Blogability

Being a relative blog virgin has certain distinct advantages. I've been skimming anonymously over other people's blogs for the last few months to get the flavour of blogging. The effort has been vaguely satisfying. It is akin to the dull pleasure one gets from reading someone else's mail or peeping through a keyhole into another life. There is one distinct difference, though - bloggers want people to read all and , occasionally, to register the "intrusion" by leaving a note or a comment.

In the course of my forays, I have discovered, that there is no distinct method to a blog. I suppose one of the joys of anarchy lies in being able to scribble one's innermost thoughts or whatever takes your fancy. In my case this has so far been confined to books and films (which take up a major part of my non-working life) people, lovers (or the absence thereof) and travels (much too rare). I do not feel confined to any one area, though I do confess the urge to start a separate much more intimate blog. As I can barely cope with one, the prospect of starting a second is somewhat remote. If I did, I'd like to start a piece of heady erotica with comments on what should happen next - or what should have happened in the previous instalment. Blogotica ?

I have also discovered that far too few people in Pakistan know about blogs. When I casually confessed to writing a blog, the unanimuous reaction was :"A What ? ". "A blog you know...like an anonymous diary." "Oh really, what an interesting concept. Do we figure in it ? " "Sometimes." The only friend who had some idea (after I protested my anonymity) retorted :"It must be on blogspot. I'll trawl each and every one till I find it." If he reads this, he will know he has.

I have discovered that there are different varieties of bloggers out there who can vaguely be classified into different categories. There are the computer types who have apparently fascinating accounts of playing around with different types of software. These would be immensely interesting if I had any idea what they were talking about. Then you have the really smart guys (like my friend M) who know how to paste links and pictures, use fancy software and still produce something highly literate and readable. Don't take my word for it ...go to www.venialsin.com. There are lots of little girls out there with blogs. Page upon page festooned with Hello Kitty characters, little girl chatter and background Midi tunes of the latest Christina Aguilera song. Power to them. Their knowledge of how to present a blog is infintely superior to mine. Then there are the diarists who record (sometimes in painful detail) the minutae of every day life - as though they would somehow disappear if they were not preserved for posterity. And finally there are scribblers like me who have a bare knowledge of the technicalities coupled with enthusisam- at least for now. Although I have had limited feedback on the site itself, I get the odd burst of email from complete strangers. Interesting. Very interesting.

Has my life changed post blogging ? A little. If something interesting does happen (and it doesn't happen as frequently as I'd like) I find myself subconsciously deciding to save it for this page. Ofcourse, the main reason why most people blog (me included) is quite simply : it's fun. Ciao.