Why web?

It’s a fair question. Why do a web page? Because everyone’s doing it? Because it’s a free, fairly safe way to express your exhibitionism? An outlet for frustrated authors? A venue for your repressed need to teach? Someplace to thrust the kabillion pics of your grubby toddler on the world? All of these?

My friend who helped me connect up WordPress to my StartLogic account (why is everything now XxxxXxxx?) asked me this same question, “Why do you want a webpage?” Well, more correctly, she asked me what I was going to use it for. I had to think about it for a moment. At one time, I was an active costumer in the SCA and wanted to post photos and “this is how I did its” on my site. Maybe force some of my pathetic writing on people. Although, it’s very difficult to force anything on anyone on the web, since you can always navigate away from the page—that solves the grungy toddler pics right there.

This made me start thinking about why the average Joe, or Jo-Anne, puts up a webpage. I think we have something to share. Even if it’s some crackpot notion like the faking of the moon landing or bizarre conspiracy theories. After all, the person posting those sees them as valid and something worth sharing with the rest of the world. I’d like to find some tranylcipromine and share it with them, but that’s for another post.

Some bloggers have huge following and their lives become endlessly fascinating to their fans, so they put up a website. Witness “Dooce.” At one time, Dooce was hilarious. Her rants against motherhood and other institutions were infamous. But then she went commercial, and even worse…she got pregnant. During her pregnancy, she was still funny, but afterwards…it was kind of like after Kathleen Woodiwiss got religion: her novels sucked. Heather's (Dooce) angle has changed (she had a nervous breakdown, too) and I would imagine that for the most part she now has an entirely different fan base. She must have one, since she’s still up and running and has two (count ‘em) books out. And, just be damned if she didn’t drop another spud this month, too. Life is odd.

Why do you web?