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| John Barrymore as Hamlet, 1922 |
The action moved to Facebook and other social media like Twitter. Though I have a Facebook account, because my family and friends are there, once I check in, I spend far too much time at the site when I should be doing other things. As for Twitter, I tried it, and I was in and out within a couple of hours. It's definitely not for me.
In any case, blogging is hard work, and my store of energy seems to be on the wane...at least for now, so I'll probably be writing and posting less.
I should add that dithering Hamlet is not among my favorites of Shakespeare's characters.
Summer's a comin'. We should all spend more time outside.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is an incredible medium --but so very different than blogs, not really comparable. I like the greater intimacy of blogs... As to not commenting... well.... !!!
I like the greater intimacy of blogs...
DeleteI do, too margaret, and you do comment. :-)
It's quality that brings me here, not quantity. So blog as much or as little as you wish. I gave up active blogging when I realized I really didn't have much to say that I thought was worth saying--or at least, saying at blogpost length.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that the hoops Blogger seems to make us go through have made me less apt to comment. Logging in at Wordpress just to comment is a pain, and at Margaret's I seem to have a fifty fifty chance of making it through the spaminator.
Kishnevi, thank you. I've said before that I'm giving up, but I find that sooner or later, mostly sooner, I have some thing I want to say. I drive myself with the idea that I must post every day, and I don't, except by my own assignment, so I need to let the idea go.
DeleteI had to disallow anonymous comments after Blogger permitted too much spam to get through. I may try again to open the comments to those who post as anonymous but sign a name.
I'm afraid I'm one of those awful people who, while I may not always comment, when one of my "regular" blogs fails to post new entries, will post on the most recent entry, in order to nag.
ReplyDeleteDo whatcha gotta do, Mimi, but I'll miss you if you're gone (very long).
JCF, you're not awful at all, and you do comment. I find that I comment less and less on other blogs, because I read them on RSS feed. I'd guess many others do the same. I also need to get over the idea that the numbers of those who read will appear in the counters. The counters don't agree, because I believe some pick up clicks from smartphones, while others do not.
DeleteI've learned that if I can make you laugh, you'll post something.
ReplyDeleteUnless, of course, your sense of propriety forbids.
Exactly, Paul (A.). Of course, when I publish your jokes and cartoons, I consider I'm not really doing the work of blogging. And not everything you send is appropriate for my family-friendly blog, so I enjoy those laughs in private. :-D
DeleteIt's also this quiet reader who reads and digests what you have to say and appreciates what you do on this blog, even if we don't (usually) voice our approval or disapproval. Your voice, and humor, is much needed.
ReplyDeleteEd, thanks. As I said, I need to grasp the idea that people read and don't comment, as I do myself, as well as free myself from thinking that I must post every day, even if I have nothing particular that I want to say.
DeleteEd speaks for many of us. While my comments on any of my favorite blogs are rare, I enjoy reading and sharing my comments and thought with my wife of nearly 58 years. Your writing, your indignation, your humor are all an important part of our life. Everyone needs a little rest from the daily grind of work...but don't leave us totally!
ReplyDeleteCarol/Dave, congratulations on 58 years together. You're ahead of us by 6 years.
DeleteI'm not likely to go away completely. I just need to stop being such a hard taskmaster on myself.
i've not checked in with Twitter, and my experience would likely be like yours.
ReplyDeleteWhen blog posts are linked to Facebook, I seem to tend to post there when my comment is pithy, but then head to the blog post when a longer response is required. Unfortunately, that means the "conversation" gets divided.
KJ, I believe you would not care for Twitter. The flood of tweets that came in overwhelmed me. I would have had to do a work of major organization to stem the tide, and I didn't see why I should bother.
DeleteI'm thinking now of keeping the blog separate from Facebook, and I must discipline myself to spend less time on FB. It's fun to have conversations with family and friends there, but time gets away from me, and I get behind in real life.
Thanks everyone for your comments to the post.
ReplyDeleteYour blog posts are provocative, entertaining, varied, and always enjoyable, Mimi. As you know, you and I often don't see eye to eye, but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy and appreciate what I find here. And I'm grateful that blogging made us friends; my life would be the poorer if I didn't know you (if only through the medium of Cyberspace).
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I'm losing energy for frequent blogging too. I found that when I did my 'Random Lent Thoughts' on Facebook, I got way more comments than I ever did on my blog. I find that I check blogs much less frequently now. And I also find that I often appreciate those who post less frequently, such as my good friend Reed Fleming (http://reedfleming.com), who posts once a week on Fridays. regular as clockwork.
Whatever you decide to do, I'll be glad to read what you have to say!
Thanks, Tim. I think we agree more than we disagree on the important stuff. Like you, I've made so many great friends because of the internet. I wish I liked FB's format more; it's so busy. Still, once I'm there, I don't know when to leave. It's a paradox.
DeleteI think we agree more than we disagree on the important stuff
DeleteYes, I think so too. I'd like to think that if anyone can pray the prayers in the BCP without crossing their fingers behind their back, then we 'agree on the important stuff'!
If you didn't blog, I would have never "met" you, and my whole New Orleans vacation would have been a less knowledgeable/pleasurable experience.
ReplyDeleteMy point is that you never know the ripples you send out through blogging and who you might touch. Which is different than FaceBook which is only accessed through a rather closed system of pre-approved "friends."
I don't think you need to set a mandatory standard of how often you blog, but I always find something to learn or smile at when you do post something. I do hope you continue, at whatever pace is comfortable.
8th day, you are right, of course, and I'm so pleased I was able to be of help with recommendations for your visit to New Orleans.
DeleteI'm my own hard taskmaster, and I need to let up on myself.
Well, I, for one, am not ashamed to take the totally selfish position here. : )
ReplyDeleteAfter the communities at Father Jake's place and OCICBW migrated elsewhere you and Margaret are the last of a few connections I still have to the Episcopal Church and boy, what a great connection you both are! I hate Facebook and deleted my account about a year ago. It was just too invasive. And I did the same with my Twitter account, with which I made one whole tweet in two years. Ease up on yourself June -- you don't need to post every day. When you do post I will still be here reading though. May God bless your blogging.
PS I hate to see blogging die out. It's been such a nice, communal activity that still feels intimate to me. Facebook is like standing in the public square because everyone is watching and listening and commenting and Twitter is like someone on speed who never shuts the f- up. I guess I'm getting old, LOL.
Brian, thank you. My heart is in blogging the way it could never be in Facebook. If it weren't for the people there, I would close out my account. I don't like being at the mercy of Zuckerberg and his geeks and the ever-increasing invasion of privacy - what little there is left.
DeletePlease don't mistake a lack of comments for a lack of readership.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog (and a couple others) several times a week, but comment maybe once a month.
Your blogging is valued!
Thanks, David and John. Not after this thread will I mistake fewer comments to mean that people are not reading. I'd have no credibility whatsoever. ;-)
DeletePlease DO NOT EVER quit blogging. Life would be severely diminished without you dear heart and gentle person.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I hear you, dear friend. Now I don't dare quit for fear of dire consequences. :-)
DeleteDire indeed. You could end up getting a cloth cloak and a wooden staff. Better that you should have the silk cloak and golden staff. Humor is good along with generosity of heart, mind and spirit which I never fail to find on your blog.
DeleteI told that joke to my Baptist neighbor and he is busy rehearsing it to give his preacher a good leg-pull tomorrow. My neighbor is very nice but I haven't seen him really, really laugh very often. Cheers to Paul (A.).
Bonnie, I'd be more comfortable with the cloth coat and wooden staff.
DeleteThe joke is ecumenical, indeed.
It is and deliciously funny. For my part, hopeful that I'll be putting on a long white robe.
DeleteI only found your blog a couple of months ago and truly enjoy it. I hope that you are able to find a blogging schedule that fits this current season a little better. I love to read your voice. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kat. As you see from my several posts today, I have not quit, although I took the day off yesterday.
DeleteI refuse to join Facebook for several good philosophical reasons, not least of which is I have more relatives I'd rather avoid than hear from. Blogging is a pleasant pastime for me - like Auden said about poetry, it doesn't change anything, but sometimes it's nice to get things off your chest, and then move on. But I enjoy your blog very much, hope you will continue in a way that makes you happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Russ. As you see, I have continued blogging. I need the outlet, but I'm trying not to put pressure on myself to post when I have nothing to say.
DeleteWhat you said about Facebook is true about certain family members. One nephew has already unfriended me. He could have hidden my timeline, and I'd never have known. So it goes. I expect that one day I may be annoyed enough by the constant changes in privacy settings by Zuckerberg and his geeks that I will take the exit.