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This blogging business is tough to keep up with! And I think I'm about to fall into the trap of most bloggers/diarists, and now I see how easily it is done .... I haven't written in a while, mainly due to workload catching up with me.

Dissertation is slowly taking shape though.

It's funny, I wonder at the fact that I am writing about blogging and blurring the lines between a public and private life, because I'm finding myself now somewhat reluctant to publish the details of my work. I've always found it difficult to share my ideas, and often prefer to have them written cohesively before allowing anyone to read them. So why am I writing here?! (might have something to do with the 0 comments ... ie nobody cares!)

So...

Progress has been made! I have my main ideas all written in an introduction that has taken me the last few days to iron out, and I believe that there are probably still creases that need attention. But progress nonetheless. The main argument is basically that personal blogs are not diaries (in spite of basic definitions calling them online diaries) because of the community surrounding them, thus forcing them into a public domain and basically counteracting all of private/secretness of a traditional diary in the first place. So unless the definition of online diary means 'welcome to a community and share all of your ideas with the millions and zillions of people' (which I doubt because diary generally doesn't mean that), this argument should make sense.

I'll be looking at three blogs specifically and then discussing three main points that I think distinguish the personal blog from the diary and that demonstrate the community or lack of privacy of that personal blogging entails. So far I'm sure that I want to use format as one of the chapters, and time as well, but the third chapter is a bit wishywashy on concrete details! I figure Ill write what I already have and then see what's left...it will more than likely be authenticity, but as of yet im unsure how to relate this to a community. hmmm. We'll see. It might have something to do with identity and if you write to others, for others, you create a networked identity or something?!

Ill try to keep going with sharing my thoughts, I think that its kind of ironic that im writing about the community of blogging and I have zero comments! If any bloggers do come across this by chance....all comments welcome!!