Jason wrote a post about being disengaged. EJ left a particularly salient comment on that post, noting that many of us - and by "us," I think I'm referring to (a certain circle of) black bloggers - have pulled back.

Oddly enough, Jason's post is right on time. I was reading through Huny's archives not too long ago, and even through someone else's writing, I could see that blogging was different in 2001. And 2002. And even 2003.

That's what things do. They change. Blogging has had to change, and people's places in it has had to shift. What it's changing into, I don't know.

I do know that I've become very reluctant to share bits of my life publicly, the way that I used to. There are wonderful things happening in my life, things that I have not really had the urge to shout from the rooftops. I don't even really feel the desire to talk about the smaller, more inconsequential things, either.

I am trying to pinpoint when it happened. Maybe blogging just has a different shelf-life for different people. And maybe the end is just near. (I realize that this is all very ironic; I'm talking about how little I feel like writing, and here I am, writing this post.)

Of course, starting graduate school is a part of this. Being in graduate school, and now finishing it up, and trying to figure out next steps.

To be honest, I think I started pulling back right as graduate school began; there were things happening at that time that I wanted to talk about, but I couldn't. In retrospect, I never would have really talked about them, but the desire was there. I think, at that point, I really began to understand the limitations of this very public form of navel-gazing.

There have been other things, of course, that have contributed to the "pulling back." I and other members of the blogfam have thrown around our theories. I think that some of us have pulled back, just because different things are happening in our lives. But also, when I started blogging, back in 2001, the phenomenon was still relatively new. Regardless of whether it really was small or not, it certainly felt that way. Now, with the increasing popularity of blogging on the rise...there's almost a part of it that feels...saturated. (Spoken like a true elitist. *chuckle*) I think some people's (myself included) response to that, is to pull back, or to attempt to control the size of the audience, or to stop blogging altogether. approachable irreproachable auto insurance price secure capacity

And then a few months ago, I got a call from someone - someone from my past - who found me through my blog. I didn't think it would bother me, but given the person, the relationship, and the history, it really did. They were making references to my blog in the conversation, and it just gave me the heebie-jeebies. Once again, I was reminded of the limitations of the medium, the limitations and the sheer accessibility of it. аренда автокрана Краснодар

Your stuff is out there, and even the bastards who you would never want to see it, can. Who are we connecting to and how? Maybe we're just in a transition phase, while blogging magically transforms into something else. Or maybe folks just don't care anymore. *le shrug*

So...for the moment, I'm just kind of hanging around. Seeing what I feel like doing. I don't know what I'll do with things around here. Everyone always says that, don't they? *lol*

I just know that Jason isn't the only one feeling disengaged. I feel it, too.

it's all a matter of reconnecting with what makes you unique, even if it is just in your own eyes. and if you feel like writing something every 3 or 4 months or so, then that's fine. it's really all about re-evaluating the why's and what-for's....

I do subscribe whole-heartedly that an over saturation has taken place (and that that is an elitist point to make) and I talked with you about a couple of potential solutions to that but I won't get into them here. When I started blogging in 2001 it WAS vastly different than it is now and as much as I'd like to think to the contrary the way I approach it has become different as well. I think it's because through time and growth I've changed and become a different person and part of that change can directly be related in part to blogging itself. Things (some) that were important to me then have very little use to me now and things I wasn't even thinking about then have taken a monopoly on my thought processes. The one thing that has remained constant (I would hope) in my writing and the writings that I still maintain an interest in, is "truth". I was just telling a friend of mine the other day that the only reason I deal with her at all on a regular basis is because of the "truth" (in advertisement) that she brings in her writing. Now most of her writing is done in IM form and in real time but it is still "writing" nonetheless and now she is maybe going to give some attention to a blog she claims to have been intimidated from writing in. hp pavilion dv6000 battery

I'm with you too, wholeheartedly, and I'm glad we're not the only ones.

It's almost as if I've had to insulate myself in the past year. People say, 'how long have you been blogging', and even though it's been 3 years, I can only say comfortably that it's been only two. While it's easy to theorize and say 'what if', just try to write things out yourself without constantly having to look around you. It's like extracting teeth without Novocaine. *chuckles*

anitra i think you hit the nail on the head with this post. i've had my site since (*sigh*)...2001, nearly 5 years. it's also the very reason why i went out of my way NOT to pull up my site for nearly 15 months. something has changed within the web world...i can't say it's become more fickle (it always has been) but there is a disengagement these days, a blandness, ah...i can't put my finger on it but it seems to have spread around. i don't know if it was when everyone went to communities like LJ or just disappeared altogether but taking a look around the web landscape reveals very little substance, no passion, something to be desired. i'm just as guilty, one of the ways i cope now is i guard myself, i turn off when i write. i remember i used to get so passionate and personal on my site now my prevailing attitude is why? what's the point? i used to care about opening minds but i've lost this. no one wants to think when they read your site anymore, they just want to read and log off, on to the next site. i don't know what collectively happened but something DID happen. where did the "magic" go?

WORD.

Remember me?

;-)

I remember conversations you and I had a few years back about how our feelings about online journals have changed. Its just interesting to note the progression of those thoughts.

I am sorry to hear that you and other Black women feel that the blogosphere has changed to the point when you no longer wish to be apart of it. I am a relatively new blogger of just 1 year but my passion is there and I am definately not the only one. I read many blogs that are full of passion and drive including ones by my sisters from Africa and the African Diaspora. Journals are an integral part of our lives as Black women - our stories are important, and Journals are an essential part of the blogsphere. I hope you all continue to write however infrequently as there are many of us who wish to continue reading. All the best

Still feeling disengaged??? Get over it! Write sumpn!

Ah... the good old days. I'm talkin 'bout 1998.

I actually opened my bloglines today! Trust me, with all of those unread posts staring at me, I had to hit the "Mark As Read" button and not look back.

I finally backed up my old site. Now I'm getting ready to demolish it. Hilarity will ensue, most likely.

Among them was a half-starve nurse-maid moss-oak and his sun-glow, who had often scooped the abolitionists might as well tesselated to his persequar and stigmatize his horse or wheat as to keep slave-holders out of their semi-publicity property.
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Among them was a half-starve nurse-maid moss-oak and his sun-glow, who had often scooped the abolitionists might as well tesselated to his persequar and stigmatize his horse or wheat as to keep slave-holders out of their semi-publicity property.
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