Word Play
October 31, 2006
Detail of a map of Tokyo from the 1940s. I love maps and explorations in general…
Playing with words today, using one of my favorite books, the Thesaurus:
InterNet Community
Inter [verb]
Place in a grave or tomb
Thesaurus: bury, entomb, conceal, engulf, enshroud, embed, submerge, absorb, immerse, engage, involve
Net [noun]
A network, in particular, a network of interconnected computers
Thesaurus: meshwork, webbing, lace
Community [noun]
A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals
Thesaurus: populace, collective, inhabitants, citizens, group, body, circle, gang, bunch, sisterhood, congregation
Free Association:
Net = world wide web, internet
We – this loosely defined internet/blogging circle – are being absorbed, involved and engaged in activities such as reading and writing blogs and participating in creative activities such as photography, collage, The Artist’s Way, and other projects, most or all of which are being shared through internet channels such as websites, blogs, discussion groups and emails.
Common attitudes, interests and goals: To live a creatively-fueled life, to encourage and inspire others to think and act creatively and artistically, to connect to other individuals worldwide who share these philosophies.
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It is interesting to see how the words and word segments create an image of community members being engulfed and absorbed – I see a huge, wide net falling over all of us, and while we all may have chosen to be where we needed to be in order to be pulled into this circle, it is hard not to see how difficult it can be for individuals to really connect to one another with a giant net holding them down. There can be certain benefits to being immersed in this community, but do the constraints make it difficult to create real intimacy between the inhabitants?
Or is real intimacy even a goal? Do we just want to bring creativity in our lives in our own way, on our own time? Perhaps one of the things we love most about blogging and an online community is that, at the end of the day, we really don’t have to be held accountable…do we all feel like we are already beholden to too many people, too many responsibilities and too many to do lists? That our blogs and online communities are one of the few places that are solely our domain to do as we please?
Perhaps we like being under a net that restricts us in a way, that doesn’t force us to connect too closely with our fellow bloggers. Maybe we all feel as if our blogs are one of the few things we have in life that is all our own, and therefore maybe we don’t want to necessarily have to be responsible for real intimacy with other bloggers. I say these things and pose these questions without judgement, they are simply thoughts and questions emerging in my brain as I look at the meanings of these words.
What are the benefits, if any, of a somewhat fractured and disconnected community that still, on a certain level, encourages so many people to make time for art and creativity?
I love the connections. Fractured and distant as they may be, they feel very real…
I love the inspiration…
And the conversations that happen spontaneously…
The implicit invitation to try something new.
Maybe even to BE someone new…
I haven’t really “made art” since I was a kid, but this month in NOvember, I’ve committed to making art every day.
How cool is that?
Personally I feel as obliged–if not more so–to people I “know” via the web, as those I know IRL. Unfortunately I’ve learned the hard way that many folks–as with those I know/have known in person–don’t feel a fraction of the same conscientiousness towards others.
I think the net, like any human interaction–regardless of depth/superficiality–can serve as fuel for the creative fires if people choose to use them as such. Does this mean a good portion take more than they give? It’s possible, but this imbalance can happen under any circumstances.
I’ve become much more cautious in my “relations” since first arrival; I try to give and receive the best the internet has to offer–ie, artistic discussions/feedback/inspiration/etc.–while maintaining a cautious distance for my heart and soul’s sake.
When I first started blogging I was hoping for connections and I knew I would find inspiration.
As much as I value the connections I have made this past year, recently I have begun to realize that everything is not always how it appears to be.
I have begun to look on sidebars to see how long people have been blogging for. I am always shocked when I see 2004 or earlier. I think, “Really, you have all been doing this for that long?” It surprises me. I know the blogging community has really grown since 2004 and probably has changed in many ways.
I am at the point that I want to go deeper with some of my blogging sisters, but there has to be that mutal feeling and I think it is more difficult to navigate a friendship on the web. You never know what a person really thinks because they are posting their blog for everyone to see, they are commenting on everyone’s blog…
In my everyday life I have to pick up the phone or drive to your house or write you a letter or email you to communicate with you. I chose you and you chose me back.
I think there is alot of assumptions in the blog world. I am just learning this now. I am learning how to nurture friendships in this new way.
I never understood when I would read posts about how the blog world is like High School. But now I am seeing it, feeling it. It is not a good or bad thing, it just is.
I know not ever connection I make is lasting or even real, but some are…real and true and beautiful and that is why I plan to be blogging for a Very long time.
Your perspective is so interesting to me, since it’s so opposite of mine about blogging and what it’s brought to my life. I don’t feel restricted by the net–I feel freed by it. I genuinely care about my blog-sisters, and feel their care for me. Is there a ‘high school’ dynamic to some elements of the blogosphere (as Melba mentioned)? Absolutely. But that happens in any area of life when egos get involved. I’m much more intimate with my blog-friends than I am with most people IRL right now. I’m not finding a lot of people in my real life right now who want to have the sorts of conversations–literal and creative–that I have in the blogosphere. So I’m grateful that I have blogging, and feel greatly blessed by the community I’ve found by doing it for the last 3+ years.
I love that I get such an intimate and vital peek into the private and incredibly beautiful lives and hearts of my fellow women. I think I especially appreciate this medium because as I go through my day I often feel so frustrated or bored at small talk, at the fact that at work, buying my groceries, etc, conversation is very restricted to what is “appropriate” and “necessary.” I’ve often longed for regular, deep, meaningful connections with others, and I do have those with my family and friends, but there are so many I’ve connected with through their blogs-like you!- that I never would have been able to otherwise. I can come home at the end of the day and KNOW that I will read things on my fellow bloggers’ sites that is nurturing and/or inspiring, and esp on the many trying days of this past year I am indescribably grateful for it.