Contemplations on Blogging

I'm glad to have spent time exploring the blogosphere this term. I've encountered many interesting blogs where people are seemingly posting thoughts/perspectives that are truly worth contemplating. Blogging is a great way to catch a glimpse into different modes of thinking and being that I know I would not necessarily have access to otherwise, so this is very good. That said I have seen plenty of what I would deem as junk. I'm not suggesting that this is a fault or symptom of the medium though as there is certainly a mix of good and junk on TV as well. Anyway, Richard commented this week on how time consuming blogging can be. I agree wholeheartedly with that as I have a tendency to actually follow links and can get lost for hours after which, I am hard pressed to be able to identify what of value I had just read/accomplished.

So I come back to context and audience. Why are bloggers posting in the first place? Is it to start a dialogue or simply publish thoughts via an online journal? The answer to this question then determines whether or not the author has a specific audience in mind or not. I still think that there are great uses for blogging, but as with most things, it is a tool that should be used to support/encourage a process, not act as the process. I read another post here where Drew seems to be contemplating something similar.

Lastly, I am pondering relationships and how far we can really go in creating authentic relationships without the benefit of physical presence (i.e. touch). I really appreciated our class discussion on this last week, and am finding myself researching more on this topic. I hope to share some findings on this in the last weeks of class. For now, this blogger needs to have some physical contact/presence in order to fully appreciate and experience the relationship. For me as I think ahead to my ministry, I hope that my heightened awareness of the importance of the physical, is something that I remain mindful of when counseling to my parishioners.