Blogging To Connect Writing To Understand

This weblog has always had two aspects, the underlying web 2.0 tools which it uses to create itself, and the narrative which ties ideas together on the page and over time.

I would still hesitate to call this "writing" in any formal sense beyond the first six definitions of the defined word, either for depth or length, but I do still endeavor to make it better. Part of the motivation for bettering my writing is that according to FeedBurner, there have been 39 visits to my weblog site through Paradigm Online Writing Assistant. It seemed a perfect fit in the early stages of developing this weblog, and I have used it to better my writing knowledge. Hopefully, that will show up on the screen at times. I did not expect it though to be a primary gateway, so the need to at least get the sentences right gets stronger.

Now Penelope Trunk of the Brazen Careerist has provided a post back on April 4th, which could provide a ready made excuse for not having the best writing, at least grammatically. According to Ms. Post writing without typos is totally outdated. Now Ms. Post is a professional writer, as in gets paid for it, and has taught writing in college. So she is far more qualified to speak on these matters than I am.

As the world of content and writing shifts, the spelling tyrants will be left behind. Here are five reasons why complaining about typos is totally stupid and outdated.

1. Spellchecker isn't perfect.
2. Spelling has nothing to do with intelligence.
3. You don't have unlimited time, so spend it on ideas, not hyphens.
I am extremely knowledgeable about grammar. I can parse any sentence. I can sign the preposition song in my sleep. So I feel fine telling you that there are great writers who don't know grammar.
This one I thought worth quoting
4. Perfectionism is a disease.
5. Use the comments section for what matters: Intelligent discourse.

So blogging is not an homage to perfectionism but rather an homage to the art of being curious.

I am continuing with the same tact that I have set for myself in writing these posts. First, I am summarizing what somebody else has said with links for myself and others to the more developed piece. So my writings become Spark Notes for other people's writings. Second, since I don't wish to merely parrot in shorthand what somebody else has said better, I am also finding another idea against which to combine, compare or contrast it.

DailyWritingTips, which is another writing toolbox that I use, recently had a post on Funny Images Conjured up by Web Comments reminding us of eternal danger of not being careful enough - paper can burn, the Internet can be forever. Finally, I am linking back to other posts of mine with similar ideas, working to develop a body of knowledge on the web for myself, and for others if they find anything of interest.

Using Web 2.0 tools in my blogging is a method of connecting to other sources of knowledge, the writing of the posts is a method of giving meaning to those connections.