Virginia Breeze

Who cares that you’re not writing a mass market newspaper? The point is not to show up on a list, the point is to start a conversation that spreads, to share ideas and to chronicle your thinking. That’s the work of an author, and I think rather than kissing author blogs goodbye, someone should just start a new list.

-Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/11/death-of-the-pe.html

I think that we are too wrapped up in lists sometimes.  I don’t use them very often.  And, as a consequence, I am not as organized as I could be. But I really like what Seth Godin says in this post about personal blogs. They are important even though they may not be the most popular blogs out there.

It may be more difficult to make a blog very successful if it is a personal blog. In the sense that it may take more hours of work to do it.  Maybe it takes  three years to make it very successful instead of two.   (When you buy a car do you worry very much about whether you get a two year loan or a three year loan?)

But I think it would be much more difficult to create and maintain a blog that is about news, sports or the latest electronic gadget.  That would be a job.

I like writing posts that have no defined beginning, middle and end before I write them. I like writing about what I feel and think but I also seek to merge with my reader’ s thoughts and feelings in some way.  It may not even be a conscious goal sometimes. But hopefully there is a conversation going on in some sense about something that interests us both in some way.  Even if there is no comment at the end of it.

Hopefully there is a conversation whispering its way through the wind.

I realize the results are uneven. Some posts are much less popular than others (this one?  Who knows. . .) But now we are starting down the path of lists again.  Wordpress Stats are (is?) a list.   Success may depend more  on who is on the other end.   Maybe there’s one person on the other end who really enjoys a particular thought.  It’s almost as if he or she looked up just in time to see a meteor streak across the sky.

Timing is everything.

What I think is really cool is that a post I wrote over a year ago could meet up with someone on the other side of the world tomorrow. And there could be a merging of the minds for about one minute and forty seconds.

Or maybe it will be a photo of a sunset. Hopefully this sort of thing brings us closer together. Hopefully it helps us understand that even in a world that holds billions of busy people we are still not numbers and we can be something more than a name on a very long list.   And we can watch a sunset together or, at least, a photo of one.

I have noticed that people I know or meet treat me differently if they have read my blog.  They seem more relaxed and open.  Apparently they have seen through the introverted shell I carry around.  It  is a  costume made out of numbers and it is sewn together with lists.

I’m so glad I found a way to go out in public without it.

Personal blogs will do well in the future because they are a conversation between casual friends.  But this conversation is open to strangers too.   They can listen in without feeling awkward.

I worried when I started blogging that I would make mistakes.  Now I see myself making mistakes every day and don’t care.  I don’t keep stats on them.  And my readers are kind enough not to point them out 99 percent of the time.

So on this Thanksgiving I give thanks for many things.  But in this space I would particularly like to remember and appreciate those who read blogs and encourage their authors.  You are helping your brothers and sisters to grow.

YOU are the meteors that streak across the sky.

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More Writing About Blogging

My good friend Robin at Naked In Eden : Ancient Memories in the Australian Rainforest wrote this about Virginia Breeze and its disorganized captain:

VIRGINIA BREEZE: http://davidnotes.com David’s blog has some of the most beautiful and cherished poetry I’ve read in a long time. It has moved me to tears on more than one occasion. If you enjoy heartfelt honest sentiments that speak of the core issues of our lives then grab a cup of tea, slow down and read some of David’s poems. They are written by someone who feels deeply and has an open heart. You will go away feeling like you know him. They are easy to understand and are mated with beautiful photos. My post this month was inspired by David’s poetry. His writing sets me free and encourages me to be authentic. He also writes about a variety of topics I find interesting, warm, real (and sometimes funny).

You can’t ask for anything better than this in the way of endorsements or morale building moments can you?

Robin is a treasure. Every once in a long while you meet somebody who you feel close to immediately and Robin is one of those people. There is a long list of readers who have fallen under her spell and I am one of them. Her writing is irresistible and she is funny, entertaining and brave.

That last quality I find very admirable. This fine lady lived in a rain forest and wrote a book about her life. Doing those kind of things requires courage.

If we are all unique then Robin is not afraid to share that uniqueness with the world. Why write a personal blog if you are not going to share something that your reader will not be able to read anywhere else? That’s my opinion about blogging and I find that Robin is the perfect example of somebody who does this extremely well.

I hope and pray she will always have time to stop by here for a few moments because I have grown very attached to her in a very short time. She motivates me to continue trying to become a better writer.

I hope you will take time to get to know her too. You won’t be sorry. I promise.

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Have you met someone while blogging you made you feel this way?

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If you have been here before you will notice that I have made a change. Again. This template is by Andreas Viklund. My blog at Wordpress.com is done by him and I like it a great deal. Andreas is at the top of the list of designers in my estimation. What does my estimation mean? Probably nothing to most people. Because it is not backed up by any technical training or education. I only began blogging three months ago. I can barely figure out how to load templates with Filezilla.

My estimation is based on the same thing as my photos and writing . Feelings that matter. Not transitory wisps of smoke. Maybe you could call them instincts. In any case I have eliminated all the clutter. There is no more RSS blinking on and off like a neon sign outside a boarding room. There is no more cloud tag. Nothing, hopefully, will distract from the photos and the writing.

I realized this afternoon that I was being influenced by ideas relating to profitable blogging. And they are great ideas but not for me. I rationalized that point by saying that I was trying to increase readership. And I will still try to do that. But I’m not so concerned with it that I sacrifice my poor attempt to achieve a level of artistic accomplishment .  I was trying to combine a personal blog with a photo blog. And that’s fine. But I also thought I could combine art with business. And I’m not talented enough to do all that. Especially when I’m trying to run a Wordpress.com and a Wordpress.org blog at the same time. It takes too much talent, time and effort for this fifty something year old guy with RLS to do.

So let’s concentrate on one thing and try to do it well. It won’t be easy. I have no illlusions about how far off the goal remains. What does art actually have to do with my life? My sense of humor? Day to day activities? With somebody like Andreas Viklund in my corner I hope and believe it is possible to discover some of the answers.

http://andreasviklund.com/

Posted by davidlind on August 27th, 2007

There are many things to look forward to this fall season. When we were kids we looked forward to the new programming on television. Things have changed of course and we no longer look forward to television of any kind. But there will soon be other things like dry air, colorful foliage, football and Thanksgiving. Younger children will be in school where they can begin to learn about Dick, Jane and aberrant human behavior.

One thing we do not have to look forward to, however, will be the countdown to the next election. I imagine that when we are less than one year from election day things are going to heat up. They are already pretty warm.

Our favorite candidates will be coming around looking for something. Normally we have to knock on several doors to reach them. And then we only get to see an assistant to the assistant. Now, suddenly, here they are standing next to us in the grocery store line holding a bag of socks!

Please, resist the temptation to tell them you cannot buy socks in a grocery store and you are aware that their assistant’s assistant must have given them the plastic bag they are carrying. Don’t suggest they went to the wrong store. They are skilled at seeming unperturbed (until they get back to their assistant).

And forget about sharing your solution to one of the world’s problems. They will smile. They will “listen”. You will feel like you have been heard. Suddenly you will feel like you have a new best friend.

Just pay for the groceries. Or, if you are thinking about starting a photo blog take a picture of the friendly fellow! Write about the experience in your personal blog. Find something in a mundane experience and “make it better” as the song goes.

That’s what I try to do. And I think it’s working.