itch by me

was surprised to see the flurry of activity the few days ago, did not really realize that post was that commentable. i can definitely see how facebook and blogs are similar in the sense, cause in essence, one would be putting oneself out into the public to be seen, read and judged. and no doubt, if i were a reader of zi lin has gone fishing and a friend of zi lin, i would have immediately thought to myself, “hey what is she talking about? that is being so hypocritical, laughing at the people who do status updates on facebook. she is essentially doing the same thing as them, isn’t she? since she places her blog address on her msn nick!”

but being zi lin herself, i would beg to differ. i do not deny that when i blog, the fact that others would be reading it is always at the back of my mind. knowing this definitely changes the content of zi lin has gone fishing, but it does not necessarily mean that i am writing for my readers. i would be strangely arrogant if i actually blog for my readers, since i am obviously not some amazing writer or pretty girl with pretty pics to upload. js is mostly right in pointing out that blogging is a way of organizing thoughts, because i feel that it creates a necessity of writing in a coherent manner. though i must admit i do not always do that. and so i digressed.

i beg to differ because of what i see as the crux of facebook – the “in your face” of it all, and the prime example being the news feed. elaine is right in pointing out that blogging has an extra step of placing my blog address somewhere accessible, but i think that makes a world of difference. i have never had the idea that i am publishing my thoughts to all my friends, unlike facebook, where status updates are readily accessible as long as friends happen to be there at the right time, and made even MORE accessible because it is a central site that everyone logs into – bringing new meaning to blog-hopping i guess. on my msn nick, it says “zilin.wordpress” – one, in making sure that it is not a link that can just be clicked on and voila, and two, you literally have to type it into a browser to go to that page. certainly, it is not as hidden as a blog address that no one knows about, because i feel that if my friends are that interested in knowing who i am and what i am thinking about now, i do not see a reason in shutting them out. and i often realize that acquaintances who visit my blog find it as a conversation point.

anyway, yes i know it is true that people can choose not to read certain status updates, but i just have this feeling that it is almost similar to me telling you “hey don’t think about an steaming cup of coffee now”. you just can’t help it. we are all suckers for one-liners cause they are so easy to read. twitter’s amazingly popular.

blogging is a lot more dense, and much more easily ignored.

well and though while writing this i had you guys in mind, it was an entry that i wanted to write.

post-script. and no i wasn’t laughing at people who status update. i do it too!