There are two different types of posts: One in which a person writes about random thoughts or an aspect related to what they are working on or one in which a person can post about the things they do in a day or a week. I’ve done both however, probably more of the former.
Most working professionals who actively blog do the former (post on random or work related posts) and avoid writing posts that dictate their days to their readers on a step by step basis. However among teens and students this desire to share intimate details about every aspect of their day, in an pursuit of sympathy or other emotion, is causing friendship to have an impersonal feeling and causing the poster to have a false sense that “someone cares”.
When we post about what we do in day (and sometimes include pictures), we allow our readers in a sense, be with us doing whatever we were doing. It is usually a post which can be interesting and/or amusing to read, or can be a narration about a “sad event”, and is usually gratifying to the poster (otherwise they wouldn’t have posted it).
In spite of what people say or believe, the reason for posting in an online blog as opposed to one by hand or even one typed on a computer but not published online, is because there is a desire to have someone else read it. The very nature of the weblog environment, an online, impersonal directory where people can write and judging from others comments, creates the false sense that someone cares.
Weblogs allow us to have uncommitted friendships.
Think about it. The reasoning may be difficult to understand, but bear with me. I think there is motivation for people to actually need to post about their days, experiences, or whatever. We like to share our stories, right? That unfulfilled desire is caused by the debilities in communication and the lack of compassion for one another
Lack of compassion is the cause and effect of the specific types of posts that I refer to. If the people you talked to were really interested in what happened to you on a specific date, they would ask you about it, right? Only in an ideal world, of course. It’s becoming more and more uncommon. Hence, we write a post about something and let everyone know about it. After awhile, we take it for granted. Our commitments to one another become weak and what we know about each other becomes only what is revealed to us.
This might not make a lot of sense, and doesn’t make complete sense either, but I’m going to try to avoid writing posts that contain personal step by step outlines of days and reading Xangas in which people do the same.
To sum it up, the real purpose of a blog is not to substitute a discussion with a friend, but rather to write your own idea on something occurring in your life or around the world. Posting about daily events and seeing peoples comments on it, creates the false impression that “someone cares”. Really no one does, and if they do, it’s never in an online blog.