Thursday, April 20, 2006

I'm Hooked on Blogging

Ohhhh yes, the emptying of all my frustrations into my blog, the ego boost from people reading what I write and actually saying nice things in comments. I can't get enough - it's like a drug. A bit of background:

I've been on the net since the early/mid 90s. Not the earliest of adopters but not a total n00b (oh yeah, check the 1337 speak - cool or what?) My obsession with spending time online has gone up and down and focused on different things over the years; IRC before the chat rooms went to hell, Usenet before it went to hell, online dating until I met the love of my life (that doesn't sound very angry, does it? Don't worry - the angry is coming).

The thing is, I hadn't found a new obsession in a while, my enthusiasm for the net was waning. The social networking sites never grabbed because, well, I hate other people. Then I thought I'd join Wikipedia. I like writing, I have some knowledge, it seemed like a good match.

Before I go any further, let me say this: there is a lot of crap spoken and written about Wikipedia, both for and against. My view is that the Wikipedia balance sheet shows much more on the positive side than the negative. Hell, Wikipedia is people acting with hardly any limits placed on them, with all the good and bad that implies.

At first I dived into a few topics I was interested in and was having fun. The problem is, it never really "grabbed" me and after a while I worked out why. Two conflicting tendencies in me were killing the experience. One - I'm a control freak (no surprises there). Two (and this may surprise some) - I don't like getting in passionate fights about something that doesn't really matter in the end.

Impulse one is well served by Wikipedia - you can write anything. You can write that George Bush is a twelve-toed mutant inbred who spends most of his time in the Oval Office rolling around in his own faeces. Despite the fact this is obviously true, anybody else can change your entry and then the fighting starts. Wikipedia is full of impassioned people who spend hours and hours toiling to maintain and improve it content, and more power to them.

At the end of the day I decided, pure and simple, I didn't care enough. So I stopped getting involved in constant article re-writes. And then finally, last month, I decided to dip my toe into blogging (why am I so late to these parties?) This is really working for me for three reasons:

One: I enjoy writing.

Two: I am attracting readers who are enjoying my writing and giving me good feedback (which feeds my rapacious ego).

Three: On this blog I AM GOD! My control freak nature can run riot.

So far I have only had one comment from a person who clearly didn't get what I'm doing. Everybody else seems to get the joke, which is something of a miracle considering how offensive and profane my writing often gets. I pity the fool who seeks to criticise me on my own blog - I'll tear them apart. An you know what? If you're smarter than me and can out-argue me in comments? I'm just going to delete what you write! Ha ha fucking ha.

All well and good you say, but where's the angry? We want our dose of angry. Spray your bile so we don't have to! I'm sure you can see I'm building a head of steam here.

One thing I do almost every day (besides blogging) is read Wired News. I'm a nerd, I work in IT and I find a lot of their reports interesting and occasionally useful for my work. Which is how I justify websurfing at work. Today there was a humourous piece on Wikipedia by Lore Sjoberg (I don't know how to put the thingy over the 'o' in this text editor).

I think this guy is funny. Consistently funny. And this is one of the best pieces written on Wikipedia that I have seen. By anybody. He successfully skewers the extreme arguments about Wikipedia, both the for and against. On top of that - it's funny! It's good to read funny things, life seems to suck less when you are smiling. Of course the predictable happens: Wikizealots rip into him for daring to question the perfection of their sacred tome and/or take the petulant route and say the piece was boring and/or stupid.

WHAT BIT OF "THIS IS A FUCKING JOKE" DO YOU NOT GET? Jeebus on toast! Some of the responses were so stupid that I started to suspect they were some subtle, elaborate, post-modern, ironic joke and they were actually parodying knee-jerk response rather than really being upset.

Also, I never understood post-modernism so shut the hell up if you are thinking of telling me that the above is not remotely post-modernist.

Anyway, to summarise: if you can't accept any criticism of what you are doing without lashing out, then there is probably something deeply wrong in what you are doing. Also, if you can't take a joke: fuck off and die.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I would have loved to be around for the commentor who didn't get what you are about...is it archived?
That would be fun.

Mr Angry said...

Hi Evi,
You can see the comment here:
http://angryaussie.wordpress.com/2006/04/09/the-tipping-point/#comments
from a weenie who called himself "Rick" but would link to his own blog. And there you will stumble on my secret. I am maintaining this blog in both Wordpress and Blogger while I decide which I prefer.

Blueprincesa said...

The thing about postmodernism is this: If you don't understand it, it's probably postmodern. Anybody who thinks they can explain postmodernism is probably full of shit. My professors have been talking about it for years, and I've been writing papers on it and getting A's but I still don't really fucking know what it is.

Niels said...

I read a 666-page long book that was postmodern VERY recently. If you ask me, it's just fricking weird.

And... viva Blogger! The word blog is in it.

Unknown said...

Rick says...
Additionally, it seems to me it would have been easier for my forebears to have gotten the whole English language thing more properly correct, to your standards in any case, had they been more reliably and regularly educated and not constantly surrounded by similarly limited persons from every imaginable culture each mangling their adopted version of English in their own unique way.
...'more properly correct' ...
...have I ever mentioned how I hate redundancy? Oh...I probably am myself redundant at times but it just really annoys me that he is trying to make a point for education in regards to the english language...uh...he swells with authority doesn't he?

Mr Angry said...

Blueprincessa: I like that definition - if I don't understand it, it's post-modern. Suddenly I feel like an expert in post-moderninsm (considering the number of things I don't understand).

Niels: I dunno about post-modern but I'd be wary of a 666 page book - you sure it wasn't Satan's autobiography?

Evi - yes, he left himself quite open, I could have been way harsher on him. The funny thing is, he knew I was talking about him in this post and responded. He's still reading so I guess he can't be all bad.

Anniina said...

Hey,

I totally get you, and you inspired my own angry rant in a post just an hour ago. So rock on, Mr. Angry. I get a kick out of your Blog.

~A

Anniina said...

Oh, and loving the new picture, BTW - you look positively maniacal :P

Mr Angry said...

Thanks Anniina -and your angry rant is awesome! Seriously, if you're reading this follow this link to check it out:
http://alaydhien.blogspot.com/2006/04/beliefs-in-bush-era.html
And I'm glad you like the pic. I snapped it in one of my quieter moments.

Anonymous said...

You are very funny Mr Angry, especially in your "quieter moments" as shown in your photo.
I bet your therapist is pleased you have found an outlet for all that anger!

Mr Angry said...

Hi Eva, I believe my therapist is now recommending bloggin to all clients because of my success. And I'm glad you like the photo - I didn't even use any effects one the pic. That's how photos of me always turn out.

Maria said...

The first time I used the Internet was when I was 11, which was in 1998. It didn't take me long to get hooked to it and pester my parents into signing up for broadband/cable connection a few years later.

Mr Angry said...

*sigh* I still don't have broadband but I've decided it's past time. Broadband has only recently reached affordable levels in Australia.

Hey, maybe I should start a podcast when I get broadband? I wonder if people would want to listen to me screaming?