Day 2; Initial Insights to Blogging; Has my perception changed?

I have survived the creation of a primitive blog with the help of templates and such. I do not think, however, that I will survive the exploration of blogs. It almost feels like I've opened Pandora's Box. Each author has a style, and purpose to their blog. Whether it be to share everything about them, or to search for recipes, investigate a topic, to provide historical facts and information, for political gain, advertising, lobbying and the list goes on. Navigating from one blog to the next has been easier than I anticipated. By using the "Blogs I follow" from a blog you are on currently, you can just keep going and going. One thing is certain...... I am definitely a novice in the design portion. There are some incredible use of graphics, photography, color and such. And while those aesthetics are impressive, the intent, the words, and their message are what intrigues me.

I found it fascinating that there are some people so willing to put themselves out there. I mean, every little detail and tons and tons of personal pictures. While I realize this can be a handy way to share with family and friends afar, it felt a little eerie to me that any stranger could have access to so much information about my life. But then..... it started to remind me of the fascination with the multitude of reality series these days. Its like people are compelled to tell their life story to anyone who will "listen." I suppose this could be cathartic, and much cheaper than psychotherapy! But do I really want to know this much about other people?

Then I stumbled upon different types of blogs. I was intrigued by a title; Capital Taps that lured me in with "Beer Talk." I do appreciate my beer, and heaven knows that the great Pacific Northwest is a great place to dabble in tasting all of the wonderful different microbrews out there. But it turned out to be a rather dull history lesson (in my opinion).

I found a connection with someone who blogged about the TV series Mad Men. If you haven't seen this show, you are missing the boat! I think part of my attraction to this series is its' integrity about keeping it a true period piece. The show centers around the goings on of an advertising agency when ad agencies were the up and coming thing (early 60's). When I think of how things have changed in advertising since their early beginnings, it is mind blowing. Oh, how I digress......

Then I realized, you know, I have sought out blogs prior to this. But these were sports blogs where you could follow a live blog of a game. As an avid sports fan I found these types of blogs helpful as I can not be in two places at one time and I just had to know how the game was going.

While doing some orientation/training work for my job I stumbled upon a blog that briefly talked about the barriers to online learning. According to this author there are currently 20 million students involved in some type of online learning.There is even a council on the topic; North American Council on Online Learning (NACOLI). Mind blowing!

So here I am, spending way too much time reading all of these blogs, but I can't stop. I can see how this could be addicting. Oh..... just one more, please. If I really got carried away, I would reply to most of them as they entice me in with their banter and clever pose.

In summary I will comment on change, in keeping with my theme. So, has my perception of blogs or blogging changed? Sure it has. When one gathers more information and has a personal experience with something it is inevitbale. I find it more appealing than I thought I would but I am not totally sold on it. There are many layers yet to discover and I have some stock in the value of face to face communication.

I was thinking about change today in these terms: If I change my name, does that change who I am? If I change my hair color, does that change who I am. If I change my address, does that change who I am? If I change my sex, does that change who I am? If I change my religious beliefs, does that change who I am? Tricky questions, huh?