Cliffhangers

25 July 2007 at 14:30 (Communication, Community)

As blog manager, this morning I made an Executive Decision to use the More button to split posts. This does several things.

On your end, you will notice that you now have to click the coloured text that says, “Read the rest of this entry >>”. (Yes, I’m trying to intentionally pick “cliffhanger” points to insert those More links; they serve as a good check for the editor part of my brain.) My apologies to those on slower dial-up connections; I’m not doing it to be aggravating.

Rather, I am trying to tighten up the front page, so people can see more post headlines/topics. I’m a loquacious essayist, not doubt of that, and post lengths can obscure the headlines that would demonstrate the variety of subjects, to draw people’s interest in them. In this regard, it’s meant to be a browsing aid. Using the More button also allows readers to automatically see the comments posted at the end of the posts. I really, really encourage people to comment. Yes, YOU.

(By the way, if you include a hyperlink in your comment or use any one of a number of words flagged as potential spammage — WordPress’ filter is fairly sensible, as such go — your comment will get hung up in my Moderation queue for approval. Don’t panic; I check my email frequently during the day, and as long as your not hawking commercial links or being the worst sort of troll, I’ll let your comment through.)

Were I writing to just be writing or to be working out ideas in my head, I’d simply have an enormous word-processing file sitting in my computer. Were I just writing at the world, I would turn the comments off. But I’m not — I am writing to add to the public discourses about various topics. I blog to provoke thought, to express my opinions, to support people and causes, and yes, to have fun. I use the medium of blogging because I find it an easier medium for communication, and because it can be more accessible. Kindly let me know if there’s something I can do to make it more accessible.

Blogging is indeed an ego-driven phenomenon, and that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s narcissistic, but that people want to express thoughts about things that are important in their lives. But what makes blogging great is that it can be a substrate for dialogues between people all over the world. So, back to the blog.