Things have been strangely quiet in the blogosphere lately. I have neither had a surplus of time nor creative imagination for corralling a few measly words together for a post, but Charity is willing to let me ramble on about five reasons why I blog, so…
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Human beings (or becomings) are wonderful. My Manufacturer wired me for people and I am energized by social interaction.
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There are ideas that can be redeemed by releasing them into a dialogue. Ideas left unshared will dissipate and therefore, are worthless. I blog to participate in the exchange of these ideas, regardless of whether they are lofty or silly.
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One of my personal quests is for the understanding and establishment of the Third Place. The blogosphere is very real, but it’s not a physical place. Nevertheless, I think there are things that I can learn here (via blogging) that can be applied to a “brick-and-mortar” third place in my geographical community.
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I have a deep conviction that the only reason I am still sucking oxygen (after believing in Christ) is that I have a role in the Great Commission. In order to be “making disciples,” I need to be communicating with people. I was not satisfied with the quantity of people I previously encountered in my daily exchanges. Blogging allows me to interact with more people, Christians and non-Christians.
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And finally, why do I blog? I originally created a profile so that I could leave comments on somebody else’s blog. But after sampling this phenomenon and seeing how one can virtually eliminate the tintiddle, why would I not?
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About the picture. I had to find something related to the number five, and lo! Five eggs! You’ve heard of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) and FROG (Fully Relying On God), but have you heard about EGGs (Evidences of God’s Grace)?
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22 comments:
I actually tried to look up the word, "tintiddle." What exactly is "tintiddle"?
I like your blogging reasons. And your blog. And about that comment on Martin's blog...I don't know what came over me! ;-)
Tintiddle: A witty retort you wish you had made but thought of too late.
Yeah, I saw that retort. When you least expect it... Mmwaaa-ha-haaaa.
Craver -- Excellent reasons, I say.
I've been feeling the lull on blogging right now too. Seems like were all taking in the last vestiges of our winter hibernation. (Actually, I was sick all last week, but maybe the hibernation theory is true for everyone else).
By the way, interesting application of "Third Place." I read the The Great Good Place after hearing that Starbucks' original business model was based on this sociological principal. I think the church is trying to function as a third place for people, though after some research, I'm not sure that's a good metaphor for what the church is supposed to be about.
Would love to hear more of your thoughts on that concept.
I am personally intrigued by your comment, Charity, as Starbucks employee quite familiar with the concept of the Third Place.
I know you didn't ask me, but I'd probably be interested in batting that one around--only I'm curious about your OWN thoughts on the subject, first.
Craver--oh, hi! Is this YOUR blog? Thanks for defining tintiddle, because I was dying to know what it meant, too. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to use it in a sentence, though.
ohh, creepy. I've been totally feeling a lack of motivation to blog too. Maybe I'll overcome it this evening, but it's nice to know it's just in the air.
And "Third Place" what an intriguing concept. Starbucks does a great job and perhaps churches can embrace this in a way - as a place that is set aside and available for silent prayer during the week. I realize Catholic churches do this but what about a warmer environment? Or a place for people to come for true community outside of the church service?
How can I even create a Third Place environment for my colleagues (part of my job description embraces that idea).
See Victor, you even create conversation buzz when your not inspired :) (sorry for the rambling comment)
Victor?? Who's Victor?
Sorry thought I was on someone else's blog (how embarassing).
Craver
Great reasons for blogging. I am always refreshed and encouraged by your enthusiasm for the gospel.
BTW, has your true identity been exposed by Stacey? I just read in Mark that there is nothing hidden that will not be exposed. ;-)
Friend indeed - any you'll find yourself hyperlinked under the links - but not by Craver - can you figure out which one?
I'm feeling old with this talk of third places and tindiddles - did I spell that correctly.
PS - I require much of my friends so I just want to remind you that you have publically accepted the position.
Pete raises his hand on the umotivated suggestion...
Part of it is just a deep distraction lately (mostly due to catching up on reading... :))
Methinks “third place” deserves its own post. Maybe several. I hope to have that real soon.
Andre, this is my true identity. There are several people here who know me by the name my parents gave me. People who know me “in the flesh.” I hope they hold me accountable and keep me real. The pseudonym is for privacy, and not to create somebody who is not real. Still, Blogspot only reveals a slice of the pie that is V… I mean, Craver’s “true identity.”
Halfmom, I’m not sure I understood the “link” part of your comment, but I think I know the “friend” part. So, yes, if you move, I will come and help load boxes and furniture on the truck. (I will also help myself to pbj sandwiches and lemonade and sample things cooking on the stove.)
Pete, yup! Me too! I probably read more this past week than last month all together!
I am blessed by your blog, your comments on my blog, and the commentors here...
I was a comm. major in grad school who focused in on mediated communication specifically (e.g. online interactions), and you said something telling that many a paper has been written on craver:
"Andre, this is my true identity. There are several people here who know me by the name my parents gave me. People who know me “in the flesh.” I hope they hold me accountable and keep me real."
That's the weird thing - these are our real identities and yet not - think a more amplified version; a hyperpersonal relationship. Being able to filter out the inane boring conversation and focus in on specific things really reveals alot more than we think.
You're a bit more on the wise end to be 'craver' - it gives you a bit more flexibility in what you write about. I'm not sure why I didn't use a pseudonym, but maybe I started to see my audience as a bit narrow.
"That's the weird thing - these are our real identities and yet not - think a more amplified version; a hyperpersonal relationship. Being able to filter out the inane boring conversation and focus in on specific things really reveals alot more than we think."
This may explain the lull in conversation. A lot of time in life is spent on the inane, boring and if I can use my favorite word, quotidian. Days can go by without a blog-worthy thought or event. But usually this only happens to one or two folks at a time. As of late it appears nearly epidemic. (I'm personally having a terrible time leaving comments because word verification is wigging out on me).
What you said makes the concept of Third Place as applied to the blogosphere very interesting. It's a slippery thing, isn't it? We tend to be more real in some ways in this community and yet you may not know me were you to meet me in the street (okay, some of you might).
Quotidian?! That word is so… uncommon; it’s so unperspicuitous! Congratulations, you drove me to the dictionary, AMM.
“Blogworthy event?” What is that? Isn’t it primarily the telling of the story and not the facts that make a story desirable for reading?
Let me tell you Sister, you are gifted. The whole bunch of you who leave comments here are special and gifted. (Well, except for Martin, who’s a manic-genius.) If you were to expose a regular person to the events we talk about, would they even SEE something blogworthy? Would they be able then, to EXPRESS their thoughts like you? Probably not.
But yes, sometimes we are overwhelmed with the rest of our real lives (our first and second places) or just uninspired to create a story (for our third place) that redeems our otherwise quotidian events.
I'm with you, Craver, in wanting to bounce thinking off each other. And especially simply communicate with each other. I get pretty lonely. Not many people I rub shoulders with want to talk about what gets me going. Oh well......
Thank you for your generous words. You do attract an amazing group of thinkers and writers to your blog. And you do a great job of stimulating exchanges of ideas, both deep and silly.
Now I'm off to look up "unperspicuitous".
Alright, Craver. Did you think no one would call you on it? Unperspicuitous was not in any of the online dictionaries I checked. So how would you define this new fancy sounding word you've created?
Perspicuity is a term applied to Scripture, as it relates to the clarity of Scripture. When I first saw it, it was on the cover of a book, and I thought, "What a backwards thing to do, expressing clarity by using an obscure word!"
I didn't recognize (not that they were not there) latin or greek roots for "quotidian," hence the accusation of unperspicuity.
I know there are people rolling their eyes right now, but for some reason, I find this stuff to be kind of fun.
Shameless plug - I have several chapters in The Suburban Christian that talk about the topic of the third place in American (and suburban) society, including the story of Howard Schulz (Starbucks's CEO) appropriation of the third place concept for the coffee chain. There's also a chapter with some analysis of the church as third place, pros and cons, including some interesting observations by a sociologist who points out that Willow Creek and other suburban megachurches have become alternate civic third places for their communities.
And it can be a good thing to not spend as much time blogging - it's Lent, after all!
Hey hey hey everybody! I'm writing about the Third Place and church on my blog, too. (Thanks, Charity, for starting it.)
Shameless, attention-seeking plug.
Also, Craver, is it acceptable to roll our eyes AND still enjoy the word games? Furthermore, is "perspicuity" related to "perspicacious"? (I would imagine so . . .)
Al, that is an absolutely fantastic book! I pulled it off my bookshelves last night, (it has soft curve of a book that has been thoroughly read) and started to look up Third Place in the index. I am holding back on third place comments until I get a chance to reread those portions.
Jenn, I’ve been enjoying the Third Place thread on your blog, and your Sbux connection makes it quite appropriate.
But no, you may not roll your eyes AND still enjoy the word games; you have to pick one or the other. No double-dipping allowed, Missy.
Perspicacious: Keen or shrewd. Yup. They’re cousins.
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