Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Spotlight
Wednesday
July 19, 2006
This whole online commentary experience that I've been taking part in for the past six plus years has been fun. But in the time since I started, the whole thing has becoming a worldwide phenomenon, with "blogging" (I still hate that word and its derivatives) becoming an activity performed by millions of people on a daily basis.
In some ways, it made the snobbo in me come out; at first I resented the idea that Johnny No-Brain could get a blogspot account, post a few lines of drivel, and be considered on the same level with what I do. Not that I have some sort of misguided or overly inflated feeling of accomplishment with this; I write on here for my own enjoyment, to communicate with whomever wants to take the time to read it, and I know that there are many other sites with content that may be funnier, or more focused, or more linear (or less linear) than mine. But, dammit, this is mine, which makes it unique.
I had to learn .html and do a great deal of experimenting with code to learn how to create a website, and I guess that on some level, it made me mad that the blogger trend-riders didn't have to pay their dues. In some way, I was kind of like a bitter old pro wrestler mad that the guys nowadays don't have to work 30 straight days on the road, or something like that.
Eventually, though, that feeling of sharing the spotlight with the millions (and millions) or others dissipated, and I was glad for there to be that many more voices out there to give their thoughts and opinions and feedback on the world in which they live and that which they experience. Because, ultimately, each person sees things just a little bit differently, and their description of an experience will be slightly unique from anyone else's. Moreover, the more voices there are online, the more outlets there are for the transfer of information, which can only be a good thing in a world that is much too much built on oppression of freedom and social institutions that wall in the very people which they claim to be liberating.
Still, the ego in me had to take a backseat. The whole "Did you know that Lou has a website?!?" craze ended some time ago, which is fine, but it was nice having that as a unique thing for so many years. But time and technology open more doors for more people, even those who can't teach themselves .html, and if that ultimately means that I'll have a chance to learn more, then I support it.
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