# Two years ago today (has it really been that long) I said I was "very much an adherent of the 'life model' of blogging". Looking back I don't think I was truly there; I was still in "Book 2" of my blogging journey.
Now that I am in the next phase of my online existence I'm still not entirely convinced that I am following the "life model" or if I'm even getting there.
Maybe I just don't have an exact picture in my mind of what a life model means for me. Or, maybe I'm being too harsh and looking for something that's not there.
Comments
# This passage from "Reality Hunger" by David Shields rings true and describes blogging for me:
Suddenly everyone's tale is tellable, which seems to me a good thing, even if not everyone's story turns out to be fascinating or well told.
It doesn't matter if you're not a veritable wordsmith or don't have the most interesting life, you can still post and share as you see fit - a gift we can all give and receive.
I suppose that is what the "life model" of blogging is really all about.
The most meaningful blogs on my RSS reader (I count yours among them) have an unfinished quality, and a sense of searching through ideas, trying to make sense of experiences. Bloggers that demonstrate too much polish and structure, and are almost exclusively geared towards selling (or ad revenue) are not authentic to me any more and I'm not interested. I'll stick with the authentic, gritty, half-finished journey, as this is what attracted me to blogging in the first place 15 years ago.
Thanks Chris, that means a lot. I agree, blogging can't be contrived or manufactured. It has to be real and natural.