Monday, October 31, 2011

My Diary Is So Much Better Than My Blog

Parsing belongings in advance moving, and I came across a journal I once kept. The entries go back a decade to the day, and remind me of people, events etc I've long relegated to the recesses of my brain. To my credit the entries are well written- they have a distinct 'voice' and direction. I give my decade ago self kudos for that.

Dear Diary- Shall I keep you another 10 years?
This has me thinking that my journal is way better than my blog. I mean that. The journal- okay let's go ahead and call it a diary- is the truly 'authentic' form of communication.  Bloggers/social media strategists expend much labor and angst in pursuit of the appearance of authenticity. One catch, unlike my blog, I don't want anyone to read my diary. If it were published, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but it's not my first choice. My diary was never intended as a work for publication.

My blog? Well, that's a different story. For the most part, I want you to read this. I try to write thoughtful posts, promote them, tag them etc. To that end I'm asking you- begging in some cases- to read this. Few people do- and when I compare these divergent objectives- I daresay we've hit on a qualitative limitation of the blog.

Doesn't reading a diary seem way more juicy than reading a blog? To me it does. It's the difference between raw, unadulterated thought and, well, positioning. A diary is my darkest/deepest thoughts: it's where I kiss and tell. Blogging is PR.

Would you rather ready my blog or my diary?

Should I keep this diary or burn it? Burning would be ceremonial- from ashes to ashes we all go- thus consigning it to the ages. I have to admit I'm torn.

What do you think?

2 comments:

  1. Keep it! It will remind you if who you are as opposed to who you were.

    Lachezara

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  2. Thanks, Lachezara! I think I'm going to keep it. My office mate recommended that I add a page (the diary is full), and provide an update at this juncture (Oct/Nov 2011). Then store the diary for another ten years. I'll just have to think of a way to send myself a reminder in mid-October of 2021.

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