So I have a confession to make.
I’ve been really reluctant to embrace this whole blogging/online communications thing. I’ve harbored some animosity toward it and have really fought the urge to embrace it. Here’s why.
I am very much a communicator. This may sound cliche’, like the whole, “I am a people person,” declaration, but I truly come alive when wrapped in the arms of a good conversation. I can express accurately. I can portray passion effectively. I can listen earnestly. I can love explicitly. This is where I genuinely experience life, love and contentment at its highest level. During face-to-face human interaction, I feel like I can accomplish whatever it is I need to accomplish in that moment.
I do not feel this way when communicating via technology.
Be it phone conversations, text messages, BLOGS, facebook messages/statuses, etc. I am never more misinterpreted than when I communicate through these channels. It frustrates me to no end. On the other hand, I am fascinated by words and sentences and phrases and metaphors. These are not always spoken or expressed through everyday interaction. In fact most fascinating communication is in the form of art which is fixed and experienced in the quiet, by yourself.
So considering this dichotomy of communication and relating it to my take on the whole situation, I have been very wary of really jumping in head first to this new online world. I see my friends blogging and those musicians that I respect doing the same, and I sit and rack my brain to try and realize what all the fuss is about. My fear is that in this ever-evolving digital world that we are currently caught up in, we will somehow lose sight of “how it use to be.” To clarify, for me, “how it used to be” translates into a friend/acquaintance and I grabbing a cup of coffee or another preferred beverage and laying our hearts on the table in hopes to learn and change and experience. And technology may not have even gotten to that point yet where that is lost, but I feel like I see traces of it in the younger generations.
I say all this not to complain or try to persuade, but rather to throw in the towel in a way. I see that this is the way of the future, and the “old” ways will always be there (I hope), but I want to be able to share and love and experience and learn and teach EVEN in an evolving digital world. And if that means sitting in front of the computer and carefully crafting my words to somehow accurately mimic my characteristic facial expressions, gestures, and mannerisms then so be it.
I’m jumping in. On to the bandwagon if you will. But not in fear of losing cool points, but in hopes of evolving right along with the world around me, so that I may be relevant and able to give and COMMUNICATE as effectively as I have always strived to do.
I hope this makes sense and doesn’t sound like a melodramatic entrance to something that is not really even a big deal. And maybe its not. But for some reason, it has been for me. Just wanted to be honest I suppose. And if there’s one thing I can do in a face-to-face setting is be transparent and honest.
So I suppose this a good start.
-jj
