Friday Fun: Blogs Are Not Reality TV
11/04/2005
Blogs have been called "reality TV for the web." I'm not quite sure that's right. In the Psychology Today article, Why America Loves Reality TV, the authors claim, "The message of reality TV is that ordinary people can become so important that millions will watch them. And the secret thrill of many of those viewers is the thought that perhaps next time the new celebrates might be them."
Well, first most identity bloggers will never capture a readership of millions. Second, if readers yearn to start their own blog the barriers to entry are so low it's laughable. A Google search for <free blog platforms> brought up 27 Million pages.
All that said, people have a curiosity about people. In sharing their life's travels with the world identity bloggers tap into hearts and souls. In the stories they tell they connect with people on levels that are different than those of business blogs. Some stories are inspirational, some bring tears and some bring giggles.
However, common elements seem to be - a desire to share, to connect and to engage with other people. Elisa Camahort says that theatre blogs give you a back stage pass. Great line for identity blogs too...or any good blog!
Blogs like Dooce show us what it's like to be a new mom while Average Jane's and finslippy's writing makes a mundane day sound exciting. Too Sexy For My Hair bravely lets you and I experience the chemotherapy sessions that are helping Lori battle cancer. Multidimensional.Me tells about her life in the process of transition. Of course, the tales from the My Mom's Blog are always uplifitng. Time Goes By pulls no punches telling what it's like to get older in a young world.
What would you do if you came into a huge windfall? That's what happened to the blogger who calls herself "Windfall Woman." This Halloween she not only gave out candy but $10 gold coins... that's lots better than the chocolate mini bars I dropped into trick or treat bags. Which by the way I didn't get rid of and now have to hide the rest of the candy so I don't eat it.
WFW and I exchanged a few emails. After coming down from the initial shock of this "TREMENDOUS windfall" WFW set a couple of goals: 1. make sure people do not treat her differently and 2. make sure she does not squander her new found money. She guards her identity very jealously and few if anyone knows about her riches.
Blogging provides her with a way to share experiences, as well as, an emotional release. Do I think WFW is for real? I don't really know ... nor do I care. As she wrote to me, "Maybe people will find Windfall Woman's life interesting enough to continue to read about it." From the number of comments it seems lots of people do!
So Girlfriend, if you've missed Desperate Housewives or the Apprentice or American's Next Top Model or the latest re-run of Sex In The City ... it's almost Friday Fun cocktail hour ... shake up a dirty martini or a cosmo and dish a bit with some of the women of the blogosphere who are letting us in on a corner of their lives.
