The blog of the ancient Geek

Why is it that Facebook and MySpace are cool, but mention that you have a blog and it’s like wearing a shell-suit and calling yourself Simon?

An over-dinner discussion turned to friends of old, and ways of keeping in touch. There was a general concensus around the table that Facebook was a fantastic tool. People spoke of logging in daily (or much more often as it transpired in some cases) to see what others were up to, and how you feel compelled to update your status bar frequently to keep people informed of what you’re thinking or what you are doing.

I casually dropped into the conversation that I don’t update mine so frequently because I use my blog for that kind of thing and suddenly everyone starts looking at the floor. I’ve turned into a Geek in their eyes. Clearly. How do bloggers get such bad PR. Suddenly there were some questions to be answered: Is the blog funny? Is it just like a journal? Is it interesting? It was like all my street-cred rested on my answers. I was quite far from civilisation at this point in the southern regions of Norway, and was beginning to wonder how long it would take passers-by to find my mutilated body in the the lane.

I’m sure if I’d said I used the MySpace blog tool it would have been fine. I think it comes down to the amount of effort you put it. If you use the social networking sites it’s like you’re a casual user. You can take it or leave it. You’re just one of the crowd who update people on what you’re doing because it’s the done thing. Put in some effort and suddenly yo’re a different person. It’s like sitting at home after a day of really momentous events and waiting for someone to call you so you can tell them all about it.

If the same were true of home decoration or entertaining guests, I’d have to welcome people to my house but invite them to bring a bottle and a chair, then we’d all order out for takeaway – and that just wouldn’t be polite would it?