The aesthetics of blogging
The other night we were hanging out with friends when the subject of blogging came up. A few of the people in the group have been blogging longer than I have even known what blogs were so I like to hear about their experiences and such. We got to talking about visiting each other's blogs when hannah (see her blog at huffmania) said she thought the layout of my blog was kind of erratic (my word, not hers, but it was something like that). I was interested in her observation because she is far more attuned to aesthetics than I am. In fact I am not attuned at all. She, on the other hand, is incredibly artistic and has a wonderful eye for things. All that to say, though I was not miffed about the comments at first, I did begin to think about them much more when I returned to my blog a couple of days later. I also visited some of my friends blogs to see what they looked like. By in large they have subdued colors and nice, small, tidy fonts. My blog, as you can see, does not. And, I suppose it may not have the inviting feel of other blogs, but I am sticking to the layout for several reasons. First, the blog (as most blogs) is supposed to represent the blogger, and I am messily organized (there is an organization to the blog, I swear). Second, the nature of the blog itself is meant to be "throwing out" random thoughts and reflections. EKBALLO is Greek for "I am throwing out." So the blog represents my personal style and the intended nature of the blog. Finally, I tend to be pretty subdued until I start talking about something that I am deeply interested in and then I become bolder and louder (kind of like the aesthetics of the blog). So I will keep throwing things out and letting the handful of people who take the time to read what I've written find their way around in the mess. I hope you do, and I hope you will take the time to comment. I love comments. I need feedback. Feedback forces me to think about what I've said or done, and consider the basis for it. So thanks hannah, your verbal feedback was much appreciated. Send more!
6 comments:
Chris, don't ever change.
i just showed hannah your blog using mozilla, and she says it looks way better than what she sees on her work computer. things get jumbled now that we all use a slew of different web browsers.
i do think your blog has "to throw out" written all over the style. so good work there.
by the way, i started my list of 100 movies to see yesterday on "trifles." check it out, if you want.
david informed me that my observations were very rude, i did not mean to offend in any way. i have this terrible habit of speaking before thinking. after reading your aesthetics i think it does fit you. i wish i knew some greek to put on my blog. it does look entirely different on my browser at work, maybe the filter or something. anyway, keep blogging my friend. if it means anything at all, i hate the way my blog looks and have been meaning to get up on some html and change mine to be mine.
"how woode!"
Chris, do you have any idea what these people are talking about? Mad men, I fear, old school gonzo bloggistas perhaps, but how do you suppose they stumbled on your efforts?
(Incidentally, I know some of these people and while they have a hard time communicating textually, and while their sense of humor isn't always, well -- accessible, I know that they mean well and are glad to see another blogger bloom. I myself have a dog named Molly Bloom, but that's another story best saved for a rainy day.)
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