Vortexia's Secret

i'm going to be boring for a minute and talk about us. ok, about bloggers. for the majority of us, it's an outlet, a way to tell our story, practice writing, record our lives, or maybe even meet a couple really cool people. most people don't start a blog to become famous. some may go a week before they're even discovered.

but once they get into the groove, something interesting happens. yes, some continue on with life as normal, just blogging for themselves. however lately, i've noticed more and more bloggers busting out the high school (if not middle school) tricks. jockeying to be popular, picking favorites, being catty, working for the numbers, whoring to be recognized. how did it come to this for them? how can that still be any fun? the popularity and the spike in interest can give a little high, but come on... it's the internet, home of ADD. you'll probably just be a flash in the pan like everyone else. plus the bigger issue... it's not your real life. none of those people know you personally. it doesn't get you invited to more parties on saturday night.

now to sound like a geezer-blogger... back when i started, part of why i decided to write more and try to keep it up was because everyone was so nice. i see a little less of that now. not to me personally, but it shows up in people's writings. i won't point any of them out, but they pit people against each other or maneuver themselves into a top position or drop a comment to make their readers work harder at getting a little specialized attention. and the big one that's been on the books since before i started... they beg around to be linked but refuse to reciprocate so they get a bigger draw while giving nothing back. when i started, i only linked up the people i read, but then i decided to change that. if they linked me, i was willing to link back whether i was familiar with their writing or not. it was fair. sure, sometimes it's mostly a boost for them because they've just started, but sometimes i'm the one who gets the boost... like from tony. (aside: if you've linked to me and i don't show a link for you, then let me know to hook you up.)

so my dear fellow bloggers, it's graduation season. are any of you willing to cross that stage and retire your high schoolish ways?