few years. With Twitter’s 140 character limit and Facebooks hearts and games to spread the love seems many have stopped blogging on a regular basis. Instant gratification comes with the real-time services.

I find my news reader list full of feeds with no updates. I miss reading everyone’s posts.  Typing a thought into a twitter window really does not take much forethought for me I can just type some little and sometimes dumb one liner and it is a done deal. While it has it’s place and I realize some use it quite effectively to discuss anything from natural disasters to politics in real time – it does nothing for me in trying to connect with for lack of better terminology – a support system.

I have never been able to find where everyone is sharing on Facebook this one is all me but I have hit a wall with it (pun intended). By the time I clear all the requests for games, join this or that cause – I am worn out. I may be wrong here but I suspect that most of the empty updates in my news reader authors are hanging out and doing their thing somewhere on Facebook.

The origins of blogging are in the weblog. Where websites had a webpage where you shared your thoughts about the web pages you came across, liked, and shared.  Then with new software and services the transition to the blog – I guess more of a personal journal that morphed into what we have now.  Not really into the technical history just what I remember.

For years I have maintained a site at this .com addy. It started out with a cheesy home page and sub-pages on bicycles, hiking, dogs, and vacations. Then as modems improved the addition of photos to go along with the content.

Then I jumped on the blog band wagon. WordPress turned out to be a super neat way to open up communication with folks. One of my first blog commenter’s (Karoli) still remains a friend.  Gosh she has taken her blogging and social media interaction and participation to awesome levels!  I get to say I know someone who was on CNN! due to her health care activism. Blogging and social media usage done well IMHO.

So I find myself wondering why maintain a blogroll, contact info, links to social sites that I can not figure out anyway, and type when my fingers take forever to do what they used to do in minutes?  It is actually kind of a pain in the arse.  The webcam video thing is much easier to pull off then typing these days. I started blogging again with a different goal – to connect with folks going through the same daily crap I am.

What say you?  Text, video? Blogging V Facebook?

Meanwhile I just keep sharing my dribble . …

Bifurcation – Social and Self

no sign copyLife has gotten confusing in many ways. The cognitive problems that Multiple sclerosis has brought on leave me baffled and confused – a lot. Sometimes it is the simple things such as staring at the television remote and not quite being able to figure out exactly what button it was I was going to push. For whatever reason if I just set it down and start over again all is good.

Then there are the more annoying communication problems. Social situations can become a maze-like trip where the start and end of conversations are not clear let alone the trip between the two points. Reading other blogs and social site messages often leaves me wondering if I have misunderstood someone’s message or if I am reading more into it then there is. The social dynamics of group interactions elude me now and leave me hesitant and insecure enough that I tend not to participate much.

Tasks that were once easy are harder to complete now. It becomes easier and easier to make concessions. It has become obvious that I need to simplify. The new computer is a basic model this really pisses me off. One, that the lack of money played  into this but more importantly two,  my inability to do what I used to be able to do – like rebuild my old one or hustle and come up with parts to build a new one –  really, really, annoy me to no end. Where is the line between compromise and surrender? I am too stubborn to give up.

Put this all together and here I am at another bifurcate in the road of life.

Social Confusion ROCKS!

Social-network

Social networking sites are great to catch-up with friends, share photographs, music and links but it seems to be a great time suck.  I do not even blog everyday anymore so why am I joining all these sites?

First out of the gate that leads to confusion is setting up each one. Sounds easy and it should be. After all I am not a complete dummy although sometimes I wonder. I sometimes think that I wake up each day with way less brain power than the day before.

How many networks can one person join? How many different identities can I  manage before I mess up and cross the line between my real life and my Internet one?  What I mean is, I have places where I converse with people I know in person and site where I hold back some info.  I really do not want certain people goggling my name and ending up here – like my parents for example.  It is not that I spend a lot of effort trying to hide my identity but . …

Then there is the problem of making sure that the setting in each social network site are set up so I do not end up having double of triple updates.  Augh – my pea brain is smoking on that one – smell the smoke?

I shudder to think how crazy all this would get if I tried to join every network that others use. So for right now I am keeping it with Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, and my blog here. I do use blip to listen to the tunes and library thing where I am trying to make a list of all my books.

The distinction between blogging and social networking is going to be hard to maintain in future I think. With blog posts forwarded to different social sites and comments from social site showing up on blogs – yikes! Technology is designed to condense things.   Many articles I have read and personal friends relay of dislike of the internet connection to share believing that it is the ruin of interpersonal communication.

It is  important to stay  connected to people on a person level  rather than just through technology. Human contact is wonderful!  I just do not find myself getting out as much.  Social isolation is not a good thing eh?  Acquaintances have start to shy away when  they do not understand why I am not up for outings at a drop of the hat anymore. There are days fatigue stops me cold.  Then there are other things too (uh huh the mother nature calls). Who wants to hang out with someone  whose main goal while site seeing is the location of all the restrooms. On hot days I flounder.  Some days formulating coherent conversation is near impossible for me.

Multiple sclerosis has left me in the dirt socially.  Oh wells, that is where blogs and social sites ROCK for me.