Personal v. the Political

What makes for a good weblog? Is it sharp, witty political commentary or insightful life stories?

Allison Kaplan Sommer, like me, has her foot in both camps, but she maintains that the best blogs are the personal ones.

Which is why I continue to contend that the very best blogs aren't the ones spouting political opinions regarding the news of the day 24/7; they are the ones that help us really get a feel for what it is like to be someone else, living a different life and opening ourselves to their experience.

She points to Chez Miscarriage as an example of a great personal blog.

Other semi-recent posts on the same topic from Brayden King and Miriam Jones.

Perhaps we shouldn't ask why women don't have political blogs, but why don't the men have personal blogs?

Since I'm still blogging from my bedside table (no internet access in the office yet), I'll pass this question on to the readers. What makes a good blog? Why do you read blogs?

Comments

[Jimbo]

I think my blog sort of straddles both sides, too. At least it tries to, though it is perhaps not as personal as I would like. I keep thinking I want to talk about living in the suburbs, what that means for me and my family, how it structures who I am, my alienation as an academic from suburbia, yadda, yadda, yadda; and I do manage to get in a few comments about living the burbs. But I find most of my posts drifting back toward things academic and political rants. Part of that is where I am in my life: going through tenure; part of that is the season: we seem in the midst of an incredibly important election; and part of that is the interests of my blogger buddies, almost all of whom seem to be female academics... Hmmm... virtual life reproduces real life. Need to talk to therapist1 about that...

One thing about men and the personal: I think it is very hard for men to write about sex and sexuality in a blog and not come off as boasting and sounding like a cad. Your fun little story about choosing poli-sci because of the cute boys, a story I just adore, btw, would come off as crass, I think, rather than amusing if I were to tell that same tale. Ah, such asymmetries are the stuff of life, unfortunately.

I look forward to reading more of your blog!

jwb

[Lisa]

I read blogs for the same reason I read anything- to be informed or entertained. Its great when something does both. I adore Chez Miscarriage and Dooce. I also like Andrew Sullivan-wish I could find a liberal political blogger I like as much. I think you and Rebel Dad do a good job of mixing life and politics.

I am really happy to see you up and running again.

[brayden]

Glad to see you blogging again Laura.

I think what makes a good blog - besides a mix of the personal, professional, and political - is that the blogger knows how to convey a point succintly and has a sense of humor. That's why I keep coming back for more.

[Donna Boucher]

Commom interests, humor, connection, information, entertainment; these are the reasons I enjoy reading blogs.

[Prim]

I enjoy a variety of blogs, but most tend to combine the personal with the informational - such as In My Kitchen, Amateur Gourmet, Uncommon Misconception, Chez Miscarriage, and your blog, to name but a few. Agree with the other posters - a combination of wit, passionate writing and a common thread all keep me coming back.

[Gabriel]

The weblog format is an advance in inexpensive and democratic learning akin to the mass-market paperback. They supply a context the rest of the internet often lacks, and observing unmediated debates between well-informed contributors is a privilege most of us rarely experience in our daily lives, despite the occasional flame-war.

The personal/ professional divide could just as easily be defined culturally, for example the very open personal blogging tends to be American, whereas the British, both male and female, are generally a lot less revealing. Writing well and knowing what you're talking about seem to be the only necessities. Many great blogs are topic-based specialists who are not strongly personal or political.

[Rana]

Why do I like blogs... good question. Some of it is getting to know the people who write them, some is liking the writing, or the sense of humor, some is learning new ways to look at the world, and some is getting information. I tend to like ones with comments best (can I just say "Yippee!" that you now have them?), not only because I like to yabber on myself, but because it can be enlightening or entertaining seeing what others have to say.

So, um, what everyone else is saying. Perhaps the question needs to be rephrased, since I'm not sure that it is "blogginess" per se that appeals to me, except in the sense that there's usually something new to read every day. Not so much "why blogs" as "why read what other people have to say"?

[Rana]

Oh. I should read more carefully. You're asking what makes _a_ blog worth reading, not why blogs in general are worth reading. Oops.

[cooper]

We live in a world of anonymous masses. The blogs that are worth reading are those that "add" to my virtual neighborhood. There are people saying important things, heartfelt things, like you Laura. Moving from the city to the suburbs - and why it is important - is why I read your blog. The political blogs I read are not venom filled drival that does not add value. Life is too short for any time wasted on them. Through blogs I have come to know many individuals I would never have had the opportunity to know any other way. We support each other in our endeavors and trials, in our triumphs and in our being idiotic sometimes. It's comforting to know that on any given day a mom somewhere else on this vast landscape we call a planet has the same feelings or challenges I have had or possibly will have.

The "man" blogs I read, I read because men are so, well, so men! We rarely get a glimpse inside the real guy. Guys that write sometimes will share things they wouldn't say out loud. It's interesting to me how they think, and why they think the way they do.

So I guess, my pursuit of the blogosphere is sociological. A need to be part of a greater good. The media will continually tell us it's hopeless out there. The blogosphere puts a different light on things.

[fling93]

Actually, of all the people I've personally met, most of them seem to have personal blogs, including the guys.

Myself, I don't post too much personal stuff mostly because I don't think my life is all that interesting to hear about. I'll occasionally put in something here and there, though.

Might just be that guys with personal blogs don't get linked to and thus don't get noticed cuz men have less interesting lives than women. :) We certainly don't tend to be as good with balance.

[teep]

I read blogs because... because they're the life I'm not currently having. Love the comments, btw.

[Dr. Manhattan]

For an unreconstructed male perspective on this question, visit here: http://www.blissfulknowledge.com/archives/000676.html

[Roxanne]

Woo Woo! Comments! Love the new site.

[eszter]

I'm so glad to see comments!:-) I had always wondered about your thoughts on this thread (unfortunately now closed to comments to prevent spam). I'll be curious to hear what you think about a blog with comments vs the one you had without.

[cooper]

Interesting, I read through the other comments and then looked at my blogrolls. The topr 6 poliblogs I read are authored by women. Hmmm...