Crisis of thought

Ok, crisis is a little strong. Perhaps it's too late to try and explain my thought process after having just submitted another assignment and having work tomorrow. In short, I've skipped posting the past couple of days because I just couldn't bring myself to do so when I should've been working on the assignment. That's not to say I didn't manage to waste (plenty of) time in other ways but I kept myself away from posting.

Just like with flickr, I am learning that blogs can serve many purposes. To some they are less invasive versions of the group e-mail. To others, it is a way to affect change in the world. That may be in their own lives or of those they come into contact with through their blogs. I am still coming to terms with what I hope to accomplish with this. I think that is part of a larger process of coming to terms with what I want to accomplish and who I am in more general terms.

As someone who grew up in a rather non-traditional atmosphere and has studied and been moved by the environment and development (and the many areas where the two intersect) I have many views about the world and our role in it. While I wouldn't hesitate to share my views on these and most any other subject with any of my friends I still can't help but second-guess myself. That's where the coming to terms with myself comes in.

In case you're not familiar iTunes offers the capability to share music over a network. I recall reading an article about someone who researched people's musical habits and tastes and how they changed when their entire playlist was shared across their company. Suddenly, people weren't sure if Milli Vanelli should stay in their collection because "what might other people think?" I can't help but consider that when I think about what to post. I believe that, in both cases, it relates to the lack of context. For the closet Milli Vanelli fans, the associations or the reason that they have it in their collection can't usually be adequately explained to others. Here, there will be some who read this that know nothing about me besides what they read and as a result, can't put things in context with who I am.

I think I'm also having trouble placing myself between the two ends of the blog continuum that I've described (social network v. social change). Putting yourself out there, explaining yourself to others, means explaining yourself to... yourself. It'll likely be an ongoing process.

In the meantime, happy Buy Nothing Day! (Thanks to Amy for the reminder and the internal fodder to chew on).

Here's the obligatory "save me from flickr purgatory" photo post. That is neither me, nor me. Rather a couple of very good friends.