Wikipedia (because I'm lazy and don't want to actually look it up from a credible source) defines manifesto as a public declaration of principles and intentions. Why do I feel the need to create a manifesto for my initial blog entry that will be read by handfuls upon handfuls of people? Well, the term manifesto makes me, and consequently this blog, sound official. The Declaration of Independence is considered a manifesto. Karl Marx published The Communist Manifesto and Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf is considered the Nazi Bible. What? You mean I shouldn't aspire to be like Marx or Hitler? You're, of course, correct, but the point is this - the word manifesto grabs people's attention. For some reason we're (at least I obviously am) attracted to things like the word manifesto. It just looks cool.
When setting up this very blog I came to a section where I was forced to choose a template for how my blog should look. Should I go with plain white? Black? Polka dots? Who cares? It's what I write that's important, right? Well, yes and no. Who wants to read a post in plain white that looks like something an English professor penned? Can't you just visualize an anal, uninteresting, pseudo-intellectual douchebag choosing plain white? I can. Fuck plain white. What about black? That seems a bit too emo for my taste. I don't want to come across as a guy who may Kurt Cobain himself at any moment. Polka dots? Seems like the standard choice for 13 year old Twilight fans. Surprisingly, that isn't me. Sure, I'm dealing in stereotypes and generalizations, but that's kind of the point. With something as impersonal as a blog, a reader who has no clue who you are and only knows you from reading what you write is inevitably going to fall back on things such as stereotypes. It's perfectly natural. I want to try to avoid that with this here bloggy.
While style can be expressed in almost every way imaginable, stressing it's importance over the nuts-and-bolts, inner workings of anything dilutes whatever you happen to be dealing with. Style isn't irrelevant - it's purpose is to attract. Once you get past that initial attraction, however, a lack of substance leaves a hollow, shallow feel. Hopefully, this blog is able to walk the fine line between the two.
In other words - READ MY BLOG!
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I very much enjoyed the attempt to make your bloggings official while downplaying the purpose or importance of what it is you plan to say with the blog. Obviously you feel the things you have to say carry some value. Otherwise, you would not have started a blog. And obviously I feel that the things I have to say regarding the things you have to say also have value. Otherwise, I would not be commenting. The popularity and influence of Seinfeld most certainly comes from the fact that all of the nothings discussed over the course of the show actually mean something to most everyone who watches - they entertain with an exaggerated realism that touches anyone with any kind of sense of humor. I also find the very mention of Seinfeld to be to the same purpose of writing a manifesto, and calling it a manifesto. It gives you credibility and catches the eye on a universal level - a level that you perhaps someday hope to reach, as I am sure most do.
ReplyDeleteAs for the chosen blog template, I think this very much captures that essence. You have gone with the hopeful, optimistic, but not too flashy choice. Green is known as one of the most soothing and peaceful colors, said to calm the viewer. The boxes in their many shades of green in a wave-like pattern add to that soothing effect. I am, of course, also stereotyping here, but as you said, stereotypes are natural. In fact, stereotypes are a natural part of evolution, since it is stereotyping that keeps us from danger and allows us to survive. Green is good. It tells me that you are most likely laid back about the experience of blogging, but still hopeful that something larger will come.
So basically, this is the beginning of a relationship. You have caught me with your style and looks, and I am initially attracted to you. Now, hopefully getting to know your writings a little more intimately will not leave me feeling unsatisfied. To make it clear - I'M READING YOUR BLOG!
After more than two and a half decades on this Earth I have finally discovered a fool-proof way to pick up women: start a blog! Look out world. Here I come.
ReplyDelete@Pete: I like. Verbose Vagina would have been a more apt alliteration, but it'll do.
Ed, Verbose Vagina would be a goldmine if you want to score some poon. If you could somehow figure out how to work in vulgar, vile, and vapid, then all the better. I've heard chicks dig toilet humor.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I don't even know who that girl is and she wrote War and Peace on my blog. She also shares a name with my girlfriend. Weird.
You see through me don't you. You're smart. You're brilliant. Such insight into women.
ReplyDelete