I hadn't realized it, but I have been blogging for decades. I used to write a column called "Pepper on the Side" for the Queens Post, a weekly newspaper in New York. I was 22 years old, and because I was the editor, there was no one but myself to screen or edit my columns. My own youthful judgment was final. That circumstance, aside from the technical way my so-called pearls of youthful wisdom were delivered was, by any definition in today's parlance, a blog. Frankly, I prefer the old fashioned definition of such compositions. Essay sounds a lot classier.
Yes, we bloggers tend to run wild, at times, especially those of us who have their own blogs and act as writer, editor, graphic designer and delivery person. Most are much more informal, true to the name web log, later shortened to "blog." There are millions of people across the globe who believe there is an e-audience for their personal journals, complete with ground-breaking posts about high school reunions and baby's first tooth. There are millions of potential readers out there, and all kinds of interest groups, from UFO abductees to Barbie collectors.
Some bloggers are writers who wouldn't think of dashing off a blog or essay without thinking it through, and then revising and editing it. This does take away some of the spontaneity of blogging. It also makes blogs easier -- and more enjoyable -- to read. The big challenge is to be lively and literate at the same time.
Blog on, Warren!
P.S.: I just dashed this off, but came back and revised it 10 minutes later.
