We Bloggers Ought Not To Take Ourselves Too Seriously

A couple of years ago it seems that it was common to hear people talking about blogging as a new reformation - the advent of blogging was compared to the advent of the printing press which became a vehicle for the ideas of the reformation.

I never liked that kind of rhetoric - the printing press didn't bring about the reformation, it was a technological innovation that aided in its transmission.  It was an important technological innovation, but still, there was something much deeper that caused the reformation.  Similarly, blogging is merely a technological innovation and yes it has radically changed the way news and information is shared.  But blogging can't produce a reformation.

I thought of this while reading Russell Moore's August 29'th Russell Moore's August 29th post at Mere Comments called "Netroots?" He encourages us not to take ourselves too seriously and informs us that our influence is probably far less than we think.  He quotes a Weekly Standard article as follows:

 

It's perfectly understandable when political junkies and box office watchers conclude that web buzz augurs big things, but it's also perfectly backwards. We look at the humming activity of the blogosphere and assume the cadre of online enthusiasts behind it constitutes the tip of an off-line iceberg. It is assumed that for every posting on MyDD, or SoaP rap on YouTube, there must be dozens of people out there itching for impeachment of python gags.

Reality is just the opposite. People go to the blogosphere because they can't find a sizable number of people in their everyday, off-line lives that are as enthusiastic as they are. The blogosphere gathers together atypical fans and brings them together in what quickly becomes a broadband echo chamber. The louder and more intense the online community gets, the farther it's likely drifting from what is happening offline.

That's a good perspective.  I don't mean for this to sound like a screed an anti-blogging screed.  I realize that there is a certain kind of "power" in the blogosphere as can be seen in the way mainstream media pays some attention to blogs. Also, the well documented blogstorms that brought down Trent Lott and Dan Rather would seem to counter what the Weekly Standard folks say here.

Yet I think there is something to this and it provides warrant for a great deal of humility on the part of us bloggers.  The longer I blog the less concerned I am with trying to "change the world," and the more convinced I become that the real value of blogging (at least for me) is in the exchange of ideas and the kind of "iron sharpening iron" that can happen in our conversations.  If the world changes because I write a blog post that'll be peachy keen but I think more modest goals are most appropriate.

Comments

[Catez]

Some good points there.

I've often thought that I don't really know how my blogging is used. I don't know what some-one takes from a post and whether it is beneficial or assists in a change.

I've had some feedback, and I know some people have benefitted - but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't really know.

I think life is very much like that actually. We don't know the knock on effect of many things we do - sometimes quite small things. Sometimes we get feedback but I think oftentimes we don't.

I agree with your comments about the visible effects e.g. Dan Rather. But that doesn't happen very often. And that seems to be an aspect of poliblogging - which in some ways has more measurable effects I think.

The things I appreciate about blogging are being able to write on a variety of things, the connections from that, and the adventure of coming across people I wouldn't come across offline - in different countries, cultures, and so on.

I love being able to link to what I like and share that way, and I have many times appreciated the generosity of others.

I agree though that it can be possible to mistake the connecting process with power or influence.

Being honest, writing from the heart, even on technical or informative topics, is a joy. Connecting with others who have a spirit of enjoyment underlying what they do is wonderful.

I think blogging can and does change the world - but by that I mean it changes individuals, and we have no real measure of how or who. Except when we look at ourselves.

I don't see any problem with trying to change the world in that sense, and I do - understanding that God chooses what he will use and how, and I really can't measure it.

[Mike]

David:

I've often thought that, while we need to take our mission and stewardship very seriously, we should not get caught in the trap of taking ourselves too seriously. It is a trap in which I am sometimes ensnared.

What blogging has done for me is, as the quote suggests, to give me an outlet for some of my bountiful discontent, my outside-the-lines thoughts, and (at times) my semi-anonymous confessions wherein I can allow my wounded heart to bleed. Not a great use in all cases, I admit.

But the upside is this: reading blogs provides me with more opportunities to grow in love, grace, and mercy than any other venue in my life. In my "real" life, I don't have many friends or acquaintances with whom I argue - much.

But online there are just so many people with whom I disagree and who, in return, foolishly disagree with me! In these opportunities, I can choose to love them and try to understand them and/or their position, or I can attack them as though they were enemies (instead of fellow Christ-followers) and be unloving towards them.

I say opportunity, for it is only an opportunity - even as each day provides only opportunities, not guaranteed outcomes. I have to make choices about how I will act, react, and respond to posts or comments that I find outrageous, ridiculous, or ignorant. As anyone who has read much of my blog or been subjected to too many of my comments, I choose poorly far too often.

But there is a related benefit from blogging and reading: I have learned greatly from the responses of more mature, less volatile men and women (such as yourself - although you're not a "man and a woman" . . . you're not, are you?).

But I need to return to a more serious point. There is considerable wisdom - i.e., skill and grace in living life - available at various blogs. Some blogs are ripe with such fruit, but even the less bountiful blogs have moments when they produce remarkable evidence of the life of Jesus Christ. This is wonderful to come across: When you or someone else responds with compassion and grace, I see Christ and I grow.

Can anyone really place a value on that?