I hate the idea of Blog Action Day with every fibre of my being. Why? Because all it achieves is a sense of self-congratulation: "I posted about how we should save the environment, thereby doing my bit." Well, here's the truth, everyone - nobody who doesn't care about the environment is going to be motivated to change by reading some angsty 17-year-old's "thoughts" on the matter, and while you were busy writing the damn thing, you could actually have gone out and, I don't know, done some volunteer work or something crazy like that. So the sum total of your efforts is effectively nil. But it gives you an inflated sense of your own moral standing - so I suppose the sum total is in fact in the negative.
Here's my post about how we should save the environment: all the people who are involved in Blog Action Day should throw their computers out of the window so they can't blog anymore and waste the earth's precious resources in the form of electricity.
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Blog Hypocrisy Day
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4 comments:
Everyone helps in the way they can. Some find it easier to talk about things then to do stuff. But you should not get so angry - live and let live
Of course, you're right about 'live and let live'; but doesn't it make you angry that people convince themselves that just writing about something in their blog is really helping, when actually it isn't?
If that was literally all they could do then that would be fine - but most people who write blogs are capable of doing something more practical.
Anyway, you're a more relaxed person than I am. I enjoy getting angry about these things. ;)
Well, yes, but if I throw my computer out the window, all the heavy metals and other bad stuff of which it's made will leach out and pollute the soil. Or I'd run over it with the lawn mower and generate deadly shrapnel. Or it might land on someone and I'd get sued. You have a point, and one of the good things about blogs is that it gives us a chance to rant about the things that bother us. Have at it!
First. I am inclined to dislike events that feel like someone is just flexing their marketing muscle. Look at me, I created "Give your child a smile day, so now everyone is smiling at their child".
However, aside from the distastefulness of self aggrandizing, there is something to consider.
Many of the blog posts were informational in nature. "How to do" and so on. Blog entries live on after their posts. You have likely noticed many former posts are revisited frequently.
That does equate to a greater number of helpful instructions on protecting your watershed or disposing of your latex paint or planting heartier bushes.
Sadly, "how to simpsonize yourself" is the most visited post posting of mine. Not important but I just wanted to write "post posting".
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