Blog Writer, Edit Thyself

Blogs are an interesting thing - it basically gives every American the ability to create his own magazine, without having to submit the material to an editorial review panel. That's good and that's bad; it's good that you get to speak your mind, and bad because there are 9 million blogs out there, most of them not very readable. Doh! You mean there's a reason that magazines like Harpers and Newsweek look for superlative writers with advanced English degrees and other such credentials? I thought they were being nit picky.

There are such things as open mic nite, karaoke, talent contests and poetry contests where ordinary people can show their stuff. We have American Idol and in the '70's, we also had The Gong Show. What's fun about blogs though is their staying power - you don't get booed off the stage for being crappy. There again - good because your feelings are unhurt, bad because look at all that sludge that sticks around. Every nutcase, child and rambling retiree can tell a story. Sometimes, as the author, I have to be a heartless editor and put the scissors to my own material. I figure without some type of quality control, one can easily slip into that rambling nutcase category. :-) I've so far given the axe to four pieces, even after they were briefly published. Reasons include:

TOO PERSONAL - Believe it or not, there is such a thing as TMI (Too Much Information). My 2nd article ever was heartfelt and genuine, but it was material that might be better shared over a beer with an intimate friend. Decided the public at large didn't need that much of me, and removed the material.

EMBARRASSING TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY - I have friends, coworkers and family members read the blog; it definitely keeps me from "cutting loose" and putting just anything out there. At least a couple of articles had the potential to embarrass la famile. Am pretty sure one relationship ended because the person read it and determined I was weird.

INCOMPATIBLE THEME - I've posted one darkly turbulent poem, and one family saga that were OK per se, but didn't fit the general flow of the other material. Maybe if I create a blog which is a literary genre, I can "go there". Or maybe, I'll get over it, loosen up the theme and put all categories in one place. :-)

BAD QUALITY! - My senior English teacher, Mrs. Hutchinson, would need smelling salts if she saw how I dangle participles and do abrupt transitions. A good magazine editor would catch all the snafus and faux pas. And sometimes my stuff is so crummy even I can tell. I pulled a review of Desperate Housewives, because it had all the wrong stuff. If something has staying power, I'll usually send out a "new blog article" to my readership group. If I'm iffy on it, it may sneak in and sneak out in the space of two days. You'll just have to read regularly to know!

Blogs, blogs, blogs. Next, we'll have blog television where everyone can act in his own show. The results there would be comically awful in 99% of the cases, and actually produce some good results in 1% of the cases. No longer would people have to go on Jerry Springer to reveal something unholy. Come to think of it, maybe blogspot.com allows enough space for me to post a home video. Naaaa. I'm not photogenic, and I've gotten in enough trouble as it is. We'll stick with a written blog, and I'll have out the editorial blue pencil just in case I get out of line.