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The Culture of Bloggers
Posted under Being RSG, Blogging, Higher Learning by Recovering Straight GirlAnd Google Alerts.
Once in awhile I will write about something here that I suddenly get comments from people who have never commented before, and often they have nothing nice to say. Some of you may recall the post I did awhile back on “T.I.P.S.” that generated over 30 comments from one obviously deranged individual, leading to over 80 comments all together that took up entirely too much bandwidth on the server that hosts this site.
The other day I did a post on “Green Living” where I received another strange “flaming” comment from someone who, I’m quite certain does not read this blog regularly and according to my Stat listings, only viewed that one post and the comments, several times. I also received a nice comment from Anna who has a very nice site on Green Living. Anna and I e-mailed back and forth a couple of times, (I typically prefer to answer comments this way, you may have noticed.) In one of those e-mails I asked Anna if she was a regular reader of the RSG blog or if she stumbled upon my post. She told me that she has a Google Alert on Green Living and likes to comments on other’s blog posts regarding this issue.
Fascinating.
As much as I know about the Internet (praise be to Al Gore,) there is always something new to learn. Of course, I’ve seen that Google Alert thing when I google search something, but I’ve never tried it nor did I realize the evil that it can cause, (read: Kerry from the last post, Deranged Woman from the T.I.P.S. post, not Anna the nice Google Alert lady.)
All of this information tied very nicely into the essay that I am writing for my Institute of Higher Learning class on The Culture of Blogging. Google Alerts, and contributing or flaming someone through them is another element of our culture.
The learning just never stops here in the Blogosphere does it?
In addition, the comments on that last post on Green Living also contributed to this essay. Those comments illustrated the incredible networking and information that is shared through blogging. There was intelligent dialogue, people were sharing their own tips, sharing links, sharing ideas, contributing to this little post that I made about what’s going on in my house and how I was a little bit pouting about having to take the bus for an adventure, (which btw, we had a great time and I managed to survive, even enjoy the bus ride!)
Also illustrated was a level of Blogetiquette, (or lack of.) Blogetiquette is not something that we bloggers “discuss” or call each other on as often as we should. When I posted back to the flaming commenter, I instructed him to “wipe his feet before entering my home,” which I then directly took and inserted into my essay.
Amazing, isn’t it how all of this tied together? The essay is not completed, and the rough draft is due tomorrow morning, so I will be sitting here at my computer until 2:00 o’clock working on it. (I have not been procrastinating, I’m just a perfectionist.)
I would love to hear what you, my blogging friends, have to say about our culture and perhaps some of the points that I have made in this post about contributions, commenting, blogetiquette, using google alerts (for good or evil,) and other cultural elements of our “blogging world.”
My professor says that I can use your comments in my essay, of course I’ll have to cite them with MLA, (she’s finding me the format.) You may even be mentioned in my essay, I’ve already used Limpy, LeLo, and Syd!
I will await your comments!
I’m a semi-regular reader and though I have commented before, they are in-frequent. I’ve enjoyed and have been intrigued by many of your posts–this one, no different.
Blogetiquette: Someone coming to your (in the universal sense) spot to spew their particular brand of venom is akin to them relieving themselves on your welcome mat but did we expect that the www would be immune from rude, ignorant folks? It seems to have spawned a whole new breed.
Alerts: I would like to be bothered by this, but I suppose there are some scenarios where it makes sense for folks to know what’s being said/written about any given topic.
I’ll be giving the entire topic & points you’ve raised much thought. I’m fascinated by what others will have to say. I’d also be interested in your final essay. Good Luck.
I just “googled” that Kerry person’s name and it came back with quite a few hits. It seems as though he (someone said he used to go by the name Kent) goes around leaving comments on people’s blogs that write about something similar to what you wrote about. He has an “issue” with said topic I’m guessing. Heh.
Can you imagine using Google Alerts for the sole purpose of going around and pissing on everyone’s picnic blanket?
Oh good. So, you’re including a section on bloggers who are blocked at nearly every workplace?
Although I am somewhat new to the world of blogettes, I have been reading the blogs of others for quite some time. I would have to say that I learned much of what I know now from being an observer. That wasn’t my intention, but when I finally waded into the waters of blogging I had pretty much decided that I wasn’t going to post using my name or the name of the folks I talk about. I do post pictures, but I don’t give out the names or locations. I simply “live in the woods.” I also decided that I would need to moderate the comments on my blog. Again, based on the fear of an experience much like the one you got from Sprigs1 on the TIPS entry.
Here is something I do ponder on our blogging culture. I read many blogs and have decided to share a few with my readers. Like most bloggers I am happy when people find me and add comments. What I often wonder is, is there an etiquette in terms of reading and commenting on the blogs of those who read and comment on you? If you put someone’s blog on your blog list, should yours go on theirs? It seems akin to being the grown up technical version of who gets invited to your 8th birthday party. And, if you go to someone else’s do you have to invite them to yours?
The other thing that intrigues me is this, when people write anonymous blogs are they just writing the random thoughts and occurrences in their lives or do they do it in an effort to release or conceal the truth? Do people who conform to society’s rules in life offer their true selves to the anonymous blog. I wonder, if the world of blogging had existed 10 years ago, would I have come out of the closet virtually long before doing so in real life, maybe to break it in like new shoes? Or maybe I would be a working mom from the suburbs in real life but live my fantasy life in my blog. To everyone who read me I would be a park ranger in a long term relationship with the woman of my dreams in our off the grid house and a large inheritance in my bank. I don’t blog either of those ways, but it occurs to me that many folks may do just that. You wouldn’t really know, but then again, it is their own special version of the truth, even if it isn’t their reality.
I decided long ago that if I ever had to deal with hateful commenters I would try one of two things; ignore them, or reply with something like “thank you for your input on this matter” and leave it at that. I can think of no other reason for someone to leave a shitty comment on someone else’s blog, other than to get a rise out them and their readers. They aren’t really looking to engage in actually debate, they are just trying to reek havoc. If they are ignored, they don’t get what they want and I imagine they will move on to someone else. There is not reason to waste mental energy idiots.
The online writing lab (OWL) at Purdue is a great resource for citation formats. Even those of us who work in the academic reference realm use/recommend it to our patrons. Here’s the section on citing electronic materials: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/09/
As someone who’s blogged for awhile now (since 2003), I am continually amazed at the lack of respect people show ‘in other people’s houses’ as it were.
I don’t think this lack of respect and over hostility comes from the blogsphere itself, but from a deteriorating standard of conduct in the greater world. (I feel 90 years old saying that, but it’s true.)
There are a lot of bloggers I disagree vehemently with on some things, but I NEVER go into their space and call them names. I will state my opinion, but I won’t attack them personally. And yet, somehow, I get attacked. (I have managed to attract a large number of trolls in my time, none recent however.)
In my mind blogging is no different than any other form of communication- just because it is new, can have great anonymity, and amazing reach does not mean people should act like fools.
Kudos to you for writing this essay. May you get a well deserved A!
Nice post and some of us do read often — love your blog.
So much so that to share in the joy of blog culture and this time memes.
Tag. Tag, tag, tag. You’re an “IT GIRL”
Mid-Life Clarity
I really enjoy your blog and your topics. Having been online since 1992, and involved in bulletin boards, etc. WAY before chat rooms and blogs were around, I’ve seen the evolution of your topic. The Internet, and written communication in general, makes it very easy to be, or to appear, rude. You have no vocal cue, no facial cue, and really, when we are talking to someone, we get much more acutal communication from tone of voice and/or facial expressions than do from actual words. On a blog, or in an email, that is not possible, obviously. I noticed that even in your TIPS post, when you used the “universal” YOU, you qualified that, i.e. “You in genera, not You, Traci”. See, you felt the need to be clear that you were not referring to the actual writer of the comment, something you might not had to have done if you were speaking directly to a person.
So, what’s the point of all this? Just what I always say when people get totally “het up” (that’s Southern for “heated up”, NOT a reference to heterosexuality, BTW) over “flames” or comments. Don’t take it personally. Yes, a nasty comment on anyone’s blog is not fun and can drag you down, but just as others have pointed out–maybe it’s this person’s JOY to go out and try to cause conflict. The less you let it affect you, the greater the chance that the person is NOT going to come back and bug you.
That said, every blog owner has the absolute right to refuse to publish offensive comments, or to remove them, or to respond to them however they wish. That’s the beauty of blogging, we really CAN say what we want. And we do!
Keep it up!!
GG
this is a great essay topic. blogging has created a new community that reaches far beyond what we type here in these little text entry boxes.
might I share with you my feelings from last years ‘bloggers get together’ again with you.
http://weese.blogspot.com/2007/03/touching.html
Thanks to everyone who commented. Please keep it coming, I now know how to cite all of you as sources!
Also have been online since the dawn of time, I’ve been through various transient forms of “cool” forms of communication. I like to think back to ICQ/IRC when there were definite rules of etiquette. It was a simple communication method though, and fewer people using the method.
Then we moved into the realm of instant messenger and chat rooms–where etiquette required you announce your arrival and departure. There were other nuances, depending on the chat room. Far more flaming went on there than in the blog world, from my experience.
As a blogger for about two years, I noticed that there is an inherent etiquette. Not everyone reciprocally links, but that’s okay. Some people do get het up about it–I remember that term from growing up. Maybe, though, it’s just me and the fact that I believe that those who connect with us and attempt to understand our true selves will gravitate towards us and be kind and good to us, and we to them, in return. That has been my experience. There is a lot of cross linking and support of the writer we appreciate. It’s a nurturing environment for the most part, where the flame is almost non-existent, unless you bump up against such a malcontent as the one you describe.
I have met people I chatted with online and also fellow bloggers. I find the level of truth and veracity much higher in the blogger realm, where the desire is to connect on a higher plane than that of “Golden Girls” on Planet Out.
Some of the biggest hearts, finest minds, and best writers I’ve found in the last two years - whether I’ve met them in person or not - I’ve found through blogging. I choose to believe they are who they portray. Where I used to have neighbors I spoke to, I now connect here — as my neighbors close their garage doors as quickly as they pull their BMW into the garage and who build fences that keep out the enemy and the potential friend. I find people who share my interests and talk about the things that excite me. I don’t know any other forum in which we can do that on this planet today - our social time is stilted and time to make friends limited with work and home and family and everything else we do in a day. It’s the new age of communication. These bloggers, they are real, and bright, and caring, and thoughtful. And, for knowing them, even in the limited way I do, I’m a better person.
Good luck on your paper.
RSG- Here’s a great link to MLA (and APA) formats:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
Blog culture is a great topic for an essay! I’m a Communications major and I so wanted to do a project for my research class on blog culture. My other group members had other ideas, so we ended up studying online dating, which was really interesting (and kind of scary at times :).
This quarter I am taking a class on non-verbal communication and we are going to study how people compensate for non-verbals in a “computer-mediated” communication environment.
Blogging has really enriched my life and I have so many blog friends now. I really starting reading blogs as part of my “coming out” process and thanks be to ?(al gore?) yours was one of the first I found. I have so many friends of all kinds from the blog world. I was a “lurker” for quite a while, then I actually started blogging myself. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to writing, but reading blogs is an important part of my everyday life.
I’ve been reading and commenting on blogs for about two years and writing my own since the summer (I think). The rudeness that I sometimes see reminds me of my days managing a drive-in movie theater. There is something about not being monitored that breaks open the limits of how free people allow themselves to be. I think facing a screen and not a person does much the same thing. In terms of dealing with rudeness in comments or on my own blog, I find myself being even more happily sarcastic that I am in person (and I’m fairly sarcastic in person!). Not the insulting kind, but the joking/funny kind. I’ve learned alot of that from reading other people’s comments. I tend to read and comment on mostly political sites so things get pretty heated. Then someone comes along with a totally silly, but pointed comment and it’s like the rude/crude balloon just deflates.
I don’t pre-screen comments made in response to what I write, although I used to. I’ve found it to be more effective to simply comment back if someone gets an attitude. Sometimes I make the effort to make a serious reply (whether they engage back tells me alot about how serious they are) and then sometimes I’ll make a snarky comment. In my experience, whether online or in person, people who go to such effort to make as**es out of themselves eventually do themselves in without any help from me.
I know very little on this subject. But, what I do know I learned from you.
awesome idea- a class on the culture of blogging… back when I was in my first writing class in college (hmm, 7 years ago now) I wrote a paper on the dynamics/culture of internet chat.
love to you dear rsg, hg & all three DD’s
((hugs)) from Eugene
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