Comments
5 CommentsThis is a response to Scriv's post entitled 'Your 15 Minutes Are Up'. It started out as a short reply but then grew and grew until finally I thought I'd make it into a stand alone note. To understand the context of this note please first read Scriv's post linked to above.
From a British citizen, trying everyday to be a little more agile...
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"causing a stir and tackling the issues nobody else would seemed to help me get recognized"
"How many bloggers today have actually done anything worthwhile to keep their status at the top?"
"the passion to make a change and establish a presence for ourselves"
"I'm not done creating my legacy and you shouldn't be done creating your's."
What issues?
What status?
What change?
What legacy!!
The aid worker who has put the fate of others before her own life in the struggle to relieve parts of this Earth from dire oppression may be worthy of a legacy.
The activist, working in the face of titanic adversity to achieve just an iota of change and still having the courage to believe that what she does is better than sitting at home complaining about the world's issues as they appear in 'real time' on her TV screen, PDA or computer monitor, may well be worthy of a legacy.
The teacher, the doctor, the lawyer, blood sweat and tears of years trying to put things right, to inspire youth, to champion medical awareness and to understand the workings of law and government so that future generations may benefit from being more 'agile citizens' with active political, ethical and cultural consciences and not become passive receptacles of 'someone else's problem' as the trend du jour has it - these people may be worthy of a legacy.
The philosopher, the scientist, the artist who has spent her life contributing to the development of knowledge and the enrichment of human culture, who has inspired others to think, feel and transcend the state of quiet desperation that many endure, and has managed to channel and harness that most fundamental of human qualities - inquisitiveness - into awe-inspiring form, these people may be worthy of a legacy.
But the blogger? My goodness, the blogger, someone like myself, who jumped head first into the 21st century wave of global media, in pursuit of star status, financial gain and personal glory; who bought into a platform of information dissemination, a system that seemed to promise so much from the outside; suddenly you could talk to the world, you could connect with people, collaborate and challenge the boundaries of popular culture.
But when the wrapping was all gone, what was left on the inside? What is the highest level a blogger can achieve? What is the fullest expression of this form? For many, it's being part of the so-called 'A-List'. And i've realised something, a thorn in my side: the A-list doesn't exist, or rather the A-list exists but only as a sheep in wolf's clothing. The A-list is a select few white men fooling the masses into believing that such a thing as an 'A-list' exists and that becoming part of it is a noble achievement.
And for a while I admit that I looked up to the top, starry eyed, and felt a deep sense of attraction to the idea and then before long I began planning a strategy to reach that summit. I planned my expedition and for that I was going to need supplies. So I read some of the blogging guides prescribing ways of optmising your blog, how to become a better blogger, indeed I saw 9rules as a beacon along the way to the top, I learnt about strategy for traffic optimisation, SEO, monetisation, design etc etc.
But you know, it's all one big sodding illusion and although yes, it may get you your fifteen minutes of fame, you may be recognised around the blogosphere, you may even argue that you have learnt from it and sometimes others have learnt from you, but let us not profess to be anything other than we are, the blind leading the blind on a virtual publishing platform in a virtual world - because it is certainly not worthy of any legacy.
Ozone42
Written Jun. 24, 2007 / Report /
Blogging today is like preaching/speaking out in ancient rome, orating. Or perhaps like standing on the speaker's corner of hyde park near marble arch in london. We're talking, and hoping people will listen.
I don't think really all that many bloggers care about an a-list, but they do want an audience. So status and such may be a means to that end. I blog because I want to say something. A lot of times it's nothing important, just little tid bits for my friends and family to catch up on, sometimes I have a message, or deep thought I want to share. I don't share it to change other people's minds, but to get them thinking and to hear their views. I'd rather have 10 regular readers sharing their thoughts with me than 100 readers that don't.... heck, 1000.
I think you're wrong in one aspect. Though "Virtual" this is just as relevant a medium as print, and public forums (the actual speaking kind,) was before it. We have a ways to go, but I can easily imagine in 5-10 years people performing the majority of their political campaigns on blogs... maybe not for president, but local offices, state level, etc. There's a lot of potential here that has yet to be tapped.
I do completely agree that most of us are just tooting our own horns and will amount to no legacy or change whatsoever. That doesn't mean it's pointless of course, we get something out of it, and that's all that really matters to us.
Griffin
Written Jun. 24, 2007 / Report /
An impassioned note Andrew. I appreciate the emotion behind it. As far as legacy goes, I've always attempted to adhere to a line of sight philosophy. That is, let those who I see and touch on a daily basis be my legacy . Let me communion with those in the room.
Changing minds, shaping events, this is all well and good, but a legacy happens now, at this very moment. It is not a tale to be written at some future point by some distant scholar. You can plan all you want. You can map out goals, and strategies, and ideas, but your legacy is occurring now. It is not a tale someone else tells. It's your own story. Your own narrative, and for me, it begins now with the person in the room.
I'm of like mind with Ozone. I have things on my mind. I share them through a blog, and by other means. Lists, attention, and accolades are besides the point in the end, and I've observed do nothing to help one create a life that can influence others in a lasting and meaningful ways.
Two of our greatest wisdom teachers, Jesus and Buddha, first went off alone and descended into themselves before they began influencing the outer world in magnificent ways. Your legacy is within you and it begins now. It's not status or printable achievements. Or that's how I've thought of it.
Andrew
Written Jun. 24, 2007 / Report /
I'm not looking for an argument, and I'm certainly not interested in passion, emotion or sarcasm, I ask for nothing at all.
One's legacy is not something I would normally choose to talk about, indeed I believe it is not something one should consider at all in a lifetime, it is a false concept, a vacuous word that materialises (as you indicate) posthumously - and all too often misconstrued. And it is particularly because I denounce the idea of 'legacy in the making' that I wrote the note above.
cooper
Written Jun. 24, 2007 / Report /
Andrew, that was great. The legacy comes from the life lived.
Kamigoroshi
Written Jun. 24, 2007 / Report /
Because I believe that blogging is no different than real life and just another state of self, I'd have to say that legacy is determined by the motives we have and the will behind it. It's easy to say that we'll never amount to anything big with something so commonly done. People have been doing that for years and while people like myself have done just that, it doesn't mean we don't try and do something that will make a difference.
Can we do more with real life? Sure of course we can. But can we do equal feats with blogs? Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I've been doing it for 3 years. It might not make a difference to you, but it does to me and hopefully the people who's lives I've helped with my blog.
Could you make a difference? Depends on what you consider important in blogging. If part of that is traffic optimisation, SEO, monetisation, design etc. Then probably not.
If it starts with you and ends with something bigger than you. Blogging is just a medium, but its a medium for something bigger and better. Maybe a medium to a legacy you leave behind that matters to the people you left it to.