Wednesday, May 28, 2008

"Next Blog"

Sometimes when I ought to be doing something constructive, I'll push the "next blog" button at the top of this page (or from any other blogger site). I keep hoping I'll come across something interesting, even bookmark-worthy. Maybe become a reader of some blog originating from across the country or around the world. And I likewise hope that maybe somebody else out there is doing the same thing and will come across my little blog and become one of 23-or-so daily hits (the vast majority of which are people I know pretty well).

I know it's a big internet, so I'm not really surprised that my blog has never popped up from a "next blog" button-push. Nor have any of the blogs I frequent. But what amazes me is that I can sit at the screen and push the button 20 or 30 or 50 times and NEVER see anything remotely like my blog (or even my friends' blogs). First of all, I'd say over half are not in English. A huge number are just photos (usually artsy... although I should warn you if you want to try this at home, last time I did this one of the photos was a southerly view of a northbound Harley-Davidson, being ridden by an obese woman in a thong--needless to say, no bookmark there). Some folks have basically made online photo scrapbooks of their kids. But I'm not coming across people just writing stuff, least of all stuff I would characterize as thought-provoking.

Now, I'm not suggesting that everybody should blog about politics and economics and such. I realize there are (thankfully) not that many nerds of my caliber in the nerdosphere. But I would have thought I'd find some business insights, or sports, or religious musings, maybe some professor rambling on about his or her subject. So far, no luck. (I'll bet right now in some small town in Bangladesh, a blogger is writing, "I was looking for a decent Bangladeshi-language blog with pictures of cute kids and all that kept popping up is some guy writing in English about the electoral college and jogging!")

Anyway, if you have stumbled across this blog randomly, welcome. Apparently it is the only one of its kind on the entire internet.

3 comments:

bekster said...

Larry, I think one of you is quite enough for the entire Internet. *wink*

It does make one wonder, though, about what other people actually think about. Your experience with random blogs sounds very much like my experience in middle school/high school. I would bring up something that *I* thought was very interesting and thought provoking, but in return I would just receive blank stares (if not some form of active ridicule). I wanted to say, "my goodness, don't you people think?"

I thank God there is someone else out there with a brain in his head.

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Okay, I had this weird expereince when I first started blogging and I would obsessively hit the 'Next Blog' button........I stumbled upon an updated blog of a kid I knew from church that lives less than a mile away!

I thought that was pretty odd so I wrote a few randomly odd comments and I guess he didn't realize it was someone he knew because then he wrote a post about how this commenter (me) was stalking and hitting on him. Right. He was 17. I was 31...and married...and with kids...and Mormon....and knew his parents well.

elasticwaistbandlady said...

NO ONE blogs about the things I do. I know because that's what most of my commenters write.

That probably means I'm a freak show.