Tuesday, May 29, 2012

When a Gentleman's Blog Flags

Dear Gentlemen,
I'm a blogger and lately I've been slacking off on posting to my blog. It's been, like, a week since I put anything up. Should I feel bad? Am I letting my loyal readers down? Or in this information age of virtual reality and no consequences "human" interaction should I feel justified flaking out?

The second part of my question is this: Is it gentlemanly to blog at all? Does a gentleman subject his fellow members of society to yet another trite and biased information stream?

Sincerely,
Building a Blog Cabin in Bloomington 



Dear Mr. Bloomington,
We will take the last part of your question first, as it relates to the first. Blogging would seem, at first blush, to contradict the ancient gentleman’s dictum to Keep it to yourself. And if one surveys the blogosphere, it is populated by fewer gentlemen than the other sort of fellow.

But if a gentleman has specialized knowledge to impart in the fields of hunting, fishing, or even say ethics and etiquette, then he is doing his fellow man a favor by generously sharing that wisdom, and should be applauded, even paid handsomely (certainly his sponsors should be clicked on and patronized). The medium he chooses could be a fiery speech, a leather-bound tome or a blog. The medium matters little.

Now, assuming that you are enriching your readers with your blog, you should not abandon them. But if your interest has waned, then you may need to pause, take a few days or a week off and refocus yourself. The most common sin of the blogger, tweeter, television talking head or button-holing party bore is to speak incessantly without taking the time to contemplate or learn more than he already knows.

Every field must lay fallow once in a while if it is to produce anything of value.

Connectedly,
The Gentlemen

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