This week, I have been a bit busy. Though I did update my blog, I didn’t read most of the blogs that I regularly read. Now, when I login to Google Reader, I see that there are 100+ unread posts! I have so much to read now! This makes me ask the question, why do we read blogs?
Let’s take my case. Even before I started blogging, I have been a regular reader of so many blogs for a long time. What started off as just a time pass, became a full-fledged activity. Reading blogs became something like reading newspapers everyday. I never left/leave any post unread even if I visit a blog after say, one week and find that there are some 10 posts unread. So much so that reading blogs has taken precedence to reading books for me! And yes, I enjoy reading blogs more than writing one. 🙂 Less effort needed for that. 😛
Apart from getting to read on a wide range of topics and knowing different viewpoints, aren’t we actually getting to see a slice of the life of a person in his/her blog? Is that what is interesting about reading blogs? The more you are able to relate to what a person writes, the more a blog appeals to you, the more you enjoy it, isn’t it? Why am I rambling now? Has something happened to me thinking about the time I need to spend on reading so many posts? 😛 On a serious note, let’s hear it from you all. Why do you read blogs? What got you hooked to blogs? While you folks answer the questions, let me start reading the posts waiting to be read. Oh yes, please answer the questions.
Hello Aparna,
Nice introspection!I plan to put up a separate post on this soon!Hope you read that. To just give an outline, yes, knowing a person definitely helps you understand his/her blog more completely. And as for me, I started reading blogs primarily to get more info on Carnatic music. And it has now become an interest.One gets to know varied view points and perhaps improves writing skills too!More later(in my post).
Wish you great blog-reading and blog-writing!
Sathej
And by the way, today has been a posting-spree in your blog, I see! Anyway, keep your posts coming. Makes good reading.
Sathej
I second your thoughts .absolutely true.
Newspaper reading stopped .Blog reading picked up more .
one gets to read the latest trends in various fields,tech news,IT/internet news,cinema,photography,sports,cookery and general masala.not that we do not look at various news sites and portals.but blogs give a chance to see different perceptions.it has kinda become more of a habit these days than a timepass
writing,maintaining blogs does require some amount of creativity and more -blogs do need some support,following,encouragement for sustaining provided the blog deserves it.Nowadays blogs have become a marketing tool and a mode of money making.So these are certain things that makes blog reading and writing interesting.
Well, I generally read blogs to do a bit of time pass. Some blogs i frequent again and again and read some posts because those posts make me think of some things. But right now, I came across your blog because I was browsing and trying to find something new to read. Another interesting qn would be..why do we blog? I like your template. I like the colors in it..
Sathej,
Happy blogging & blog reading to you too 😉 Waiting for your post on this.
Aravind,
Hmmm yes 🙂
Neethi,
Welcome to my blog! Hope you found something to read here 😉
Hey I too keep visiting some blogs and read and re-read some posts! 🙂
Yeah why we blog is an interesting question. A post on why we blog is already lying unpublished in my drafts. 🙂 Didn’t feel like clubbing it with this post.
Hi Aparna,
Here goes.
1. aren’t we actually getting to see a slice of the life of a person in his/her blog?
Ans: Sometimes yes. The diary kind of blogs. Most other topical blogs don’t tell a lot about the author apart from the author’s interest in that topic.
2. Is that what is interesting about reading blogs?
Ans: Not necessarily. I read blogs more for their content than about the slice of life of the author I get to see. Of course, subconsciously I can’t help imagining the author in a certain typecast way.
3. The more you are able to relate to what a person writes, the more a blog appeals to you, the more you enjoy it, isn’t it?
Ans: Again not necessarily true. Why do we enjoy fairy-tales? Because they are out of the ordinary, something that we cannot relate to in our daily life. Probably that’s why some of the blogs we find interesting are the ones where we know the life the author leads is so far removed from our own to practically be in a parallel universe.
4. Why am I rambling now?
Ans: That you have to answer.
5. Has something happened to me thinking about the time I need to spend on reading so many posts? 😛
Ans: Quite possible.
6. On a serious note, let’s hear it from you all. Why do you read blogs?
Ans: Time pass. Stuff to think about. Get to know how some people react to happenings around the world.
7. What got you hooked to blogs?
Ans: Cult-popular cricket writer on rediff Prem Panicker used to have a blog on blogger. I liked his writing a lot on rediff. So looked up his blog as well. From there I found links to IndiaUncut, Jabberwock, VantagePoint, DilbertBlog, FreakonomicsBlog, Acorn, Prabhu ‘n’ Ferrari, Aparna’s blog and so on.
P.S:- please don’t ban me from your blog for the verbal diarrhoea!!
Daneel,
That was a nice comment 🙂
>Most other topical blogs don’t tell a lot about the author apart from the author’s interest in that topic.
Even that is a slice of life of a person, isn’t it? Even without your realising it, you do reveal quite a bit about yourself in your blog except of course if your blog happens to be one focussing strictly on a topic of your interest.
>I read blogs more for their content than about the slice of life of the author I get to see.
Even I read a blog only for its content. If I say I read a blog for the slice of a life I get to see of a person, then it would mean I am more interested in knowing more about people in general, or what is happening in many people’s lives, which I am not. But, a personal touch to the things that you write unlike what happens in the case of articles on magazines/newspapers is maybe, what makes blogs interesting.
>Of course, subconsciously I can’t help imagining the author in a certain typecast way.
That was the point that I was trying to make.
>some of the blogs we find interesting are the ones where we know the life the author leads is so far removed from our own to practically be in a parallel universe.
There we are again talking about the life of the writers that we get to see through their blogs! 🙂
>That you have to answer.
I don’t know the answer. 😛
>Quite possible.
I see 😛
>Get to know how some people react to happenings around the world.
So you do want to know how people react to what’s happening around them, don’t you? The way I react to something reveals a lot about myself.
>please don’t ban me from your blog for the verbal diarrhoea!!
If I ban you from my blog, then, who will read my ramblings? 😛 Anyway, thanks for reading my blog & please do keep reading it. 🙂
P.S.: I too have ended up writing sooo much like you now! 🙂
Ok. So we agree that we read blogs because of the contents; it’s purely incidental that any writing tends to shed some light on the author’s life, it opens a window to the author’s psyche. However, that is not the reason for our reading blogs, the topic is.
> If I ban you from my blog, then, who will read my ramblings?
the other 100 odd (by quite a conservative estimate, ref your quarterly update) unique visitors you have 🙂
> I too have ended up writing sooo much like you now!
the more the merrier. and quite flattering :))
ya everything is right.. 🙂 but the problem in reading lot of blog requires
good blog management
cause you information overloading ( potential cris in the day-to-day information world. ) u may see this jargon across net, wikipedia every where.
🙂 njoy your reading, skip unwanted non-senses and digest wanted senses.
Happy hep reading.
-a
Adiya,
🙂 Happy hep reading to you too
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I absolutely agree with your point. I read blogs because (a) you get to know how a person thinks on things he/she likes (b) you get to know that part of the person itself (c) a treasure house of info for sure. I am interested in carnatic music and I relate myself better to blogs dealing with this..further as i browse thru blogs, i may finally end up reading something about which I had no clue and eventually end up doing my own research on that topic. On the whole, a nice thread aparna..you had me thinking for sure 🙂
Sai,
Had you thinking eh? 😉
>further as i browse thru blogs, i may finally end up reading something about which I had no clue and eventually end up doing my own research on that topic.
hey yeah you are right!
u should have asked this question “why do we read blog earlier”!! before u even started writin it!!