Why do people blog? Why are Facebook and all the other social networking sites so popular.
Being an avid Facebooker and having finally succumbed to the siren call of blogging, here's my take:
From pop culture - there's this one scene from JLo's remake of Shall we Dance (I prefer the Japanese version, I'll lend you the VCD if you want) that has stuck with me, The Susan Sarandon character explains the importance of Richard Gere's character in her life. In so many words, she says something like - in a world of a billion people, having someone bear witness to our lives is a confirmation that we are not a non-entity, that somehow our lives have mattered .
From somewhere deeper and murkier in my brain - there’s the old age riddle about the tree falling in a forest – if no one hears it, does it make a sound? Can something really exist if it’s not perceived? What is the value of a life un-noticed?
So there – I think putting ourselves out here is our way of being borne witness to, of making a sound.
I blog therefore I am. I poke therefore I am, twice over.
Of course, having relationships with real people would also serve the purpose. But it’s so much harder and it would mean going out of the house more often.
End of thought. Back to surfing.
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5 comments:
Dang it Tarcs, reading this stuff now competes with a grant proposal i am writing. Hopefully some of your good writing skilss will rub off on me so we get the $25k I am working on. I have more shoes than you but I only rotate the top favs. Keep it up! You have more than a hundred years to go...
I've always loved reading your stuff, Fermin. As to the tree falling unnoticed, that is not true. Nothing goes unnoticed. There is always a witness. Keep on writing, my friend and I'll keep on reading.
Hello:
@mlt - God forbid, haha.
@enggay -Please spare me from my misery and tell the name I know you by :-)
Thank you both for the nice comments
That line by Susan Sarandon also struck me... it had such a sad tone so typical of our lives.
@dee -thanks, doyit. I like your blog :-)
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