Back when DiaryLand ruled the blogging landscape—I doubt if the word "blog" had been popularized as of yet—it wasn't uncommon to receive random plaudits from complete strangers who just happened to stumble upon your diary. The praise was usually short and sweet, but it reaffirmed my belief that blogs could cast a wide a net and capture an audience previously limited to those with published works in book and journals. There was even a diary-rating website that accepted submissions, reviewed blog samples and provided critical feedback. Today, I can't imagine anyone having the time to undertake such a project.
These days, most people are far too self-involved to read words written by someone else. If you charted the trajectory of blogging popularity, you'd probably see a peak in 2003, right before Myspace got REALLY popular. Pre-Myspace, blogs were the primary avenue for peers, friends, and strangers to exchange creative ideas and daily musings. Shit always gets messy when money is involved, and so I felt that blogging took a turn for the worst when it crossed the threshold from recreational activity to profession. Blogs lost their charm and became judged by not their critical and creative contribution but their ability to turn a profit. My wife, a recent mother, is an avid reader of Dooce.com, a blog written by a regular gal cum professional blogger. Dooce writes mostly about her daily trials and tribulations as a mother—and she makes a pretty penny doing so. Everyone needs a hustle, so I can't fault Dooce for taking advantage of an opportunity that allows her to be a stay-at-home mom and get paid to write. Maybe I'm just bitter because it isn't me getting paid to do what I love.
Nowadays, it's exceedingly difficult to get paid for blogging. The all of cyberspace is saturated with blogs, blogs, and more blogs. Blogging celebrities, like Dooce, have convinced everyone that they have what it takes to be a paid, professional writer. Huffington Post, Jezebel and scores of other websites offer free blogging on their sites; very few, if any, actually pay their blog contributors. The sites themselves stand to profit because they can increase their traffic and ad revenue without paying a dime for content. Sweet deal.
Who knows? Maybe blogging will experience a revival in the next few years. I'll be able to look back on this entry, laugh, and chalk it up to a moment of post-30 panic. I doubt that will happen. Sometimes, I pine for what was because I've romanticized the versions of events that exist in my memory. There's no guarantee that what was once new, fresh and exciting will feel the same way long after the novelty has worn off. For now, there's much to be content with in my present: wife, baby, and job—and they don't need a stat counter to measure their worth!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Credit
Yesterday, CapitalOne saw it fit to bestow upon me a credit card, my first in nearly 7 years. Previous to yesterday, I applied for a number of cards online over the course of nearly a decade with little more to show for my efforts than a slew of rejection emails. I truly deserved my debt since I spent recklessly with no intention of repaying my plastic advance. Actually, I knew I'd one day repay my debt. What I could not foresee was the never-ending letters from collections and lawyers threatening legal action for nonpayment. That a credit company, after all that, didn't take a chance on me is no great mystery.
When you gain some stability in life, financial or otherwise, you start to reassess your goals because they're no longer just a pipe dream. Today, I can actually entertain the thought of going back to school without becoming interminably depressed. Haley may go back to school, too, and she truly deserves that opportunity. Her initial attempts at higher education were derailed by an overbearing parent who caused school to be become for her an anxiety-laden endeavor. Now, we've begun to forge our own path and are in a better place to start doing things on our own terms.
Of course, Baby Owen complicates any ambitions to pursue academic opportunities, but not in a bad way. He's our pride and joy, and we put him before anyone and anything else. It's just nice to know that whatever we do to better ourselves (college, new job, etc.), we'll be giving Owen a better life in return.
It's nice to feel a sense of independence again.
When you gain some stability in life, financial or otherwise, you start to reassess your goals because they're no longer just a pipe dream. Today, I can actually entertain the thought of going back to school without becoming interminably depressed. Haley may go back to school, too, and she truly deserves that opportunity. Her initial attempts at higher education were derailed by an overbearing parent who caused school to be become for her an anxiety-laden endeavor. Now, we've begun to forge our own path and are in a better place to start doing things on our own terms.
Of course, Baby Owen complicates any ambitions to pursue academic opportunities, but not in a bad way. He's our pride and joy, and we put him before anyone and anything else. It's just nice to know that whatever we do to better ourselves (college, new job, etc.), we'll be giving Owen a better life in return.
It's nice to feel a sense of independence again.
Friday, May 6, 2011
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