last night at bible study we all got into a discussion about blogging. (biblical, i know). it was AFTER the study was over. and we were just hanging around talking and laughing and all that girlie stuff.
anyway.
one of us (and only ONE of us in the room) doesn’t have a blog. let’s call her Vivie (because she thinks she’s vivacious). ps: she gave me permission to post this…
anyway.
her description of a blog goes something like this:
its like an IMing thing, but on the internet, but like a lot of people can be a part of it, like a conversation, kinda like emailing people, but anyone in the WORLD can see it, but not everyone can comment, but everyone can comment. do all of you have blogs?
by now the rest of us are cracking up. “um, yes, Vivie, we all have blogs.”
then we explain it all to her. like a journal. or your own devotion. or pictures of your family. or whatever. you just share about your life or what’s going on or what’s interesting. and people can read it. its whatever you want it to be.
i even tell her that she can get all of our blogs to show up in her email. but, SHE likes real mail. like on real paper, all written out and stuff. i jokingly say that we’ll just print our blog posts out for her to read. but, for MINE, she has to respond because i LOVE the comments. she says, “ok. i’ll just write on the bottom of it in fun colors and send it back to you!”
“that would be PERFECT!”
so, Vivie pauses, looks at me and says: “is it like a www thing?”
and we ALL crack up!!
my first thought is: duh. yes. everything on the net is a www thing.
then i realize that my blog url does NOT have www in it.
and the laughter ceases.
“no. well, it actually doesn’t have www in it.”
and, HOW IN THE WORLD do i explain that???????
oh well -i guess Vivie will be getting a paper copy of this post in her mail soon.
so, how would YOU explain blogging to someone who doesn’t know how to work an iPod?
36 responses so far ↓
@ngie // June 6, 2008 at 2:20 pm
You can’t explain it. It’s like trying to explain to someone who has never flown what it is like to get in a huge tin can with bunches of other people and zoom around in the air super fast but have the sensation that you are not moving at all and your ears feel all stuffed up and when you look out the window you see the tops of the clouds and then you feel like you are on an elevator going down and then you bump on the ground and get out of the tin can and you are in a whole new place. It just can’t be explained… it has to be done.
birgitwhelan.com // June 6, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Hi Mandy, that’s a good description of it as a journal, and also a devotional. It’s also a really good way to keep in touch with family and friends if you live in different places. I like the idea of blogs being a way to reflect a bit about God and how amazing He is day to day too.
mandythompson // June 6, 2008 at 2:37 pm
@ngie: girl! you forgot the overpriced food!!!!
birgit: yes. we shouldn’t forget about God in all this. you’re so right… it can be so many things.
Russ // June 6, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Awesome! How old is “Viv”?
It’s almost amazing to me that there would be someone near or in your age range that isn’t somehow connected to the net. Either she’s a bit older or is just oblivious (which is a possibility).
Personally, I don’t think I could “exist” without blogging. Oh sure, I could breathe and live…but blogging for me MAINLY is what holds my networking efforts together. Add twitter (which I consider to be microblogging) to that mix and I’m pretty connected.
Makes the world a whole lot smaller in the same way that in the early 1900s telephone wires connected people from all over. It’s just another in a series of “interconnectedness technology”…
Go. Blog. Win!
mandythompson // June 6, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Russ: she’s about my age! an incredible mom. has the most beautiful kids.
therealstorie // June 6, 2008 at 3:34 pm
You crack me up! This conversation is just too funny. Probably how I sounded the first time someone suggested I should have BLOG… I remmenber thinking, a blog? Sounds more like a beating than fun!
To help someone understand the “blogging thingy” you have to find what floats her boat:
If she loves to brag about her family? PERFECT, she can do it on her blog
If she loves to brag about herself? This is the perfect place to do it! don’t know if anyone will show up or not, but heh, it’s a start:-)
Loves to create? need I say more?
Needs to be in control? you got it here…well, kind of
the only personality I think might have trouble with a blog is the “private patty”. but we could win easily win her over: patty, you can have all the privacy you want. You see this little setting ‘private’…it’s kind of like a shower curtain…it’s kind of like a shield between you and the blog world….yadayadayada…you get the idea
hey Mandy, nice to meet you. I am a friend of Tams, so you can blame her for anything I post here.:-)
theepiphany // June 6, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I have a lot of friends who don’t have a blog and…get this, don’t have an EMAIL ADDRESS or a FACEBOOK PROFILE!!! Honestly, what is the world coming to. When I explain blogging, I call it an online journal that I allow other people to see. But then I quickly warn them that my fingers and emotions can get carried away and not to take any of the “vent” posts personally…
Billy Chia // June 6, 2008 at 3:54 pm
“so, how would YOU explain blogging to someone who doesn’t know how to work an iPod?”
That is difficult because blogging is not any one thing. People use blogs as journals, but a blog is not a journal. People use blogs for devotions but blogs are not devotionals. Many people blog about topics that have nothing to do with their own personal lives. A blog is a tool and people use it in different ways.
I would say a blog is like a telephone (or a book, movie, magazine, TV, etc…) - it’s a tool to help make conversations and connections happen.
I really like the idea of printing out a blog post for someone who never goes online. You can show it to them and say “this is something I wrote (or took a picture or, or made a video of) and I put it on my blog. Here are some of the things people said in the comments and here are printed versions of other blogs that wrote posts linking to mine.” That kinda of tangible thing might really help someone grasp it.
alece // June 6, 2008 at 4:44 pm
my husband still doesn’t fully get it.
Cindy Beall // June 6, 2008 at 5:38 pm
It’s like writing on the internet.
Original, I know.
mandythompson // June 6, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Ms. Storie: girl! any friend of Tam’s is a friend of mine! welcome! stick around - take off your shoes and kick up your feet!
Epiphany: gasp - you know real live cavemen? i thought they died off with the dinosaurs???
Billy: HEY MAN!!!!!!!
Al: bless your heart.
Cindy: wow. so much depth and insight… can i like have your advice about other things in my life, too???
hehe!
lori // June 6, 2008 at 5:55 pm
whats an iPod?
tam // June 6, 2008 at 5:57 pm
um. scuse me? i don’t know how to work an ipod
mandythompson // June 6, 2008 at 5:59 pm
holy cow. two bloggers that don’t know how to work an iPod.
my friend will be VERY excited to hear this!!! there’s hope for her yet!!!
Becca // June 6, 2008 at 6:13 pm
I just learned this past year how to work an iPod. So take that!
My friend Alece showed me how to turn off my own TV with the remote. We’ve had it for years, and I always shut it off by the little button on the actual TV.
My mom doesn’t know how to use the computer very well, and certainly doesn’t know how to use an iPod. My parents seem to be content without knowing how to use these things in life.
alece // June 6, 2008 at 6:40 pm
(growing up, i was the one called in to unjam the vcr when it ate a tape. at 10 years old, i’d go off to find a screwdriver, take off the top of the vcr, mess around with its internal organs, expel said stuck tape, and put it all back to working order.)
charitymedders // June 6, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I’ve tried to explain it to my grandma…let’s just say I didn’t get anywhere.
mandythompson // June 6, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Becca & Alece: you two are SUCH a pair!!!
Char: i don’t think my granny even KNOWS i have a blog. its not worth it. hehehe
TheNorEaster // June 6, 2008 at 8:24 pm
“so, how would YOU explain blogging to someone who doesn’t know how to work an iPod?”
Mandy:
I don’t know how to work an iPod. I don’t even HAVE an iPod. And when someone said, “I want a new Blueberry,” I thought, “Just one? Do they sell blueberries in singles at the supermarket now? Has the price of gas gone up THAT much?” (It was approaching $2.00 a gallon when this happened. Just so you know.)
But think for a moment about the POTENTIAL of a blog. Here we are, in the comfort of your own homes, writing words that can be read ALL OVER THE WORLD. What an EXTRAORDINAIRY OPPORTUNITY to fulfill The Great Commission WITHOUT EVER BUYING AN AIRLINE TICKET or TRAVELLING. Granted, it’s not quite the same, but that still doesn’t mean we can’t trust God to use the potential.
A person living in Indonesia–12,000 miles away–who has never heard of Christ can read about Him in a few moments of solitude, even if he, or she, resides with those who do not believe.
Now, I haven’t really mentioned this much because I really don’t want to come across as judgmental or condescending or arrogant, but, let’s face it: having the Internet is an great opportunity for the children of God to share The Good News, to teach people we will never meet about the glorious Presence of God, the promise He has given before the foundation of the world. Instead, most of us…Well, most of write just about nothing. I know I’ve done it.
“The eyes of the world are upon us.”
And when I consider that potential, I realize just how precious it is to write and to live as authentically as I can. It is no longer just our neighbors or the people in our lives who see us. It is, collectively, billions of people–these blogs never expire!
The eyes of the world are upon us.
What do you want them to see…?
edfromct // June 6, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Being in the 60+ age group I am the only one, among my friends and relatives who has their own blog. There are plenty of people over 60 with blogs but my guess is that this is the age group (adult) that does the least amount of blogging.
I tell my friends that a blog is the best way to give the world the benefit of your great wisdom, whether the world wants to hear it or not.
It is the best way to expand your circle of friends to include the whole world (WWW - world wide web). We can never have enough friends.
It is the cheapest way to travel around the world to meet and learn about other people and their cultures.
Whatever our hobbies and interest are blogging is the best what to meet people who share our interest.
Addictions are not usually a good thing. Blogging is the best addiction I can think of.
Becca // June 6, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Awww.
Thanks, Mandy. I think we make a fine pair indeed.
haha.
Heidi // June 6, 2008 at 10:20 pm
My husband says its so lame to talk to people I’ll never meet.
Mandy who says we won’t meet someday !!! right?!!
Blogging is the biggest release for me. I’m addicted..
therealstorie // June 6, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Thanks for the warm welcome! I will be back…..hahah
:–)
Storie
mandythompson // June 7, 2008 at 8:31 am
TheNor: i think you make a great point - but how can we be more “outreach” oriented with our blogs?
Ed: HEY!!! you are one cool 60+er if you are sportin’ a blog. and i bet your friends don’t appreciate that about you like WE younguns do!!!!
Becca: you’re welcome!!
Heidi: RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
Ms. Storie:
haha indeed.
Jenni Catron // June 7, 2008 at 8:32 am
I’ve definitely had a lot of funny conversations about blogging with friends and a lot of the leaders at our church. One of our board members (who is over 80) actually has his assistant print out my blog for him to read everyday. I love that he wants to keep up… just has to do it in his own way.
mandythompson // June 7, 2008 at 8:34 am
AWWWWW - he has her print it? that’s awesome Jenni!!!
melissa1970 // June 7, 2008 at 9:31 am
Your description is perfect…..and for me it is definitely most like a journal and random collection of my whacky’ness. I love your blog, by the way!
Brandy // June 7, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Well, I don’t know how to use an iPod either (
) But, I do get the blog thing. I mean, I have one and all. 
For me, it’s like a release of some sort. I used to use it for a stress release and post about any and everything including when I was angry. But I don’t do that now. Too many people that I would be “releasing” about read it. HA!! Seriously, my whole family reads it now since we moved. Now it’s more like a place for me to get out weird thoughts, new ideas, stuff about the kids for the sake of the family thousands of miles away. And then there’s the commenting. Oh the commenting. And reading. For me it’s turned into a community that I really love, and that has been a huge blessing for me since we moved away from home and basically know no one. (btw, that girl acrossed the street, totally love her and we were instantly great friends. I’m super happy) Anyway, blogging is anything and everything you want or need it to be. I love it.
HOWEVER, sometimes you do need a break from the “crowd” too. And that’s when it’s just nice to lurk a while, and not post much. Like me. This week. Sort of.
TheNorEaster // June 7, 2008 at 2:37 pm
“TheNor: i think you make a great point - but how can we be more “outreach” oriented with our blogs?”
Mandy: A good question that deserves a good answer. That will have to wait. But, in the meantime, find your moment. Then, WRITE about it. (For an example, click the “Church of Misfits” category on my site and read the “Official Moments” post, which actually relates to many of the things I have already mentioned in my blog. I have had my moment. What is yours? I’m convinced God gives us those Moments for a reason, and it ain’t to write about toilet paper.)
bellissimanh // June 7, 2008 at 4:18 pm
This just creacked me UP!
Heather
mandythompson // June 7, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Melissa1970: welcome!! going to check out your blog now.
Brandy: oh girl. yes. but get back to blogging!
TheNor: not about toilet paper? tam will be disappointed!
Bellissimanh: hehe! yeah. we were laughing!
sheehan // June 8, 2008 at 12:50 pm
A guy I know said it this way:
“Not all people that have blogs are pharisees, but I bet if the pharisees were alive today they would all have blogs”
brainteaser // June 9, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Heheheheheheheh! This post made me LOL!
I don’t try to explain. That would be difficult. I simply show my blogs to them, using phrases like ‘online journal,’ ‘personal webpage,’ ‘a page in the internet that I fully control and where I can put my stuff.’
PS: I have lots of family who don’t know what blog is.
mandythompson // June 9, 2008 at 8:34 pm
BT: I, too, have lots of non-blogging family members. i don’t even bring it up!
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vivie has a blog « just a girl // June 16, 2008 at 7:03 am
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