Nadine is a coworker. One of the few that compel me to come into work on some days. She is young, a mother, a wife and a woman who doesn’t take crap from anyone, and God forbid you should have the misfortune of crossing her one day.
With that in mind.
Today she tells me in an annoyed tone, and I paraphrase:
“I don’t know what compels me to read your opinion? I don’t know why I read your blog!”
“Ah, but you must read, you have to read,” I replied evilly.
It’s interesting. What drives us to invest so much time and energy in reading the thoughts of others. Do we really care what a specific person has to say about a certain subject? Bloggers are like out of control TV pundits.
I mean bloggers have a thousand and one reasons to blog. But what reason do readers, especially “loyal” readers, have in reading?
The mechanics of this whole ecosystem we call a blogosphere is just damn weird.
its just like the whole ecosystem of life! when u like someone, and im talking ‘intellectual like’ not ‘physical like’, u tend to want to know more bout the way their mind works, and tend to wait for their feedback. in this case, wait for every post and every comment.
and ur likeable 😀 (even thou ur evil)
The wisdom of the crowd.
One of the most hopeful human constants is our inherent need for inquiry and dialog.
Nas, are you in need of some affirmation? Ya khalto, my day’s rating includes the “Black Iris Index”: if you have blogged, it makes for a more interesting day. I’ve asked myself why someone of a different gender, generation and faith so compels me to read his blog. It’s because in spite of those differences, you laugh, rage and ramble about things that I do (I can’t wait til you get married and have kids to get THOSE perspectives).
You are a realist who hasn’t lost hope.
And you have great addicts who read too, (oops, I mean commenters). Evil laugh.
And, because of what I have learned here and links you send us to, my dip and state department friends call me “Mrs. Intel”. HA!
I read this blog “la2annak bit-fish ghelli” , this blog is a place (whether you like it or not 😛 ) in which our government is being criticized in the right way by you and some good observers. i think.
I read your blog because you give me hope that one day young Arabs like you will take charge of the destiny of the Arab World!
I feel more connected to Jordan when I read your blog. I can be a hermit AND still feel like I know what is going on! Alhamdulillah. Thanks for letting us be voyeurs! Allah yatik alafia.
i can tell you why i read your blog. it has nothing to do with liking or disliking what you say, i actually read some blogs that i absolutely abhor. since no man is an island, and since you write about some things that i can relate to and that affect me one way or the other the exchange occurs here, because if i was to say some of the things that i say here in public i would probably would not be left alone for too long. so i choose a venue where i can practice my “human rights” and my freedom to speak my mind which are non-existent in the real Jordan because the airways are being hogged by people who think they can speak for us and manipulate us..
yes nas you have a huge responsibility on your shoulders , by owning the gift you have you have a critical role to play in the history of your country and , ultimately, the history of humanity as well.
allow me to throw a comment and see if you are going to address it, i feel that you have undergone a significant and fundemntal change of heart since you moved here (and since you started blogging). The change is in you political and social beliefs regarding Jordan and the Arab world , you have become more cynical, which i can relate to. i might be imaging things though
I read because you always post new ideas, new information and im addicted to reading and writing and i always want to know what other people in my generation think of.
I discovered your blog through a comment you left on Natasha’s blog (Mental Mayhem). I can’t remember the topic exactly, but it was about Christian/Muslim relations in Jordan. It caught my eye because it was rational, convincing yet respectful. Something that most of the other comments lacked. So i read the blog & bookmarked it straightaway 🙂 I do miss your blog’s Canadian phase. You were more upbeat & optimistic. Other than that, it’s still a stimulating and enjoyable read.
I read your blog because it gives me a vivid idea about how concerned youth think about the new developments in Jordan. Our generation of writers and bloggers cannot grasp the real perspective of youth so I have to see Jordan from your angle.
Nas said:”bloggers have a thousand and one reasons to blog. But what reason do readers, especially “loyal†readers, have in reading?”
In my experience it’s quite the opposite. I enjoy reading other’s ideas far more than writing down my own. I already know my own ideas, and have little reason to try and spread them, do you ?
As Markus said, the writers of the blogs I frequent don’t necessarily have to agree with me. In fact that would make the blog less interesting.
gotta be honest i dont read everything u write 😮
but i do check this site daily .. my favorite thing about ur blog is that it has a lot of readers (smalla) and that base is diverse and intellectual .. so i come here to see what you + they have to say as well offer my own two cents 😀
Because it maintains my sanity honestly.. to know that there are people around us who still use their minds, and don’t accept anything without questioning or thinking about it first.
So yeah that’s my reason.
also facebook can get boring after a while!
It’s noon, coffee is brewing, i just woke up 15 minutes ago, Marwan Khoury is playing and here i am, i didn’t even check facebook yet…efft. Why? it’s another addiction coffee music and food for thought. Why am i not addicted to other blogs ? because they lack consistency
I read your blog because many previous entries -not this one :)- had some interesting ideas and thorough analyses and good relplies. Some of them gave me the opportunity to know more about Jordan since I’ve been away from it for 4 years.
the specific answer to the title is that it was the newest entry when I refreshed my google reader and it’s a commercial break on Dr.Phil.
You’re right that we do invest much time and energy in the blog world, including “reading the thoughts of others”. I’m actually still working on trying to justify it so I can’t give you a clear answer.
Alot of people will justify it by saying somehting like it’s intellectual stimulation, exercises the mind, gaining some sort of knowledge or wisdom, and other bla bla bla bla bla…….I don’t know if those reasons apply to me. Or maybe they do apply to me and I’m in denial, but it’s not what I look for in blogs, I need to save that for the real world (I mean academically-related obligations).
I guess the best answer I can come up with is entertainment.
I read to learn about reality from a sharp observer point of view…
lol, thanks everyone for all the comments and compliments. it’s really appreciated.
However, this post wasn’t meant to be about me specifically, or as Kinzi put it, a search for some affirmation.
It was more of a philosophical question of what makes readers of blogs actually follow those blogs and their writers. It could be applied to anything and anyone really. TV pundits, and even columnists.
But I think through some of the comments I was able to get a grasp of what that connection is all about, so I thank you 🙂
To answer some of the questions and/or comments requring a reply:
“i feel that you have undergone a significant and fundemntal change of heart since you moved here ”
that is absolutely true and absolutely expected. when you move into the environment you are no longer the passive observer from abroad. to say nothing of the fact that the work I do has allowed to know all the details about Jordan’s development (or lack thereof) in just a matter of months, what might’ve taken me a much longer time to do from abroad.
“I already know my own ideas, and have little reason to try and spread them, do you ?”
It’s really not about “spreading” my ideas. Like I said, bloggers have different reasons to blog. One of my reasons is that the blog is an outlet for the million thoughts that float in my mind. Those thoughts are perspectives, views, opinions, and so I publish them. What happens to them after that, well, that’s up to the reader 😉
“Because it maintains my sanity honestly……also facebook can get boring after a while!”
by far, the best reason to read my blog that i’ve heard so far 😀
“it’s another addiction “
ah, now that is interesting. there is something about the internet sites we visit that have an addictive element to them. so perhaps one’s favorite blogs are becoming integrated into that scheme.
“I guess the best answer I can come up with is entertainment.”
another interesting aspect
“I read to learn about reality from a sharp observer point of view…”
aah, if only I, personally, could live up to that 😀
assalaamu aleykum wa ramatullahi wa barakatuh,
i’m new to your blog but i’m really enjoying it so far! 🙂 in general, i read blogs mostly for two reasons. the first is for news; i don’t generally follow major news sources and i keep up with a lot of what is going on in the world through reading other people’s blogs, since current events isn’t exactly my strong point. the other reason is for support; i especially love reading muslim blogs because of this, but also blogs on eating disorder recovery and things like that. it can be very helpful to see things written in a different way, or see something you haven’t thought of before. i stopped (mostly) reading blogs i don’t like/disagree with because i’m learning that right now i need to practice patience and not giving myself ulcers and not flying off the handle at people’ stupidity. but insha’allah i will be reading more of yours!
I read your blog because so many reasons… I’m addicted to reading and informations, especially blogs. And I want to know a bit more about the Near East as I plan to live there someday. I like to read your blog as I appreciate the writings of a sharp observer… well, it’s a question why we read your blog, but it is much more a question why people don’t.
to participate in a culture of deliberation that is largely absent from community culture and when present, out of my reach…
“to participate in a culture of deliberation that is largely absent from community culture and when present, out of my reach…”
wow, that sums it up beautifully!
if you dont add to me, i wouldnt be reading your blog… or any others for that matter.
1- Poking fun at vanity parades.
2- Playing Freud.
3- Getting ideas.
And I STILL believe that blogs are not to be taken seriously, and that’s exactly why people read them. The problem however, seems to be when bloggers are under the false impression that readers are just as emotionally attached to blogs as their owners are.