Blogsistential questions

OK, so today might be the day to give some actual thought to this newborn blog. Who is it for? Who is it by? What is its purpose?

I have to admit, I am a bit of a blog sceptic. I mean, people - especially Americans - have always journaled. (On my recent arrival in the US, I was amazed to find that “journal” is actually a verb.) But in the past, there was a distinction between mad ramblings for one’s own pleasure and literary works fit for consumption by the general public.

There used to be a person with some knowledge of what works in literature - an editor - who could make the literary equivalent of NME’s garage-band-that-should-have-stayed-in-the-garage-with-the-engine-running comment about early performances by The Clash.

But wait a minute, I hear you say. Editors make mistakes, right? Reviewers make mistakes. NME’s reviewer made a HUGE mistake about The Clash. So? I say. The Clash kept going, didn’t they? And before long, the laugh was on the NME, wasn’t it? (Isn’t it always?)

And this is exactly my point. Good art is unstoppable – sooner or later, it will find its way into our consciousness. The same goes for literature. If someone is a good enough writer, and writes about things that interest people, their material will eventually get past the editors and into the public arena.

The trouble is, with self-publishing at an all-time high through e-books, blogging, online print services and what have you, so much junk is filling the information space that I wonder whether we are becoming immune and suddenly unable to distinguish the good from the bad. A bit like the more-fonts-than-sense evolution in desktop publishing. Or the Eccentric capitalization Trend on everything From street signs to Restaurant menus. We become so used to it we begin to think it must be OK.

With this in mind, does the world really need another blog? Who is interested in listening to my rants about this, that and the other? And what could I rant about and have a hope of at least making the tiniest positive impact on the information flow? (Not about The Clash, my children or Linda Hirshman, judging from the contents of the blog of every Tom, Dick and Harr(iet), anyway.)

Well, it looks like I didn’t answer the questions I set out to, but I haven’t given up. Watch this space!