blogging in circles
lately i am struck with the sense that the web is a giant hamster wheel. the crop of sites i visit regularly send me along enjoyable but repetitive paths. each site eventually linking to the same content, the same stories, the same art, as well as back and forth to one another. it seems in my vast online travels i have not managed to truly break out of what must in fact be a relatively small (in web terms) community of semi-like-minded individuals.
the bloggie nominations are out and unfortunately i don’t see evidence of the benefits nominees tend to self consciously advertise, namely being introduced to new sites. the nominees tend to be sites the community at large are already happily familiar with, hence their nomination.
blog and site aggregators have lots to offer certainly, but they are so expansive in most cases i can’t devote the time that would be necessary to mine the gems. usually the best resource for new discoveries are link lists offered by the sites i already frequent, but then, these sites are usually just nodes of the the larger circle. bringing us back to the same content, the same stories, the same art, etc…
as a result of all this i’m finding meta-blogging more and more difficult. i’m reticent to continually post content already making the rounds, i mean once its on boingboing i have to assume everyone has already seen it. as much as i’d love to post endless digital reams of well thought out, cogent, original content that’s usually a tough proposition after a long days work and larger nonist projects, though always moving forward, are slow going. meta-blogging is a necessity as much as it is an enjoyable diversion. truthfully though i’m finding my personal digital landscape a bit stale.
a recent surge in traffic here, thanks in main to preshrunk and boingboing, has opened up a few new avenues to be sure. we’ve got new members, more visitors, and through them i’ve found some great sites. as such i thought i’d solicit everyone here to help lift my digital malaise and in so doing improve the nonist. formally, in a manner befitting our fine readership:
dear nonists and nonist-related-activity-readers:
february, cruelest month of all, approaches swiftly. ice, stabbing wind, and agoraphobia will likely keep your nonist super-admin homebound in all instances when braving the mailman mastered elements is at all avoidable. for though i do indeed parcel out joy and junk to the best of my ability, i am no mailman you see. trips to secure sustenance will be short and direct. the path to work each morning will follow the pre-ordained subway route with precious little meandering. in short, i will spend the better part of each day inside and in front of a computer screen.
yes! yes. i can hear those in the know grumbling their complaints, “but you always spend the better part of each day inside in front of a computer screen.” to them i say- for god’s sake shut it. to god, for whose sake they should shut it, i say- forgive them father, they know not that their grumbles undermine the drama of my dramatized plea.”
what can bring warmth into our frozen homes? what can bring those in snowy climes together? what can dent the malaise of the 672 hour sunday which is february. i contend daily portions of exquisitely crafted web content, gathered lovingly from the four corners of the globe, might just supply that warmth. to wit: my plea.
please help this jaded netizen regain his sense of net-wonder. “but jaime, how can i help?” you ask. it’s so easy good nonists, readers, and lurkers. where as sally struthers intones “for little more than the price of a cup of coffee a day, you can help send poor enricho to school” i’ll go one better. for little more than the price of the free sugar packets you snatch up in piles and bring home for later use you can help get me through the winter. one link isn’t much to the average net surfer, but it can mean so much to the spiritually impoverished blogger.
so i ask you to share. share your must reads, your old favorites, your guilty pleasures. share your wells and your troves. open the web beyond the sweetly suffocating tarp of boingboing and slashdot, metafilter and monkey filter, gizmodo and endgadget, kottke and waxy, gravity lens and memepool, fark and something awful, airbag and coudal, sterling and ellis, disinfo and alternet, help broaden this web surfers horizons and expand the circle of self reflective content. wont you please? if you refuse the cold chill of a housebound february may lead to extensive posting on the magical properties of kitten fur.
sincerely yours-
jaime morrison.
so there you have it. i’m bored and want new sites to check out. hook me up yo! what is everyone else checking out? enjoying? reading voraciously? giggling at? any under represented blogs? any tech, science, art, philosophy, lit, music, goodies i don’t know about? post them in comments. and hell, plug your own site while your at it, why not? (especially regulars since i don’t have a proper blogroll) the more the merrier.
Read Less...
I’ve had this same feeling. Occasionally, I break out of this trap by producing my own content, and researching topics that interest me.
posted by
MrBaliHai on 01/28 at 06:04 PM
agreed mrbalihai, that is the way to superior blogging. i’m in the middle of a couple of projects but they are very time consuming. no time for researching at the moment. meta-blogging is a necessary (and fun) evil… plus i want to see what everyone else is into at the moment. p.s. i loved those heironymus bosch figurines you found!
posted by
jmorrison on 01/28 at 06:16 PM
Yes, it’s time-consuming all right, and sometimes there’s no immediate payoff for all the work you put into it. But like all creative endeavors, you do it because you feel compelled.
Those Bosch figures are kind of like fine-art kitsch, aren’t they?
posted by
MrBaliHai on 01/28 at 06:53 PM
yeah, i actually had my bosch book out a couple days earlier hoping to find some inspiration, when i came across those figures i just had to laugh. such a cool idea. since this post was meant for sharing, here’s the link so everyone can see. i linked to mrbalihai’s site eye of the goof since he lists some other goodies as well.
o.k. folks… where are those links, it’s cold outside! brrrrrrr.
posted by
jmorrison on 01/28 at 07:11 PM
hey! speaking of same content i just realised it was you i stole the michael wolf idea from eee! :/ and my original intention was to say i had linked you at robotcult.com
posted by
nicholas on 01/28 at 11:52 PM
hey, thanks nicholas. robotcult looks promising, as does 11evele. i feel like i’ve seen your characters before… why?
posted by
jmorrison on 01/29 at 12:14 AM
What cool Bosch figures!
I too run in the same circles a bit, but who has time for the whole world?
posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/29 at 12:57 PM
Welcome to the club of depressed bloggers looking for quality content! Almsot everyday I curse the web (and myself) for the endless circle of digital recycling. Although we have now the greatest and coolest tools available to CREATE something, all we seem to do is to cling to the same stuff over and over again.
It is very hard to find something/anything out of the mainstream loop of news and topic recycling. It is even harder to find people who have their own opinion(s) and who are capable of expressing them.
It get’s really hard to find anything new, interesting or inspiring on the www. What a shame - but it is the truth.
Creating something simply takes a lot of time - and time seems to have disappeared in an ever fast world of content. Neither Picasso nor Da Vinci cranked out what great idea/painting per day. I guess we are all too hungry - wanting more and more cool stuff even faster and even more amazing.
I would say our senses are in overkill mode and already hard to excite.
posted by
orangeguru on 01/31 at 05:52 AM
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