Since I moved blogs/journals, I had to re-register through a few websites I utilize to keep my blogging in order. This registration process is sort of like a kid being processed for a new school. Each station you pretty much do the same thing, name, email, blog name. Then they torture you a bit with verifying thy blog and usually you’re good to go.
But a couple of them want to know “what kind of blog do you own?” I.E. The category we should stick your slice of the apple pie in. Category? “Who Me”, I thought? Could I be summed up into one classification of bloggerdome? When I tried to skip it, or get around it, one place warned me sternly that according to the powers of blogwisdom, not sticking to a ‘theme’ of some sort is a recipe for blog disaster.
I’m human, and my mind went somewhere like, ”Oh shit! I don’t want to fall through the cracks of the blog highway like sad little drops of uncategorized thoughts.”
So, I tried to figure out which identity I’d pretend to be. For example, I looked at Technorati’s main category choices, which in turn each breaks down into little sub-catagories. I couldn’t even get past the big daddy 6 divisions, let alone find my social standing in the subcategories.
- Technology: Oh, I have a thought or two about technology, and bitch about it from time to time, but I’m pretty sure I want to stay a zillion miles away from that topic of terror.
- Sports: Hmmm, the one and only time I wrote about sports was my disastrous experience with the Greek God Golf instructor and his remarks about my boobs being an asset to the sport. Again, my qualifications are sorely lacking.
- Business: Well, the reason I never mention my business (es) on here is because this is my escape from that reality. No thanks……..
- Politics: Simply put, I’ve just never gone there with my journal. I’m a girl from Idaho, we are trained here not to talk publicly about politics and religion and it’s hard to unravel oneself from such mentality in a group atmosphere. So, again, no dice on the category.
When I saw the last two catagories I perked up with possibility that quickly fell as flat as an _ (that’s an underscore in case you didn’t get my subtlety)
Entertainment:
- I thought, well, I entertain myself with a blog, surely the people that visit my website get some form of entertainment. But, I didn’t see “blog that entertains with randomness” located in the sub-catagories. This is Perez Hilton’s zone, and the people who review TV, music, and video games. So I gave this category the middle finger and moved with great expectations to #6
- Lifestyle: These were my choices. Architecture (seriously, they get a whole sub–category?) Art ( I like it, but don’t make it or critique it, or take photos) Autos ( LOL) Fashion (nope, nadda, zippo) Food and Wine ( Ah no ) Health and Fitness ( I wish) Home and Garden (my house wishes) Travel (sometimes) Pets (umm no again) Parenting ( I qualify, but don’t write about it often enough to earn a label) and finally, Literature. ( which I mention from time to time, but this isn’t a book blog either)
Clearly, I was screwed. And then I thought with shock and wonder, “What in the hell, (pause please) have I been writing about for the past 5 years?”
I have no definable qualities to claim. I don’t even have a mold to try to squeeze into. I’m a flop home with no house rules. Barely 5 years old and having an identity crisis. I’m not sure what to do with my discoveries, other then say, “Ahh, I write a blog and it’s about, you know, stuff.” I’ve never until this point looked at the whole picture of what I write here. I’m a mishmash of whatever flows from my fingers. A compass spinning wildly and unwilling to settle on a direction.
This crisis made me think of all the other blogs I read. I realized many of you do have blogs with purpose. You know what you want to talk about and generally stick to a theme. I can also think of a few that are a bit like mine. Random with a subcategory of eclectic. It makes me curious, could you fit into one of the above categories or are you hovering around like me, lacking a blogosphere team hat?