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That Makes Three of Us

Jessica Watkins's picture

     Both Tim Burke's and Geeky Mom's blogs easily fell under the category 'easily distracted.'  Both encompassed topics ranging from education to food to...video games? I personally have not had much experience with video games, especially those played online like WoW (and I only know a little about it because my brother used to play it), so it would interest me to see how people like Geeky Mom began their relationship with the cybergame world.  I have to admit I was a little surprised to see a mom blogging in detail about her game session, but I think it made the blog all the more interesting. It's nice to see something unexpected once in a while, just to remind us of the variety of people out there that we haven't even come close to meeting yet. Geeky Mom is breaking stereotypes about motherhood in a different, inconspicuous way, which brings us back to genre once again. Does blogging unintentionally (or intentionally) put its users into categories? Tim Burke and Geeky Mom have proven that in a world wide web of labels, it is possible to break from the mold and create your own, pliable "category."

Comments

Laura/Geeky Mom's picture

Thanks, teal, for the

Thanks, teal, for the interesting comment. I think that blogging has categories and that people put themselves into categories as readers when they approach a blog. For example, because my blog has "Mom" in the title, a lot of moms find their way there and then they don't like my gaming posts. They want "mom" posts, whatever that is. I had no idea, when I started blogging that the category of "Mommy Bloggers" would spring up and become "very" popular. And they almost exclusively write about the day to day life of being a mom, albeit in a irreverent and funny tone, but still. Most of the blogs I read are all over the place in terms of topics. I've been reading Tim's blog forever. Most of the blogs that end up with huge readerships have a very focused topic--motherhood, politics, food. I have too many interests to stay that focused. :)

Jessica Watkins's picture

Nope, you're right

You're definitely not misreading me, aseidman.  I also think the allure of the details of her gaming session stemmed from the fact that I have little to no experience in that area.  I think blogging can be extremely useful when it describes something--be it a foreign country or a video game--"exotic" (if you will).  Blogs are one of the more interesting portals into the unknown, a digital ocean full of information overlooked and underexplored.  For example, it was more interesting to read Geeky Mom's desciption of WoW than it would have been to look it up on Google or Wikipedia and read a boring article written by somebody who had been paid to write it.  Because blogs are unlimited in their content and style, they allow for so much more exploration.

aseidman's picture

You said something important

You said something important there, teal. The thing that seems to have appealed to you the most is the "detailed gaming session." I agree, I also thing find that interseting. However, it goes part-way to proving a point; the things that intrigue us the most as readers are the places were a certain topic is discussed in some detail. Rather than reading lots of little posts about seemingly random, disconnected activities, I prefer blogs (or posts) that focus on one topic upon which the blogger can elaborate. Am I misreading you? What do you prefer?

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