There used to be a healthy discourse on my blog. People left comments to which I’d reply, then others might join in, helping to brew up a cauldron of exchanged ideas.
Then I started to use facebook as a portal to the blog and overnight the comments disappeared. Being a scribbler and a wordy old hoor, I still enjoy using just as many words as I deem necessary. Not too many and never too few: just enough; the right amount.
Yet today the world of words is shrinking. Not sufficient that text messaging and tweets allow only 140 characters with which to express yourself, facebook has now reduced the comments on my blog to a single mouse click.
Of course I’m delighted that people on facebook click to say they ‘like’ a link to the blog, but I miss those expressions of anger, joy and general bloody-mindedly opinionated thought that used to grace the bottom of my blog posts.
Ah well, maybe I should be grateful that in a world where ‘more’ rules the roost and ‘excess’ is a dream to be sought after, this need for fewer words is a good thing.
No, can’t buy that. I want to know what you’re thinking, and ‘like’ clicks representing approval or an absence of clicks to show dissent just doesn’t cut the mustard.
7 comments:
Er... Like!
:-)
Too many places to leave comments, questions, dribbles, etc. Blogs, facebook, twitter, social media in general. I tried to buy a simple pair of running socks today and was faced with at least 10 different choices? Made my head spin and I had to leave the store before I threw up. I miss the good old days when you had one, two, maybe three choices at the most!
choices choices and too many sign in codes, passwords and blaaaah.... My dad was a real pedant who took great pleasure in reminding me that deciding over A or B is only one choice!
The obvious answer to my dilemma is to post such cutting edge writing that everyone wants to leave comments. Enough with the bus drivers, already!
Is that what you were thinking, Ian?
Exactly, get a grip, man!
Judging by the limited amount of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube comments I've read, most people seem to think there's no real point in posting a comment unless you can demonstrate how original and witty you are or simply be jaw-droppingly offensive for no particular reason.
(At this point, I should call you something nasty, but I shall refrain.)
No reflection on your writing, which I always enjoy, but sometimes I can't think of anything sufficiently witty or offensive to say, you twat.
Charming as ever!
ITA,and WTF is it with all the acronyms. People are getting lazy with 'like' and 'share', it will be interesting to see how the next generation communicate
"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?… Has it ever occurred to your, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?"
Every year fewer and fewer words, and the range of conciousness always a little smaller" George Orwell
Lovely quotation there Paz. Orwell's scary prescience... and don't we all do the lotto and buy scratchcards, just like the Proles were meant to in 1984.
Now, where's my Victory Gin?
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