That is the question...
(Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous self-appointed journalists or to take arms against a sea of drivel and by opposing end them)
I seem to find myself in the very act of answering my own question…
Oh well - if you can’t beat them; join them. And truth be told, for a long time I really did want to beat them – quite hard. With sharp objects. My initial objections to blogs were that:
1) They seemed to be the height of self-indulgent, self-important self-promotion: “Here I am world - listen to me! I’m so interesting. I’m going to tell you every little thing that I’ve done or thought about today cos it’s that deeply important to the human condition that it needs to be globally broadcasted across the World Wide Web. Today I thought about socks. Aren’t they great? I think we should all think about socks…”
2) I’ve always held the belief that the Internet is a fantastic source of information and that easily accessible factual info is its best currency. For more protracted comment, ideas or opinion I don’t want to stare at a computer screen. Web for information; print for ideas.
3) ‘Blogging’ is just a bit too close to both ‘blagging’ and ‘flogging’ for my liking. Kind of like being subjected to the relentless torture of badly-informed babblings from puffed-up social incompetents with no real friends to talk to.
BUT
I have since discovered that, in fact, a good blog is worth its weight in gold. I am now truly repentant of these former opinions, for I have seen the light. I am a convert to the Blog Squad.
This about-face was set in motion whilst queueing outside the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford with a hapless gang of other Histories junkies at some Godforsaken hour on a Sunday morning in the hope of getting a return on the final day of the final performance of the final production in the cycle. Looking around me at the motley crew of shivering, bleary-eyed groupies I was curious as to what it was about the whole Histories experience that elicited such devotion from each different person. So I started a bit of surreptitious prying. Of course, 99% of people’s response was primarily because it was just brilliant theatre; but, time after time, different people kept mentioning ‘The Blog’.
It was, and I (kind of) quote: entertaining; absorbing; had opened their eyes to different aspects of putting on the production, given them access to different views and voices involved that they wouldn’t normally have heard; revealed ‘inside stories’ of personal interest and whet their curiosity and appetites for more. In short; it engaged them, made them feel more of a part of something and encouraged them to keep coming back. Is this not what all arts organisations want for their audiences?..
Shortly after this revelation I ended up doing research on local arts-based blogs for some work here at Audiences Central; and this further changed my mind. My original objection with the Web being unsuitable for idea-based discussion was blown out of the water as I discovered that these blogs are, in fact, the perfect place for comment and opinion.
The very life-blood of a blog is discussion; opinion, comment and interaction. And far from being self-obsessed, a good blog constantly drawing attention to things outside of itself, invites comment and opens up a spectrum of different voices. They’re completely democratic, completely accessible and completely fuelled on subjectivity, experience and broad range of viewpoints – surely all the stuff of the Arts, n’est pas? Again we see that despite initially raised hackles, technology can be art’s friend. A good blog can engage audiences; get a buzz going, put forward different voices and spread the word in a way that perhaps hasn’t been seen before.
Providing, of course, that it is a good blog. A bad blog is, well, a bad blog. See earlier comments on torture by self-indulgent drivel.
(Oh, and in case you should be interested; we did get returns for the show in Stratford. And it was definitely worth getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday and queueing in the freezing cold for. But that’s another blog … )
Local creative blogs:
http://www.createdinbirmingham.com
http://www.birminghamitsnotshit.co.uk
http://www.podnosh.com/blog
http://joannageary.wordpress.com
RSC Histories blog:
http://www.rsc.org.uk/content/6527.aspx
Enjoy x
(Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous self-appointed journalists or to take arms against a sea of drivel and by opposing end them)
I seem to find myself in the very act of answering my own question…
Oh well - if you can’t beat them; join them. And truth be told, for a long time I really did want to beat them – quite hard. With sharp objects. My initial objections to blogs were that:
1) They seemed to be the height of self-indulgent, self-important self-promotion: “Here I am world - listen to me! I’m so interesting. I’m going to tell you every little thing that I’ve done or thought about today cos it’s that deeply important to the human condition that it needs to be globally broadcasted across the World Wide Web. Today I thought about socks. Aren’t they great? I think we should all think about socks…”
2) I’ve always held the belief that the Internet is a fantastic source of information and that easily accessible factual info is its best currency. For more protracted comment, ideas or opinion I don’t want to stare at a computer screen. Web for information; print for ideas.
3) ‘Blogging’ is just a bit too close to both ‘blagging’ and ‘flogging’ for my liking. Kind of like being subjected to the relentless torture of badly-informed babblings from puffed-up social incompetents with no real friends to talk to.
BUT
I have since discovered that, in fact, a good blog is worth its weight in gold. I am now truly repentant of these former opinions, for I have seen the light. I am a convert to the Blog Squad.
This about-face was set in motion whilst queueing outside the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford with a hapless gang of other Histories junkies at some Godforsaken hour on a Sunday morning in the hope of getting a return on the final day of the final performance of the final production in the cycle. Looking around me at the motley crew of shivering, bleary-eyed groupies I was curious as to what it was about the whole Histories experience that elicited such devotion from each different person. So I started a bit of surreptitious prying. Of course, 99% of people’s response was primarily because it was just brilliant theatre; but, time after time, different people kept mentioning ‘The Blog’.
It was, and I (kind of) quote: entertaining; absorbing; had opened their eyes to different aspects of putting on the production, given them access to different views and voices involved that they wouldn’t normally have heard; revealed ‘inside stories’ of personal interest and whet their curiosity and appetites for more. In short; it engaged them, made them feel more of a part of something and encouraged them to keep coming back. Is this not what all arts organisations want for their audiences?..
Shortly after this revelation I ended up doing research on local arts-based blogs for some work here at Audiences Central; and this further changed my mind. My original objection with the Web being unsuitable for idea-based discussion was blown out of the water as I discovered that these blogs are, in fact, the perfect place for comment and opinion.
The very life-blood of a blog is discussion; opinion, comment and interaction. And far from being self-obsessed, a good blog constantly drawing attention to things outside of itself, invites comment and opens up a spectrum of different voices. They’re completely democratic, completely accessible and completely fuelled on subjectivity, experience and broad range of viewpoints – surely all the stuff of the Arts, n’est pas? Again we see that despite initially raised hackles, technology can be art’s friend. A good blog can engage audiences; get a buzz going, put forward different voices and spread the word in a way that perhaps hasn’t been seen before.
Providing, of course, that it is a good blog. A bad blog is, well, a bad blog. See earlier comments on torture by self-indulgent drivel.
(Oh, and in case you should be interested; we did get returns for the show in Stratford. And it was definitely worth getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday and queueing in the freezing cold for. But that’s another blog … )
Local creative blogs:
http://www.createdinbirmingham.com
http://www.birminghamitsnotshit.co.uk
http://www.podnosh.com/blog
http://joannageary.wordpress.com
RSC Histories blog:
http://www.rsc.org.uk/content/6527.aspx
Enjoy x
1 comment
a right riveting read ...
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