on blogging and writing

check out this interesting article over at brevity.

i think the ideas are worth thinking about, especially since they redeem blogging from navel-gaving by transforming it to a lower-stakes format where a writer can develop her persona, as expressed here:

"Blogging offers a veiled reality that can be a serious advantage to the writer who is not quite sure of himself or who is in need of some narrative soul-searching. Online, we can shape our eccentricities, smooth and polish our rough-edged fears, have good fun with our own insecurities, be caustic or witty in moments when our real selves might brood, get flustered or hold back."

but i disagree that it is so easily done. three or four posts and your voice strikes the right balance? i'm also not sure the author fully addresses the problems associated with creating a pseudo-self to bear the weight of our "real" selves, or creating a mask that lets us be vulnerable enough without being "real" vulnerable. (if i've learned anything besides handout creation in graduate school, it's that the money question is "what are the implications this text ignores?" money. but only pseudo-money, since i'm in the humanities.)

i'd like a little more explanation here: "If taken seriously as an effort to hone artistic skill, one’s online persona will emerge as a narrative strength that will readily transfer to more traditional, more literary, hard-copy forums," specifically on the "readily transfer" part.