To Blog or Not To Blog

To Blog or Not To Blog



Can it really be six weeks since the last post?  Surely I've thought
of numerous blog posts since then.  There is a difference, of
course, between ideating a post and actually composing, editing and
eventually hitting the button to publish it.



That last sentence is part of the problem.  It is a poorly
constructed English sentence.  It ends improperly.  Grammar
and proper sentence construction are important (to me, anyway . . .and therefore to my blog). 
and we like to think that DeanLand espouses...no, exemplifies, better
yet, ballyhoos! such writing.  But these days I barely have time
to review, much less ensure that Good Grammar, much less proper
sentence construction, will appear on the blog.



This lack of time takes a toll.  Zero blogposts, for one.  Fewer unfinished blog entry drafts, as well. 



And for some reason, nonsensical though it may be, it seems to this
blogger that posts of some substance (humor and levity qualify as
substance, so don't get prepared for all sorts of deep and
philosophical blather) and with decent English should be the
rule.  Errors and poor writing should be the exception.  And,
as is the case with blogging, one can always go back and edit, amend,
correct, recast.



Journalism
it ain't.  Blogging it is.  There's no editor, no stylebook,
no claims that this blog should be perceived as online
journalism.  High-mindedness is held in disdain here, and yet
grammar is considered critical.  Go figure.



Nor should this be taken as a slap at online journalists.  They do
what they do, and more power to them.  Blogging, as I see it, is
personal.  It can also be for self-promotion, for self expression,
for plain old diary-keeping, or to provide a forum for discussion or to
further an idea around a specific topic or area of interest. 
Politics, for one (or, better put, for many).   Some blogs
function as central points for collaborative writing, discussion, study
or exploration.  Wikis go a step further in collaboration, but
blogs will often suffice, and may do so more than just fine.



I consult some blogs and some bloggers,  Often the discussion is
of rules, content, tone -- these are the domain and determination of
the individual or company/group blogging entity. Grammar or sentence
construction is, in some cases, not an issue, not a matter of concern (to which I say boo, hiss, but to each his own).
  Some blogs go for short shots: quick entries for impact and to
raise an issue.  Others go for longer, essay-style entries. 
Some are purely off-the-cuff, stream of consciousness posts.  Then
there are some which exist purely to serve as the equivalent of an
ongoing infocast of the blogger's actions or opinions.



Blogs can serve all sorts of intentions and desires.



Which brings us back to the headline: To Blog, or Not To Blog. 
Time is a crucial factor -- there are just X amount of working hours
each day.  A blog post, while not necessarily work per se, still
requires time.  Time spent on compositon, editing, correction,
sometimes a good amout of rewrite, as well.  At least in the case
of posts to this blog.



One reader recently commented on the linear-think manner of writing in DeanLand.  He said, "You
write like you speak, you put those purple italics pharenthetics things
in there.  I know that's how you speak, but do think your readers
understand that this is Dean-speak?"
  I don't know the answer to that.  Maybe you'll tell me.



I write that way because I think that way, and more so, because I
communicate that way.  In a blog one has the freedom to post in a
manner that communicates a certain voice. I choose this certain style
or manner, this voice that reflects the thought and process of
expression. that goes into the composing of these entries.



More often than not I will labor over posts.  The idea is to get
it right, to effectively communicate, to be satisfied with the final,
published item.  Again we have that variety of  ingredients
to consider: tone, content, construction.  When life gets busy,
these ingredients (so important to me)
become more time-consuming and burdensome than at other times, when
they are natural aspects toward an intended, desired result.



The good news is implied above, but not clearly stated. I am busy as
can be.  Projects, clients, edeavors, all sorts of stuff going
on.  I redesigned my  non-blog home page, and it is almost
ready for public view.  Coding takes hours and hours; I am new to
it, and a perfectionist when it comes to visual and written content, so
that's occupied many hours that once would have been fine time for
blogging.



And Baseball season is back.  I've been so busy I've ignored my
Rotisserrie team, and we've got injuries that really require a team
rebuild.  But one must make decisions, allocate time and effort.



In a perfect world of sorts there would be no time constraints, one
could TiVo all sorts of  things and not miss any of the good
stuff.  In a perfect world multitasking would actually be the
ability to operate concurrently in a variety of spheres and dimensions.



But in reality one cannot get work accomplished, hang with one's loved
ones, read the mail, cook, blog, talk on the phone, walk the dog, pay
the bills, go fill up the car with gas (ouch!) (that was my wallet speaking),
do the laundry, and watch the Yankee game all at once.  Even TiVo,
which eases the schedule burden to a degree, can become ominous,
burdensome.  Watching those saved Sunday Morning talking heads or House
episodes or Letterman shows with a guest of interest --- just means
making time to do what couldn't be done in real time.  Being contemporaneous gets tougher by the day.



Cloning is not the answer, for a few reasons.  First of all, one
of any of us is already enough.  Second, who knows if it would
actually work?  Third, why give those anti stem cell nutjobs anything more to babble about?



In a perefect world, there would also be many more ways to achieve multiple links to a word just used once in a sentence, as in nutjobs, above.  Even to be fair about it, and include a link to a proud nutjob.  Or to a self-serving one.



So this little philosophical piece turned into a longer entry, and so
be it.  As is always the case, I will attempt to post more often,
time permitting.  But now it is time to wrap this up, do a little
work (housework and business, what a combination for a sleepy Sunday),
then watch the Rubber Game of the Yankees versus their crosstown Subway Series rivals, and maybe, just maybe, watch the TiVo'd Sopranos, Huff, and also do the Sunday NY Times crossword puzzle.