Blog, Blogger, Blogging…These are search terms describing what you are reading, what I am and how I spend a large part of my discretionary time.  The purpose of this post is to provide readers a window into which they can look to see , if they are already bloggers, how the experience of one of their numbers, compares to their own experience - thereby giving definition and attention to our craft ( because, it is most certainly a craft.)  If you are not a blogger, but enjoy reading blogs, my purpose here is to provide you with a window to see what goes on in the blogger’s world and, perhaps, even share with you enough about blogging so that you might want to try it yourself.  In blogging as with the stock market,  sports fans and consumers of goods( especially insofar as business owners are concerned) “the more, the merrier.” 

Blogging has spread across the world like wildfire in a dry season, following the distribution of computers all over the world.   What started, arguably, as a craze in the mid-90′s  is now a well established institution.  This growth has been good for the medium itself because it builds on itself.  Ever expanding, thousands of blogs are started each year and there are already, according to one blog review site, Technorati, over a million in existence.  Why has blogging captured the imagination of so many people all over the world?

The reason is, I think, simple.  Blogging is like a microphone.  It gives voice to individuals everywhere.  It allows people in the media and in public life another way to communicate their truth, but, perhaps more significantly, it gives ordinary people, the same opportunity to be heard, that is available to representatives of  The Arts,  Education, Commerce and Politics.  Anyone can have a blog to share their unique experience with readers everywhere.  Blogging offers a powerful way to communicate and share what is happening in your world.

When I use this word “world,”  I am, of course, referring to the local surroundings of a person and that person’s social environment.  I am also referring to the realm of ideas.  Herein is the basis, I think, of the incredible popularity of blogging among people in all walks of life:  It is a way to express one’s  point of view from one’s unique place in life.  Humanity needs to communicate.  All of the archaeological relics of past civilizations, the cave paintings, petroglyphs, bas-reliefs, hieroglyphics, scrolls etc., (see “The Story”) exemplify this necessity to tell one’s story.  Humanity is also very curious about everything.  People need to know things too.  These two natural characteristics of mankind, the need to tell and the need to know, are together, what drives this popularity of “the blog.”

More particularly, the blog is a communication medium and it is one that anyone can engage in.  It is your online magazine, in which, you are the owner, publisher and writer.  It is your world.  You make all the editorial decisions about what your “online magazine” will include from day to day, week to week and /or month to month.  This is, for the blogger, the rich reward that many seek:  You can be heard.  YOU can be heard.  Among the millions and billions of people on this world, you can weigh in on the events of your day and ultimately, communicate the very essential message you want the world to know:  “I am here.  Here is what I think.”  The blogger will soon discover to his or her amazement and delight, that people will come to read about what he or she thinks.  Some will care enough to interact with you and offer comment, sharing with you what they think.  This conduit of communication allows the sharing of ideas and feelings and gives meaning to our lives in the sense that, as we communicate about life and what matters, we matter.

If you are a blogger, you already know all these things.  If you are not into blogging (yet) here are a few things I can tell you about it which may give you a better idea of what blogging is all about and therefore, allow you to consider whether or not you might like to try it:

1.  Blogging is fun- especially if you like to discuss “stuff” and share it with others.

2. Blogging is mental gymnastics:  It helps you to think and you improve your skills of cognition and expression.  You have to think about everything you write and the more you do this, the better you become at it.  Your communication skills are thus honed to a higher degree.

3. Blogging is satisfying- it is a wonderful feeling to be able to socialize, even virtually with thousands of people from the comfort of your place.  Sometimes it is an illusion.  The audience you think you are addressing is not there.  You are the only one, at the moment, but, eventually, readers will arrive and read what you are sharing with them.

4.  Blogging is lonely.  Even though you are writing to a large audience, you are still, physically alone.  The blogger is in the interesting position of being able to communicate with a crowd, yet, he or she is alone and quite isolated.  The social aspect that is enjoyed in blogging, is in the dimension of the mind.  Day after day, perhaps in the small hours of early morning, long before dawn, or very late at night, the blogger labors away, alone, developing his or her art and polishing the next post for publication in this online magazine/blog.  Usually, for many bloggers who already are engaged in some sort of work during regular hours, the blog is like a second job, worked on before or after one’s regular work.

5.  Blogging is work – I wouldn’t want to give the impression that blogging is so easy that it is almost effortless.  It is often quite arduous and demands a lot of time to research, review, write and rewrite posts, respond to comments and conduct any repair or maintenance required to keep one’s web site running smoothly.  Fortunately, the more you do this the easier such chores become, but at times, it can feel like a lot of work (it is, actually.)

6.  Blogging is easy – except for the usual demands upon the blogger to create, post and maintain one’s blog, the actual process of putting together a blog and maintaining it is not complicated or too difficult.  That is what this blog is essentially about -  From beginning until now, it is about blogging: how to start, develop, manage and monetize our own blog.

7. Blogging is popular – thousands of blogs are created each year and the numbers have escalated since the first weblogs appeared online.  Not only are there over a million blogs out there, but there are millions of people reading them.  This is a very good thing because, bloggers are also readers.  Many of my visitors have blogs.  Bloggers like to visit others’ blogs to see how others manage their blogs.  I like to visit other people’s blogs too.  Since many bloggers are readers and since there are so many bloggers, we know, if we have a blog, our audience is growing.  This kind of growth is good, especially since to be seen on the internet, you need traffic(visitors) and the more visitors you have, the more volume of traffic, the more visible your site will be when ranked by the search engines.  If you have advertising on your page, this gets your ads out in front of the public and you may find that you are also earning money from your blog….an added bonus.

8. Blogging is educational – You may learn a lot from visiting other blogs.  The range of topics you can find is mind boggling.  You may also find yourself in the position of being the teacher, sharing your special knowledge and understanding with interested readers.

9. Blogging is frustrating- sometimes you simply can’t think of enough material to write about to keep your posts as regular as you should.  Sometimes the business of living and working takes more time and you don’t have extra time available to work on your blog.  Sometimes, the people you expect to visit must be busy too because they are not there in your reading audience; the only one visiting your blog…is you.  Sometimes you do not get serious comments – only comment spam.  Sometimes you are just very tired.

10. Blogging is rewarding – it is such a great feeling when someone has left a really sincere and nice comment and they tell you that they enjoyed or otherwise, benefited from your work.  This is appreciation.  Everyone loves to be appreciated and bloggers, especially, because they work in silence and by themselves, delight in knowing that something they have written has resonated with someone out in their audience.  This shows the blogger that the communication conduit is in both directions.  Somehow, this makes the effort worthwhile and the blogger does not feel alone anymore.

Blogging is all of this and more.  It is not difficult, but like anything, does place some demands on the blogger.  Also like anything worth doing, it has its rewards as well.

I wish you good blogging.

Wil

Businesses have discovered the value of blogs too. Many well-known companies have their own blogs which they use to share the day to day details of the “behind-the-scenes” activities in the company. Sometimes, the blogger might be a product engineer or a technician. Sometimes the CEO of the company will weigh-in on the latest burning issues in the company. What businesses have realized is that customer/blog-readers like to know the truth about what is really going on. They want the “Real Story.” Many businesses have learned that it can enhance the company image if they are able to present a persona that conveys the sense that: “Hey, we’re ordinary folks, trying to solve problems and make a living; just like you.”

Of course, there are still the personal blogs by ordinary people, of whom it must be said, emboldened by a false sense of anonymity, write their private details in a blog for all the world to read. These blogs are still wildly popular with blog-readers, probably because people like to know about what other people are up to. We are naturally curious creatures.

Not everyone, however, is eagerly awaiting the next installment of “What My Crazy neighbor is Doing Now,” or “Gemma’s Dilemmas.” When seeking answers to my questions, I frequently try to get a consensus of opinion from people around me. When, during one of my local, infamous surveys I asked an exhausted Mother of a toddler if she ever read blogs, I received a peevish and curt response: “Why do I want to waste my time reading about someone I don’t know? I am too busy. I don’t care what they are eating, or reading or what their cat is doing. Anyway, that’s boring.”

Many people may feel this way, but I do not think it is the prevailing view. The fact is, blogs are still with us and are as popular as ever. Evidence? Search for blog directories and you will find them everywhere on the Web.

Blogs exert a magnetic appeal akin to the appeal of soap-operas and reality shows. Blogs, especially, the personal blogs of ordinary people, “just like you” give us a window through which we can peer (with their permission) into their lives. We can, thus, share their hopes, dreams, disappointments, frustrations, joys and the full range of human emotions that make us feel alive. Like the Talosians in Episode One of the original Star Trek series,( “The Menagerie”) we are fascinated by how others live and we want to know how they feel. By observing others at a safe distance so we do not actually become entangled in their complicated lives, we can feel certain self-assurance about our own lives that we are indeed, OK. The examination of other people’s lives can provide us with entertainment; we can find wisdom and sometimes, inspiration. We can learn about ourselves; how we are different from others; how we are the same. We can often identify with the blogger. Maybe this helps us feel less alone in a world where, when we look out our window, our neighbor, whom we do not talk to and who does not talk to us, is not home again, as usual. We can always find comfort knowing that we can still enjoy human contact and have some connection, if only a meeting of minds, through the window of our computer. This is, essentially, the Secret Appeal of Blogs.

Thanks for reading,

Wil

Everyone knows what a story is. I do not intend to “re-invent the wheel” by analyzing and dissecting the story in its many forms. My purpose for wanting to discuss “The Story” in a post is simply that “The Story” remains one of the most useful and sometimes, most powerful tools a blogger can use to communicate with his or her readers. There are two kinds of story: A story that is true; a story that is completely fabricated. Whether a story is true or fiction, it can be used by a writer to present a narrative that is purely for entertainment purposes, or to communicate a Truth, Moral, or, in the case of blogging, some kind of relevant information about the blogger’s theme or the topic of a post.

The story may be drawn from the blogger’s personal experience (example: Paranormal? Activity I Witnessed Was Not Normal in Any Sense of the Word ) ;
or from someone Else’s experience (example: The Wedding “Gift” ) ;
The story may be the post, or it might only be an abbreviated story (anecdote) serving to illustrate a point the blogger is making (example: The Garden Post -paragraph 5.)

Stories are all around us and from the earliest “Dawn of Man,”  seem to have played an important role in the formation of a coherent and unified society, the instruction of the young and the passing of valued information and learning from one generation to another. There is evidence of this story telling everywhere such as seen in the cave paintings of Lascaux, France, the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, the petroglyphs of the Southwest native American Indian tribes, The mosaics in ancient Roman buildings, the stone carvings in Mayan, Incan and Aztec structures, the bas-reliefs in Indian and Cambodian temples and similar carvings in structures all over Southeast Asia. We must also include the stories in the ancient books and scrolls that have survived thousands of years of tumultuous history, including, of course, the Torah, The Bible and the other Sacred Texts of the Near and Far East and more recently, the illuminated manuscripts of Medieval Europe with particular reference to the ”Canterbury Tales” of Geoffrey Chaucer.  Indeed, wherever Man has been, he seems to leave history: His story.

Below are examples illustrating the above enumeration of prehistoric and ancient historical examples of storytelling.   The stories are painted on stone or etched or carved into stone as engravings or relief images, painted on walls or written in pen and ink.   All examples are means of recording a story about life in those times and all were obviously intended for posterity:

<Wild Horses, Lascaux Caves

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Important  

                               Important Animals, Horses, Auchons, Lascaux Caves> 

 ^Spotted Horses and the Artist’s Hands  -  Interesting how similar Cave Art is to Modern Graffitti.  There is a simple story and the            

silent message, echoing through many thousands of years, is similar too:  I WAS HERE….  

                  <Auchons or Bison

^Native American  Petroglyphs,Southwest America  

  ^ Egyptian Hieroglyphics                                                                                                    

                                          <Dead Sea Scrolls

   ^  Roman Mosaic – Pompeii      

        ^Bas-Relief, India

                                                                                                                             ^ Temple   Carving-                                                                                                                               Cambodia    

                             An Illuminated page from a manuscript  ^

                             of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales, Medieval England

Storytelling, to pass along valuable wisdom, hasn’t changed very much in thousands of years. Even stories for entertainment such as frightening science fiction or tales of horror are curiously compelling to many people because they seem to tweak a primeval self-preservation instinct as we are implicitly warned to be wary of certain conditions, people, places or situations.

The fabulous Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson are  perfect examples of stories used to pass along wisdom to generations.  Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes as well, exemplify enrapturing fables which contain moral lessons  [which were not written by one author but by many, probably originating with a Frenchman, Monsieur Charles Perrault who first published a compendium of nursery rhymes in 1695 that were by the fictitious author "Mother Goose."]

The Story, therefore is an exceedingly valuable medium for communicating and it can be a very useful tool for bloggers who are always looking for fresh content for new posts. With some introspection and reminiscing, you may be able to recall events or even stories from your past or the lives of people whom you have known, that you can recycle, reinvent and reissue as a story for one of your posts. If you cannot think of anything, ask your friends and relatives. If you can amend other people’s stories to make them relevant to your theme, you have a valuable source of material for your blog posts. Almost everyone has a story to tell. Every Life here on Earth is a story – still being written.

Almost everyone loves to read or hear a story so, do not hesitate to use “The Story” to communicate your ideas, powerfully, clearly and dramatically. Good Luck and I hope you will find in your stories and the stories of the people around you, many wonderful ideas for your future posts.

-wil

New Bloggers want a blog that looks good, functions well and lends itself to further development so it can be expanded and improved.  These 10 steps should help you achieve this by yourself without outside help( which is not to say you cannot solicit outside help).  Here are the 10 steps you need to follow to expedite the launch your blog:

10.    Decide what your blog is about.  Determine if it is to be a traditional web-log in which you discuss your opinions, feelings and activities or if it will be a specialized blog about a specific topic or group of topics.

9.     Choose a Domain Name.  This will be your Internet address (URL or User Resource Locator).  Your domain name should preferably be as short as possible with one or no dashes in it and reflect the true intent or subject matter of your blog or in some other fashion, characterize what you are all about.

8.   Choose a Hosting company, which will upload your web site onto its specialized and powerful servers to power it through the Internet.  You purchase hosting on a yearly or multi yearly basis which is a few dollars per month.  The company stores all your data and manages the technical aspects of keeping your site visable on the Internet and functional.  essentially, a hosting company is your “landlord” and the space you use for your web site is leased to you by your hosting company.

7.    Choose a blogging platform.  This is software that you will upload onto your space and that will give you functionality and form.  There are many different blogging platforms.  I use WordPress.  I like it.  It works well and offers good support and great flexibility.  WordPress offers many different blog templates that you can choose from to give your blog the look you want.  WordPress is free.

Choose FTP (File Transport Protocol) software.  This enables you to transfer data in file form from your  local computer to a remote server(your host’s) into which your web site has been uploaded .  You will use this to link your URL to your hosting space and to install your blog template and functions in one operation on the same space under your domain name.

Detailed instructions for using FTP ( and there are many providers of this software) are usually available when you download the software.

6.     Go to your hosting company control center or dashboard and make sure that the “nameservers” are pointing to your URL or I.P. Address.  This information is usually sent to you by your host via e-mail.  You must go to the host’s site and navigate to the page where the “nameservers” are set.  Activate your site according to your host’s instructions.Your web site should be visible on the Internet after 24-48 hours.  This time period allows the domain to “propagate” throughout the Internet.  In other words, the new domain will appear in servers throughout the world wide web and although it travels at lightening speed, there are a lot of strands in the “Web.”

5.     Once your web site is visible on the Internet you can begin customizing it by adding widgets which will add features to your site such as e-mail capability, visitor maps, translation capability, clocks, weather, news feed, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) capability to allow your readers to subscribe to your blog via an automatic feed and any other features that you think are “Cool.”  All these can be added directly through the WordPress.org web site that offers free widgets for your WordPress blog.

4.  Add Advertisments by going to various product or service web sites, signing up as an affiliate and obtaining html(hypertext markup language) code to “drop” into your sidebar.  If you need help doin this you can hire someone inexpensively through www.Elance.com.  write up a proposal about what you need to have done and submit it.  You will be notified in your e-mail and the bidders will give you a price.  You then choose your expert based on the price and the expert’s credentials and finish describing what the job is that you need done.

3.     Choose any other pages you want to add and add them.  You can do that right on your site as this is part of the WordPress package that you installed.  Definitely make sure you have an “About” page and give some background on yourself and what your blog is about.  Photos can be uploaded as well.

2.  Write your first post.  You may wish to call it “Hello World” or something similar or just start out with whatever is your topic.  Follow the instructions and help on your WordPress template.  Under “Posts” usually on the left side of the screen you will see “Add New”—click on that and you will be brought to the place where you can write your content.  You can use the tool bar to change font size and color.  Select some key words to add in the “tags window in the right hand sidebar under “Post Tags.”  Click add and they are attached to your post.”  Under “Categories, Add some categories and choose one that your first post will fit into.

1.     LAUNCH !  Press the “publish” button in the right sidebar and your first post will be published and seen by everyone.  Congratulations.  You have a new Blog.  You  are now, a blogger.  Best of Luck, 

-Wil

RESOURCES/LINKS:

DOMAIN NAMES – www.godaddy.com  

HOSTING – www.godaddy.com  , www.HostGator.com 

FTP- www.smartftpclient.com , [just search for FTP software, there are many available and some are

                                                               the premium versions are more sophisticated and are available for

                                                                a fee.]

TECHNICAL HELP – (for fee) www.elance.com 

Additional HELP – www.Wordpress.org

Blog content is amazingly diverse, from casual “chit-chat” and conversational gossip, to sophisticated, technical narratives. Anyone can have a blog which explains why the skill levels of blog writers are “all over the place,” from naive jottings to highly refined, professional prose. All skill levels are represented.

There is a special challenge that faces many new bloggers, regardless of their expertise or lack thereof. Can you guess what it is? It is self-doubt; the kind that resembles stage-fright. It contains elements of self-consciousness and feelings of inadequacy which has a person asking themselves: “Am I good enough?” “Will I ever be able to write as well as these other writers?”

What causes this? It may happen any time, early, in the blogger’s newly launched career. It can happen unexpectedly while surfing from blog to blog to see what other bloggers are doing. It happens the moment you stumble upon a dazzling example of masterful “blogsmanship” and realize, “Hey! This is awfully good!” This is when the feelings of discouragement and frustration set in, making you feel like: “Maybe I should look for another way to spend my time.”

This sort of “performance anxiety” originates from a newcomer’s tendency to unfavorably compare him or herself to bloggers of much broader experience who are well established and quite successful. So, what is a new blogger to do who is suddenly blindsided by an overwhelming sense of inadequacy at the beginning of an untested but, potentially, promising career?

The remedy is to give yourself an “attitude makeover.” A different perspective will help you to see everything in a more positive way. Here are four thoughts to drop into your mind, almost as a piece of html code is “dropped into” a file to place advertising on a web page:

First:

Everyone starts at the same place: The beginning. Very few bloggers produce a perfect masterpiece the first time. Blogs grow and develop over time. Your blog will do likewise and will get better and better.

Second:

“Keep your eye on the ball.” Focus on your own work. It’s helpful to see what others are doing but after that’s done, you need to practice taking pleasure in your own creative efforts. You should approach your blog with excitement, and enthusiasm. You should have fun.

Third:

Your blog doesn’t have to be like anyone else’s to be popular. It is as unique as you are and that is the beauty of blogging. There are so many millions of viewers using the Internet, that there is always going to be a number of people who like what you are doing.

Fourth:

There is an anecdote, widely circulated, that a patent officer in 1899 said, something to the effect that “…there is no point in having a patent office because everything that could be invented was already invented.” As it turns out, this is , in fact, a myth based on actual remarks taken out of context, but it is a perfect illustration to show how ludicrous it is to entertain such self-defeating thoughts as: “All the best blogs have already been published so there is no point in making my own.”

Most assuredly, there are a lot of new bloggers who think this way, especially, in the beginning. They may share personal details about their lives, they may “wear their heart on their sleeves,” but, they will not mention the feelings of doubt that is troubling them. There is no need to be hindered by these feelings. By keeping the four points I’ve mentioned in mind, anyone should be able to overcome self-consciousness and doubt and set aside “performance anxiety.” You will enjoy yourself much more and go on to do your best work.

Good Luck with your blog!  Go for it and Enjoy!

-wil

Recently I added a post called  ” Dancing on the Precipice of Armageddon”

which was meant to highlight the importance of Morals and Ethics and humanitarian values as absolutely necessary to the preservation of humankind. That was, simply, the focus of that post, yet someone the reading audience was vexed that I mentioned that the values derived from religions were worth embracing as part of mans’ Moral code. This reader,  apparently an atheist, left a long comment about this post which was essentially a rant against “organized religions.” I have no problem with someone being an atheist, nor with such a person expressing their views. I support free and open discussion about whatever topics I am involved with, but I wasn’t prepared for this particular comment since I was posting about something else. Even so, I decided to respond to this person who uses the name “Rational.” My response to this comment in the comments section of Dancing on the Edge of Armageddon was quite lengthy and when I reviewed it, I felt it was so long that it should have been treated as I treat it here, as a separate post. You can use your really long responses as separate posts too.

Since many readers do not always read the comments of a particular post, I have decided to post the comment mentioned above and my lengthy response to it. Here is what “Rational” wrote in response to my post “Dancing on the Edge of Armageddon:”

Rational says:October 9th, 2010 at 9:50 pm   edit            

[Commenter's original spelling retained]

“I believe that all the “ism’s”, as you put it, can lead us to a real understnding of mankinds problems and therefore possible solutions. I for one believe that organized religion has been the underlying reason for the majority of mankind’s problems, both in past and present hatered of one another, and in their unreasonable belief that the future is in the hands of a greater being. If you believe that someone else will solve all your problems, why would you bother trying to solve them yourself? If you’re taught to believe that you’re just a pawn in someone elses game, and a book claims to tell you your future, what incentive would you have to change mankind’s destiny? Man’s ability to think and solve problems, his drive to survive just like all animals, and man’s quest for “true” knowledge is what will keep us going, although I admit to what end is unclear. But the answers are with us, not in fantasic stories used by ealry man to explain the unknown.”

My response:

admin says:

October 10th, 2010 at 10:04 pm   edit

Thank You first of all, for your comment which was made thoughtfully. Your view, your beliefs, are shared by many people of various backgrounds, political persuasions, and philosophical points of view. Your comment holds another perspective than the one from which I wrote the post. You do not agree with me. That’s OK; I do not agree with your view either, but I welcome the opportunity to discuss your views.

The first point you make, that all the “isms” I mentioned “can lead us to a real understanding of mankind’s problems and therefore possible solutions” is interesting and—- not viable. Yes. Quite possibly they can, in theory, do this, but in the hundreds of years during which this has been experimented with, such beliefs have led to death and destruction of untold millions of innocents by tyrants who gained power by promoting the promise of freedom, or jobs, or elimination of some threat to the existing order, or “change” or whatever allowed them to seize power by getting popular support. Then, the trap was sprung and everyone soon found themselves in bondage or hunted as an enemy of the state. I speak in general terms, of course, but I am thinking of powerful despots like Stalin, Hitler and others( many others, unfortunately.)

You are one of a great number (unfortunately) who believe that organized religion has been the underlying reason for the majority of mankind’s problems, both in past and present hatred of one another, and in their unreasonable belief that the future is in the hands of a greater being.

Yes. You can find examples from history where this is true. You can also find examples from history, in which a demagogue has installed himself at the head of an empire, as a divine being and unleashed unimaginable savagery on the people under his rule–all without a religion or Creator to blame. You can find many examples as well in which culture, learning and the only glimmer of hope that mankind had a capacity for mercy and compassion, originated within Religious Traditions. Do you have a problem with this because these values were promoted by Religion( Christianity and Judaism, in particular, and others.)?

Here in the USA, and other Western Nations, our laws, which have enabled us to achieve some notable advances in civilization, have been derived, frankly from the Judeo-Christian ethics taught in these Religions. Do you think they are not excellent and that we should abandon them now, just because they originated within a Religious Tradition and not, say for example in a Marxist Treatise?

I want to make another point about your assertion that people who believe in a Religion which acknowledges a “Creator” or God, if you prefer, embrace “…the unreasonable belief that the future is in the hands of a greater being. If you believe that someone else will solve all your problems, why would you bother trying to solve them yourself?”

One could also argue that Religions which teach Man that there is a Natural Law in which the Individual has intrinsic value and responsibility to a higher standard of behavior with respect to his fellow creatures, is the liberating principle that enables men to conceive of freedom and independence. On the other hand, Marxist/Statist agendas, such as are being vigorously pursued by the present administration here in the U.S., in which people are being encouraged to depend on government programs and benefits, in the absence of any real employment opportunities(resulting in loss of autonomy and liberty-because there are conditions attached to such benefits) do, historically result in a population which believes that a higher authority, in this case, government, will “save” them and why should they try to better themselves?

So, it seems to me that your belief that practice of a Religion results in men becoming “fatalistic” is as likely to happen without factoring religion into it, when you consider governments that seek to control people through making them financially dependent on G O V E R N M E N T ( you may substitute “Welfare State” or “State.”)

When you mention a book that tries to tell you your future I think you are referring to the Bible or Torah. The Bible is a Library of history and a guidebook of good conduct. It does contain some remarks about the future of mankind, but in the final analysis, we are not pawns. We can choose between good and evil. You already believe that mankind has a destiny; why cast aspersions on the Bible for offering a glimpse of the future just because you don’t like it. What do you think our destiny is going to be if we don’t learn to live peacefully with each other on this planet? Is your view (or the views of any serious thinker) going to be much different from the Bible’s Apocalyptic prophesies?

You write that: Man’s ability to think and solve problems, his drive to survive just like all animals, and man’s quest for “true” knowledge is what will keep us going…” Spoken like a true humanist. I don’t agree. I think this is just as likely to result in our demise, our extinction or near extinction, through war waged with advanced technologies. Every invention, it seems can be used for good, or for evil and there is no way to avoid discussing this strange irony without considering the Nature of Man.

So, we could go back and forth and debate this endlessly. There is no definitive resolution because it depends on your perspective. TRUTH is like a many faceted jewel and what you see depends at which angle you are viewing the facts.

My post is not meant to serve as an apologist’s treatise. I am not proselytizing or promoting a specific religion, but I strongly believe that wherever such principles come from, life enhancing values that teach respect for Life and respect for your fellow creatures are not just a good idea, but an absolute necessity if we are going to live peacefully in this world and not self-destruct. Thanks again for the comment.

So since one of my visitors left me such a long, but thought-provoking ( and provocative) comment, I decided to respond with another view  and in that way, a full discussion resulted.    You may receive comments that you may likewise disagree with but value as an opportunity for discussion.  This can make the basis of a useful post, since there are , most likely, many people who will agree with your visitor’s comment and many who will agree with your position, providing both ( or several) sides of a controversial topic will ensure that your presentation of a topic is “fair and balanced” in the minds of your visitors.

Thanks for reading.

–Wil

The Traditional/Journal style blog is the most “forgiving” of all blog formats because you can write exactly the way you talk and you can write about anything you want.  Even so, from the assorted blogs I have read, it seems that people naturally like to select a more definite field of specific topics to ruminate about.  There is, therefore, a tendency for bloggers to, move the blog “art-form” in the direction of the “specialized blog” ( which we will examine in the next post.)  People who prefer to ramble in desultory fashion, however, can keep their blogs very general and write about whatever is their obsession of the moment.

It is rather amazing to think that a blogger can start a monologue about whatever interests him or her and can discover, often to their great surprise, that they have quite a following; an audience who really appreciates them and waits to read about the blogger’s next experience, as eagerly as  some fans wait to see the next installment of their favorite “soap opera.”  This effect is a little like someone walking into a public square and erupting in a Mozart Aria or a familiar Beatle’s tune, attracting a large crowd of appreciative listeners delighted to be entertained.  That is the best way I can describe what  happens when you launch a new blog.  It apparently doesn’t matter whether you are reviewing the fundamentals of knitting or what you did on your recent vacation or holiday.  Whatever you are talking about will attract people who are interested in what you have to say, and in some cases, how you say it.  The same dynamics that work in the marketplace of the entertainment world, also apply to web sites to some degree.  Since the Internet is still, largely free and unregulated, anyone can access this medium and create a blog that is sought after.  So, choose whatever sort of blog style is is best suited to your purpose.  Choose what is comfortable for you.

If you are not accustomed to expressing yourself in the written word and are still perfecting your writing skills, choose the journal style and keep it informal.  As your writing skills improve and you feel more at ease with this kind of expression, you can always turn your blog into a more specialized blog with one or two topics.

If your writing skills are already good  you can choose a more specialized blog which can be presented in a more formal writing style.  In this case, the clearer and more precisely you can write, the more credibility you will have and your blogposts will be imbued with authority and panache.  We will discuss the specialized blog in more detail in the next post.

Whichever blog type you choose, go for it—-enjoy it—have fun with it—master it.  Everyone who wants one, can have a blog.  It is easy to get started and to set up.  Make sure it is what you want to do , because, while it is enjoyable ( if you like to write and inform people) it can be a little like a job in the sense that you are making a long term commitment to the public you are writing for; to the audience who makes your blog popular and ultimately helps your blog become a success.

Good Luck With This,

–Wil