Pondering Blogging

Andrew Fulford has a post in which he ponders the point of blogging. I have the same feeling sometimes, I wonder whether my words have any kind of significance. I used to really struggle with the sort of egoism of the author. And make no mistake, there is a certain egoism in writing something with intent of publishing. Robertson Davies, through a combination of the Deptford Trilogy and some of his other collected writings got me a bit more comfortable with the idea.

I guess when I say that I became comfortable with it, I meant that it is inescapable for the artist. You are standing up saying, "Here, I have written/painted/recorded something and you should pay attention to it!" I am still somewhat uncomfortable with calling this egoism, but what else is it? The art need not be self-indulgent either, I mean you can paint murals in an orphanage pro bono (something I have done) but you are still saying that you have been blessed with the ability to express yourself that way. You know, some artists (grunge bands were a good example of this) try to deny their egoism. But in their case, they were signed to major labels! If you really didn't intend your music for such a broad audience, why did you sign with a major? Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that the only thing worse than egoism is egoism-denial.

Another part of Fulford's post also caught my attention:

It's sobering to think that I could write about anything and yet seem to have nothing worth saying, while thousands of people around the world would (and will) die for a chance to speak and be heard.

I wonder about this. I'm not about to attempt to rectify the myriad of free-speech issues around the world. But when you think about the number of people who have never accessed the internet, and/or only done it rarely, I wonder if one could create a blog for the blogless. You know, start simply, getting posts by taking down what people in the developing world wish to say. It might be interesting. Jam could you do this in your travels? Anyone else?

In other news, this is my first crack at tagged blogging, let's see how that goes...

Tags: Blogging Robertson Davies