blogging style

Far be it for me to get formal. I recently read how blogs are basically meant to be informal. You bet, or I'd probably not be here.

In a post "What is a Blog?" the author proposed, 

For many bloggers, it’s a form of thinking out loud, of trying out ideas that may later develop into more thoroughly researched columns or articles. Blogging represents a unique opportunity to put one’s thoughts out there, even if–maybe especially if–they’re not fully developed, in order to see what kind of response they get and uncover glaring weaknesses. A fellow blogger once described one of my posts as a “riff,” which I think is an apt metaphor because it gets at what I see as the true nature of blogging: popular rather than classical, improvisational rather than meticulously planned, spontaneous rather than deeply considered.  

This quote from Rob Jenkins, columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education online, who more or less warns you must be able to back up your argument in presenting it. He judges the quality of a blog with the amount of interactivity that stems from it. Tall order?   

Another academic, Julie White, responded to Jenkins' post by speaking of the "art" involved in blogging. She reiterates a previous blog comment comparing blogs to graffiti, defining graffiti, 

"a form of self-expression, often in an unlikely or illicit location, intended to provoke a reaction. One person’s vandalism may be another’s public art."

While my blog may not generate a lot of meaningful conversations, it is an attempt to elicit some bit of response. Other bloggers from across the States have commented here, and some have viewed from other countries. How could they possibly find worthwhile information from the likes of Katy Did Not?  Informal, yes -- supporting a proposed argument, maybe not so much. Maybe more like expressing a fact. Feminism is, to me, a fact. And I'm glad to promote the mutual respect for and support of great women.  
 
Somewhere in the back of my memory, I recall blogs taking off when deployed military service members were logging their overseas activities online. Perhaps it dates back to the first Gulf War, as my google search showed it starting to become active in '04. What a great way to keep from telling your friends and family the same thing over and over in separate emails, especially from half way across the world.

Denis Bocquet via Flickr by Creative Commons

My tiny following, or even the number of people who inadvertently stumble upon this blog, will never reach great numbers. There are so many things I want to say anyway, especially about women's rights and young girls gaining the confidence to be a formidable force in their future. It's also about women supporting each other. There's enough defiance from the patriarchy as it is. To me, these are plain facts. This blog is about just that ... my repetition of belief in feminism without sending out emails about it over and over again!

I definitely feel like I'm creating the only kind of graffiti I can, my canvas the internet, and my inscription the words.