Towards a "Bloggy" Blog

I aspire to "blog bloggily," but, as Alan Jacobs describes it, this is no small feat.

Throughout my luminous journey as someone who often writes words and sometimes publishes those words on the internet, I've often had this horrible thought: what I write here today will permenently cast judgements on my whole person, forever and ever, as often as it is read.

That's a terrible thought, and you should never ever think it – not if you're blogging, anyway.

So, what gives a blog its blogginess? How does a blog become "bloggy"? Jacobs contrasts the bloggy blog with the imperatives of publishing for books and magazines, a high vocation that requires the writer "to seek clarity, coherence, and completeness." This is right and good, but it need not be so for blogs!

the Blog Imperatives are exploration, experimentation, and iteration. You’ve got to be willing to try out ideas that you’re not wholly comfortable with, ideas you don’t yet have a firm grasp on; and then you need to circle back later to revisit and reconsider.

It's with this hope in my heart that I return to this blog. Not to produce content, not to grasp after success, and not convince anyone to give me $5 per month to read more. I'm going to think out loud and seed the ground for conversation.

I'm going to blog again.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @mattCivico, subscribe to my newsletter at Common Pursuits, or chat with me on Discord.