Thanks to Kev Quirk’s post, I found this post by Joel Chrono, Blogging Expectations, which was in turn inspired by a post from Robert Birming, which was inspired by a post from Brandon’s Journal. Isn’t the internet great? I encourage you to go read all their posts to get a clear picture of the conversation at hand. If you only read one, though, for the sake of this post, make it Joel’s.

I was struck by Joel’s words because I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. Because of this, I wanted to take this time to expand on my /why page. The core detail of Joel’s post that struck a cord with me is that behind the notion that we write for ourselves is the honest, guilt-laden notion that we write hoping that maybe someone will notice, and maybe give us a crumb of attention.

I like to write on my blog because it gives me the time to really say what I mean. In spoken conversation, I may not be able to think things through fast enough to keep up with the conversation, and I then run the risk of not saying what I mean. Even worse, I may say something I completely disagree with because I had to respond quicker than I wanted to. Another major reason I like to write is that it allows me to say what I want with little fear of a response. Various aspects of my childhood and teen years have caused me to fear speaking my mind in person, even if what I’m saying is agreeable. By writing my thoughts down, I not only can be sure that I’m saying what I mean to, I also have the freedom to post it and then walk away. I get to shout into the void.

But after that shout, I then sit waiting with bated breath hoping someone notices. Maybe a boost on Mastodon, or a react on Discord, or a comment on Facebook. Please, anyone, just notice what I say! I have a lot of thoughts, and a lot to say. I like being challenged, so don’t be afraid to tell me you think I’m wrong. I would just like to know you saw it.

This is the human condition, though, is it not? We’re all just ephemeral collections of thoughts piloting a meat sack looking for some way to connect with each other. For that reason, I try to shrug off the guilt of my attention seeking writing habits. There are worse forms of attention seeking afterall.