Apart from being sexist, narcissistic, ageist, technophobist, and other such labels that I read last week [none my own, by the way, before you start gusset-spinning], burloguing is a diverse thing. Even in the religious-stroke-Christian-stroke-Anglican sphere, it is a many splendoured thing. (Please allow a moment for the harps, lyres, timbrels and lutes to finish their embellishments).
Well, it struck me over the Festive Period (needless capitalisation?) that this pastime has its own spirituality. Further, a blog-debate ensued over the course of the last few days that seems to have added to that notion in my tiny mind, at least.
As a 'stats person', I read numbers. They speak to me, man. So, I know that when I publish a post on a normal given day, that a normal given number of normal given people will read the normal given post. On occasions, I will tread on a toe, spit in an eye, or knee in the balls with my words (often quite unintentionally) and would then see spikes in numbers. During a period of communal vacation (as Christmas is for a lot of people, who take more time off than in normal weeks) there was a distinct lull in visits to this site, and two others under my own jurisdiction. This suggested to me that the reading of blogs takes place more in the workplace, or during 'working hours' - and if I am right in that, it is important. Once the holiday season was ended, numbers returned to former levels. If I am right, why is it that people read blogs at work? What does that say about the implicit spirituality of blogs? If this is the case, and in line with church life as a whole, should blogs be attentive to the working lives of its readers, not just the bit of them that finds expression for an hour on a Sunday? (My standard line on people and work is that we know that Jesus was a carpenter, his trade, even when know little else about him as a human - so trade/work life is important to who we are.) These are questions as yet without answers.
Last week taught me too, that there is a 'sisterhood' in blogging. Since a debate that commented on the (alleged) minority status of female bloggers took place, a plethora of women have spoken on the subject in their blogs (and not men, excluding me, if I count). It clearly resonated. I wonder if a blog post was written about male bloggers, whether a procession of boy-bloggists would champion its cause? I sense not.
A casual look across followers-lists (which are only partially representative) suggests to me that blogs are read more by women, female bloggers more so. This is perhaps inevitable as we only read what feeds and edifies us, though Dear Reader, I am again wondering why you are here with me now. Nutter! In short, if we didn't focus on just blog-writers, but paired down the people involved at both levels, writing and reading, I believe that the majority would be female. Is blogging therefore an art that has a more female spirituality? Again, a question without an answer.
I have not yet read a post or article on blog-spirituality. Writers will be quick to tell you why they write, and it is for selfish reasons with tinges of altruism. I have no problem with that. But the art as a whole must have a spiritual dimension. Why did people start reading blogs in the first place? Are followers following because of the momentum of the cyber-age? Do people want spirituality dished up outside of organised religion (though if that is the case, why are the ordained read so much?)
So many questions, all wonderfully deep and all beautifully interesting. This post is a note-pad for thoughts, not a proclamation on the subject. Thoughts, people?
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