01 - Insert formal/informal introduction here.

 Himynameisharry.
    I'm some years old. I'd give you more about who I am, but honestly? You probably don't care all too much.
With any luck you should get a general idea of who I am by reading this, I mean after all, the general Idea of a 'blog' is to show people your inner self right?

I'm not convinced.

I recently met someone; a friend of a friend of a friend, and in their blog they ask a very fundamental question;

   "Is a blog just an online diary?  If so, how much of ourselves are we really putting out there, and why do we do it?
It’s interesting to consider how much truth goes into a blog.  I have never written a blog before so it will be interesting to see what I leave out of it.  As I begin this newfound hobby I promise that I will never write anything dishonest in my blogs, and that everything I write shall be the truth as far as is in my knowledge.  But it shall be interesting to see the truths I am afraid to include.  If you are reading this and you write a blog, how much of it is true?  How closely does it match up to the real you, and how much does it really say about who you are?  Can you really come to know someone simply from what they write?"

To extent, everyone 'blogs' for their own individual ends, whatever they may be, and I think it safe to say that everyone; including yours truly, proclaims to be writing some form of 'truth' about themselves, or how they see the world. A lot of people out there will be happy enough with that.
For me though, that just isn't enough. Thomas Hobbes once noted that;

   "whatsoever is the object of any man's appetite or desire; that is it, which he for his part calleth good: and the object of his hate, and aversion, evil...for these words of good, evil...are ever used in relation to the person that useth them: there being nothing simply and absolutely so; nor any common rule of good and evil; to be taken from the nature of the objects themselves, but from the person of the man (where there is no common wealth) or, (in a common wealth) from the person that representeth it..." (Hobbes 1996: 35)

   For those not familiar with Hobbes' work, his argument here is one of two parts; The first is that language is a concept steeped in perception; Love, Hate, Evil, Good...are all subjective to the person using them; The Second is that it is in everyone's human nature to be selfish; This is his concept of selfish, and does not have the same negative connotations that it does to most modern minds. Selfishness, in Hobbes' eyes is epitomised by desire. One can desire benevolence and good will. One can give to charity and still be selfish; the experience of feeling good will, is one which they desire; they want to help people.

  Clarifications aside, I think Hobbes' argument of Human Nature and Perception can be applied here. What is 'the truth'? I don't hold to the idea of a universal truth; everyone has their own definition of the 'truth.' So the question to ask is 'What are people trying to achieve by showing us 'their' truth?'

  I do not think that this question can that one can empirically answer. It is subjective, and down to interpretation. But I think it fair to say, regardless of an individual's definition of 'the truth', their opinion should be respected. However, I do not think that one should ever accept anything on face value. Whilst we should respect other peoples 'right' to an opinion, we also have 'right' to criticise it. And it is a right we should always exercise; even if not openly.

  So to conclude this first post; I aim to be open and honest in my blog; I aim to give my view on the world and everything in it that jumps out at me. If I cannot achieve this I simply will not write. However; you, the observer, should not take what I say as given. Attack it. Praise it. Criticise it. Support it. Agree with me, or don't. That is your right.

  All of this is interesting, but it still doesn't answer the question raised by my friend of a friend of a friend.
  "What are blogs? And why do we write them? What do they really say about us?"

The answer, I feel, is simple.
A blog is whatever the person writing it wants it to be, individuals write them to fulfil their own desires, and they only contain what the individual perceives as the truth.
That may not be the answer my friend from a friend from a friend was hoping to ascertain, but that is my point.
You can only interpret what is written. You can never 'know'. As such one must always be critical; what someone is telling you is their 'truth' may only be what they want you to see.

  Why am I writing then? Personally, I'm writing to vent my frustration about everything, and I don't care whether you agree with me or not. What I write is what I think, and although it is the 'truth' in my eyes, don't close your eyes and mind to other possibilities.
I might also share some other assorted items of interest to do with my life...if you're lucky =]

If you read this far, thank you =]
-DH-

Bibliography

Davies, 'Annie' (2011). Memoirs of a pedestrian - Blog One (March 3rd, 2011) [Online] Available at <http://annie-penn.blogspot.com/> (Accessed March 25th, 2011).

Hobbes, Thomas (1961, Reissued - 1996). Leviathan. Oxford/New york: Oxford University Press.