My friend Gabe got mentioned on wired.com's blog. Check out his blog for more information. This spurs some thoughts on the continuing power of mainstream media to promote and-or shut down aspiring writers. Gabe didn't seem discouraged at all by the mention of his magazine article on wired.com, despite the editor's efforts to make his efforts seem weird. I'm rooting for Gabe to continue his writing and creative efforts, and I think the effort to make his cartoon seem weird is an offhand gesture by someone who doesn't know as much about Air Force technology development as Gabe does. Still, it makes me wonder how easily we are influenced by the media as a whole.
I am a fairly typical reader of mainstream media, yet I try to resist the influence of "the media" and resist their pull. Still, I get pulled into their orbit. I watch CNN for as long as I can stand it; I listen to NPR even though I'm not a member. I react to things they mention, whether it be the NY Times or some news program on TV (i.e. Meet the Press). I trust the media to a certain extent, even as I resist their influence. I think it's impossible to avoid mainstream media's influence. I hope this changes, and that us bloggers and other creative types can really start generating our own valuable information sets. We'll see.
3 comments:
Hey man, thanks for the comment! I didn't realize you had actually written about this. I had seen your comment and was really quite thrilled just to get that. I guess I'm so used to nobody paying much attention, that any attention is fabulous. So yeah, it doesn't bother me that they are poking fun at us. I actually kind of like it. We know people disagree and some even think we're just plain...foolish. What's important to us is getting the word out. Somebody should do it, so why not us?
Oh, BTW, I love the outlet of a blog to write my thoughts. It seems I have a bajillion of them, and I find blogging a good outlet for them....it helps me to concentrate the thoughts and bring seemingly disparate ideas together. I just wish I had more time to do it. Anyway, thanks for cheering me on!
So I'll return the favor and cheer you on too. Go, Scott, GO! (though I don't think you'll have any problems keeping this up seeing as how you have more expertise at it).
Want to challenge me to NaNoWriMO? One of my friends keeps bugging me, but I'm too scared. What would I write about? We should do it!
NaNoWriMo, huh? I checked out their website, and I guess all you do is register and write. I guess I'll accept your challenge -- if you register, I will, too. As far as what to write about, I've heard some good advice -- start with what you know, but don't stay there. Take your characters someplace where you don't know what they'll do next. That's when it gets interesting. I love blogging too. A note from NaNoWriMo caught my eye: "As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel." I like that idea.
Post a Comment