Rule of comments.
Now, I am not sure why this has become the case, but for a while, all the comments we would receive would be 2 per post. Normally, these would be outside of our own response to comments. This would make maybe 4 comments at most. So, while we are awaiting what has become our rule of comments, we figure that to be consistent, we don't need to post more frequently than our two token comments are received. Though I have to say that Jenny Wehrmeister's side ticker that shows which person posted most receintly and how long ago makes me want to keep being on the top and not with a "3 weeks ago" below my name.
The Death of a Blog
I have been finding it interesting that a blog is kind of the editorial page for the underutilized or underdeveloped writer to communicate. That makes for an interesting situation. Some of us find that talking on the phone communicates enough, while others find that chatting online with people keeps communication going. I personally believe that I am sufficiently busy to not blog frequently. Between phone, blog, and Facebook, I find my precious time torn and feel we keep fairly unconnected from the rest of the world as a result. Maybe that is an insolater. We protect our ingoings and outgoings. But time is precious and increasingly scarce. What can be assumed except that something must suffer. Some activities are loosing their strong hold in our routine.
I think about the people who lived before telephones. They managed to keep in contact via mail or personal contact or maybe just trust in the Lord that He is in control and trust in loved ones to make wise decisions. Posting a blog or chatting online was not necessary. They kept journals and other records. They wrote letters (which cost them a lot to write and send.) That way we know they existed. When far away from family, they found ways to make new family or to just be resolute on their own.
How far are each of us away from those we call family? We are almost 300 miles by driving from the nearest relative. Not too bad considering we can drive there in around 5 hours with 3 kids in relative comfort. If I were to have to walk 5 hours, google's pedestrian program thinks I could make it around 30 miles (though I seriously doubt I could do that.) Maybe a horse could take us more than to the next county, but certianly not the distance we can sit down and drive. So, even though 5 hours for 300 miles is relative ease, we can not just pop into see the family and come home in the same day legitimately.
How do we keep ourselves connected then? We each keep journals, following the Prophet's counsel. We each have been doing this with irregular dilligence for much of our lives. There is comfort in knowing that I have kept a record of parts of my life at least, both the public and private which I don't share with many others. We make phone calls too. We enjoy talking with family and friends. Even the cellphone keeps us connected where it wouldn't have otherwise.
Are we too connected? I was in a seminar today with a friend defending a master's thesis and a cellphone went off. It was mine. Now, this is not a public use cell phone. We got it for emergencies. Not a lot of things happen though that consitiute an emergency to me though. We have it for the cars (which are old). I kept it with me for when Levi was born. It was a great comfort, though I have always been around when my wife went into labor. But when this phone went off (on "silent"), everyone knew it was coming from my pocket. I used to say I left the house so no one could contact us. Maybe I still do, but that pocket leash keeps us from truely being uncontactable. ( I didn't answer it by the way.)
I find that I can still be close friends with people I do not contact every hour or day or month even. I remember the days when long distance phone calls had to be made late at night to avoid rediculous charges. Strangely, Facebook has helped me realize that even though I haven't seen some people in almost 10 years, when I contact them, those same familiar feelings come rushing back to me. I joy in their joys and sorrow with their losses. I love to hear from people, but I have found comfort in the Lord that He will watch over them. Maybe I learned that on my mission, but I have faith that we will all be reunited in some form and be able to share in the joy of good decisions made and lost aquaintances found.
Am I too connected? Probably. I am so glad to have a supportive family HERE. There are 5 of us. What joy can be reaped in something as simple as spending time together eating lunch at a park. I may not be as connected as others, but in the eternal sense, I hope I stay and grow more connected every second of every day.
So don't worry, we are still going to keep up the blogging (but maybe with more frequency once I finish my thesis.)
Now, I am not sure why this has become the case, but for a while, all the comments we would receive would be 2 per post. Normally, these would be outside of our own response to comments. This would make maybe 4 comments at most. So, while we are awaiting what has become our rule of comments, we figure that to be consistent, we don't need to post more frequently than our two token comments are received. Though I have to say that Jenny Wehrmeister's side ticker that shows which person posted most receintly and how long ago makes me want to keep being on the top and not with a "3 weeks ago" below my name.
The Death of a Blog
I have been finding it interesting that a blog is kind of the editorial page for the underutilized or underdeveloped writer to communicate. That makes for an interesting situation. Some of us find that talking on the phone communicates enough, while others find that chatting online with people keeps communication going. I personally believe that I am sufficiently busy to not blog frequently. Between phone, blog, and Facebook, I find my precious time torn and feel we keep fairly unconnected from the rest of the world as a result. Maybe that is an insolater. We protect our ingoings and outgoings. But time is precious and increasingly scarce. What can be assumed except that something must suffer. Some activities are loosing their strong hold in our routine.
I think about the people who lived before telephones. They managed to keep in contact via mail or personal contact or maybe just trust in the Lord that He is in control and trust in loved ones to make wise decisions. Posting a blog or chatting online was not necessary. They kept journals and other records. They wrote letters (which cost them a lot to write and send.) That way we know they existed. When far away from family, they found ways to make new family or to just be resolute on their own.
How far are each of us away from those we call family? We are almost 300 miles by driving from the nearest relative. Not too bad considering we can drive there in around 5 hours with 3 kids in relative comfort. If I were to have to walk 5 hours, google's pedestrian program thinks I could make it around 30 miles (though I seriously doubt I could do that.) Maybe a horse could take us more than to the next county, but certianly not the distance we can sit down and drive. So, even though 5 hours for 300 miles is relative ease, we can not just pop into see the family and come home in the same day legitimately.
How do we keep ourselves connected then? We each keep journals, following the Prophet's counsel. We each have been doing this with irregular dilligence for much of our lives. There is comfort in knowing that I have kept a record of parts of my life at least, both the public and private which I don't share with many others. We make phone calls too. We enjoy talking with family and friends. Even the cellphone keeps us connected where it wouldn't have otherwise.
Are we too connected? I was in a seminar today with a friend defending a master's thesis and a cellphone went off. It was mine. Now, this is not a public use cell phone. We got it for emergencies. Not a lot of things happen though that consitiute an emergency to me though. We have it for the cars (which are old). I kept it with me for when Levi was born. It was a great comfort, though I have always been around when my wife went into labor. But when this phone went off (on "silent"), everyone knew it was coming from my pocket. I used to say I left the house so no one could contact us. Maybe I still do, but that pocket leash keeps us from truely being uncontactable. ( I didn't answer it by the way.)
I find that I can still be close friends with people I do not contact every hour or day or month even. I remember the days when long distance phone calls had to be made late at night to avoid rediculous charges. Strangely, Facebook has helped me realize that even though I haven't seen some people in almost 10 years, when I contact them, those same familiar feelings come rushing back to me. I joy in their joys and sorrow with their losses. I love to hear from people, but I have found comfort in the Lord that He will watch over them. Maybe I learned that on my mission, but I have faith that we will all be reunited in some form and be able to share in the joy of good decisions made and lost aquaintances found.
Am I too connected? Probably. I am so glad to have a supportive family HERE. There are 5 of us. What joy can be reaped in something as simple as spending time together eating lunch at a park. I may not be as connected as others, but in the eternal sense, I hope I stay and grow more connected every second of every day.
So don't worry, we are still going to keep up the blogging (but maybe with more frequency once I finish my thesis.)
posted by The Pagets in Florida at 7:24 PM
8 Comments:
I am with you on a lot of points. I am debating about whether to make my blog private because I don't like having to write for such a wide audience. But I have no idea how many people read or enjoy it, so I would hate to leave people out. And I really don't know how anyone has time to really do much on facebook. But I am eternally grateful for these technologies that have allowed me to reconnect with so many people. Because I am with you about time not having much affect when it comes to my friendships.
I notice that some people have locaters that tell you based on IP address where people who are viewing your blog are from. I thought about putting one of those on mine to see who is watching it from where. That works since most people that I think actually read this don't live anywhere near each other, besides immediate relatives.
Good luck with your thesis. We've been praying for you all.
Thanks for completing our second comment.
Here's the third! One thing that I don't like about all the advances in communication is that I think it makes me more flaky. It's not the technology itself, but rather my response to it. So, I usually have my Gmail up, and I watch it out of the corner of my eye to see if I have gotten a new email in the last thirty seconds. I have recently tried to get away from that because I find myself too focused on it or oriented towards it.
We like pictures of grandkids!!!!!
Danny, I know what you mean. For a while, I couldn't get my work done it seemed through all of the e-mail exchanges I was going through. They would have easily been resolved over the phone in one call normally. At least I do have a record of conversations though. You only have to be told 3 or 4 times that you need something in writing before valuing e-mail exchanges instead of phone calls. But, I just leave myself signed out anymore.
I think staying signed out, for the most part, is the way to go. Then you can get all your emailing done at once and not worry about it (hopefully).
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