|
« Previous |
Ain't too proud to blog
| mail it
| Next »
Posted: 08.06.2002 Girl, don't go away mad. Girl, just go away.
Last week I bought "The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog" by Rebecca Blood. In Chapter 5 under "Online Rules of the Road" (page 85), point #1 is:
Although so far the book has made an excellent read, I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree. I'm a ranter -- I feel some of my best writing gets its start when I go from zero-to-bitch in 0.2 seconds. And some of my favorite blog reads are versed in the fine art of ranting as well. How do you feel about the book's advice? To rant, or not to rant...that is the question... UPDATE: The closer I inspect this chapter, I see that perhaps Ms. Blood was implying you should not post when angry online in general -- quite possibily in instances not just specific to your blog. This is addressed in a comment I have made in this thread. It still lends itself to interesting discussion, regardless.  I say RANT!  -this ¤ ¤ I think most blogs are rooted in the ranting category. It is a great place to let out your feelings and angst out. Sometimes the interaction is much better than screaming into a pillow or putting a hole in the wall. ¤ ¤ credit: matt | 08.06.02 at 06:46 PM | link--this ¤ ¤and i was going to look into that book. i love to rant...lol ¤ ¤ credit: kat | 08.06.02 at 07:16 PM | link--this ¤ ¤OMG I so disagree when I am angry, upset or whatever the first place I go is my blog it's how I save all the idiots on the freeway from my road rage :) so how was the book other wise?? I want a blog book me thinks :P ¤ ¤ credit: gnome-girl | 08.06.02 at 07:23 PM | link--this ¤ ¤"it's my blog and I'll rant if I want to...rant if I want to...rant if I want to...you would rant too if it happened to you" ¤ ¤ credit: wendell | 08.06.02 at 07:32 PM | link--this ¤ ¤*Grumble* That just pisses me off! I can't believe... hehe :) I couldn't keep it up and keep a straight face. For some reason, reading "Do not post when you are angry" made me think of Groundhog Day when Bill Murray kidnapped the groundhog. "Don't drive angry." :D ¤ ¤ credit: ste | 08.06.02 at 07:39 PM | link--this ¤ ¤I disagree....isn't that what this forum is for...to say whatever it is YOU want to say at that particular moment? ¤ ¤ credit: sandy | 08.06.02 at 07:44 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Isn't that part of having a blog.It's your blog and you say what you want to in it.If someone doesn't like it,they don't have to read it or say anything.Everyone does what they want in there own blog.No matter what it might be. ¤ ¤ credit: Tammie | 08.06.02 at 08:18 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Chey, it's actually pretty good thus far -- I've mostly skimmed, but I'm up to chapter 6 now. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 08.06.02 at 08:20 PM | link--this ¤ ¤whatevah! i say rant till your heart is content. ¤ ¤ credit: Camille | 08.06.02 at 08:53 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Hmmm, when I heard about this book, I thought it would be a fun one to read - and if that's the only thing that you've disagreed with, I think I might enjoy it ;) -this ¤ ¤What's the point if you can't write what you want??! ¤ ¤ credit: Christi | 08.06.02 at 09:13 PM | link--this ¤ ¤If I didn't write when I was angry, my blog would be a vast, empty wasteland. ¤ ¤ credit: michele | 08.06.02 at 09:14 PM | link--this ¤ ¤When I met Rebecca (and a lot of the other bloggers last spring) I realized that she was "old school" and her version of blogging is NOT what I have ever done. I say rant, rant away. Maybe by the old school rules that's wrong, but this is 2002 and we ARE the new school. ¤ ¤ credit: Christine | 08.06.02 at 11:02 PM | link--this ¤ ¤That's like telling some little kid at home with a hard-covered notebook and a nice pen what to write and not to write in their diary. I say, do whatever you want. If you have an audience, then great. I actually changed my blog recently from one where people I knew in real life read it, to an anonymous one so I can write what I like without someone looking at me like I have 3 heads or saying "I'm very diappointed in you for thinking like that". I paid for the damn thing, I write what I bloody like in it!!!!!!! Ranty enough for ya???? ¤ ¤ credit: Jessica Parker | 08.06.02 at 11:30 PM | link--this ¤ ¤The randier the better baby. Oh, rantier... that too. I definitely agree the rant is a good blog thing, but just in one's own blog, not in a trolly comment on someone else's. ¤ ¤ credit: Cis | 08.07.02 at 12:24 AM | link--this ¤ ¤If I can't rant on my weblog that means the terrorists have [slap slap slap] Ahem. Anyway -- if I don't get angry I don't write. Whenever I'm content with the world I tend to sit around like a lump, staring vacantly into space.... Okay, I exaggerate a little. But I usually need to be fired up to get the energy to post. I can understand the dictum not to to post when you are angry if the subject is someone you are close to and who can access your blog, or it's a complaint a situation or person at work -- and you post under your own name and your boss knows how to use Google (for instance, I came across one weblog belonging to someone who got fired because they posted complaints about a person at their job). So perhaps there are some situations that merit this warning. But -- Ms. Blood has made this an across-the-board rule with her "period." Okay, so I can't rant about politics, or starving kids, or idiotic tv shows, or anything. Sorry, until the government starts passing out mandatory tranquilizers I'm going to exercise my right to get pissed off and complain. The only other reason I can think of for this rule is that perhaps she thinks that when you are angry you aren't thinking clearly and thus aren't expressing yourself correctly; or perhaps, like so many people today, she is afraid of anger because she has been taught that All Anger is Bad, and that when one is angry all sorts of incorrect thoughts and prejudices will bubble to the surface. In any case, if you do post something you regret, you can always delete it. Oh wait, doesn't she say in her book that you should never delete a post? Never mind... (I haven't read the book but I've read a lot of discussions on it so I have some idea of what it says.) -this ¤ ¤Did the author give any reasons why you shouldn't write when angry? Personally, I'm a ranter at heart, and love blogs of a similar nature. I don't see why it's a bad thing... ¤ ¤ credit: Veshka | 08.07.02 at 01:38 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Veshka, the chapter this is in is titled "Finding an Audience". The section is "Online Rules of the Road", and the paragraph before the first rule starts off: "Remember, everything you say online is creating a persona, and every persona carries with it a reputation. Take care to create an impression that you can be proud of..." It also goes on to discuss presence in online forums, community sites, and listservs -- so wasn't really clear to us whether this advice applied solely towards your blog or was geared towards bringing people into it. ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 08.07.02 at 01:49 AM | link--this ¤ ¤Yes, Andrea -- on page 118 in "Weblog Ethics" (chapter "Weblog Community and Etiquette") it starts off: Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete any entry. Post deliberately. If you invest each entry with intent, you will ensure your personal and professional integrity. Changing or deleting entries destroys the integrity of the network... ...The only exception to this rule is when you inadvertantly reveal personal information about someone else." ¤ ¤ credit: robyn | 08.07.02 at 02:01 AM | link--this ¤ ¤I don't know Rebecca Blood, and I'm presuming here, but maybe what she meant was, Don't blog anything in anger that you may regret later. ¤ ¤ credit: andrea | 08.07.02 at 02:43 AM | link--this ¤ ¤There's a reason a lot of my offline rantage stays quiet net-wise - it's because soon I will probably be using the site for blatant self-promotion purposes (so what else is new?), and I don't want anybody who might want to hire me to assume that I'm a complaining minnie who hates her chosen profession when nothing could be further from the truth. But to state that ranting is a big unequivocal no-no - well, that's just wrong. To each their own, I say. ¤ ¤ credit: Tina | 08.07.02 at 07:31 AM | link--this ¤ ¤I have to say the best reads are those who rant. Take that away what is the point. I don't want to fall asleep reading a blog that is correct in all ways. ¤ ¤ credit: shelli | 08.07.02 at 02:38 PM | link--this ¤ ¤i'm gonna go out on a limb here and agree with Ms. what's-her-name. no more ranting. instead, just post bikini and semi-nude chicky pics. yeah, that's the ticket. ok seriously, i think a blog w/o some sort of ranting would get boring pretty derned quickly, yanno? if i want something that's just cheesy happy all the time, i'll go watch some Full House reruns... ¤ ¤ credit: mikey | 08.07.02 at 06:15 PM | link--this ¤ ¤Well I'm trying to build reputation as a cranky misanthrope who "doesn't suffer fools gladly and likes to see fools suffer."* Ms. Blood's advice is okay for those who want to be perceived as dignified and erudite, but I can't fool people that long. (Grin) *Florence King, paraphrased. ¤ ¤ credit: Andrea Harris | 08.07.02 at 08:47 PM | link--this ¤ ¤now you see, i have issues with the whole 'how to blog' genre. seems to me that how we each blog is an individual thing, and putting it in a book with rules is ... ok, i'm a rebel. ¤ ¤ credit: kd | 08.08.02 at 01:52 AM | link--this ¤ ¤
URLs that have pinged me for this entry:
All old ping links have been removed from this blog. Die spammers, die!
Psssssst...pass it on!
|
