I wonder. I write blogs and send them to… where? Who reads them? The only way I know is if someone sends in a comment. Well, looking back over the eight blogs I have written so far, it doesn’t look as though they have made much impression – at least according to the number of replies the blogs garnered.

I do know, though, that many more people have read them than is apparent. I receive quite a few emails that refer to my blogs, and when I gently suggest that it would be nice if they added their comments through a blog reply, the response is that, yes, they will do it. But, of course, they don’t. Perhaps it’s too much of a bother to set out a reasoned reply: there’s spelling and grammar to worry about, not to mention coherency and the fact that it will be there for everyone to see afterwards.

It’s not only those who actually contact me. I know how many people visit my site, because of the statistics that are generated in my secret back office. Actually, I’m amazed how many people do pop in to look at nothing. But they don’t leave a foot print, only a statistical foot print, which is even less of something than a virtual foot print.

So who is out there? How do I know? What can I do with statistics? I’m not here for statistics, but to interact with humans, albeit virtual ones.

And why do I want to interact with people? Why do I need it? Is this connected to the topic of my previous blog in which I asked if we are who we are because of what people say we are? Am I now extending it to say that we exist only when people recognize that we exist?

When I sit in my study and write, how do I know if anyobody is outside? How can I know that until I see somebody, or, in my case, until somebody acknowledges me by replying to something I write.

No, I’m not going into Idealism, wondering if all the world is in my mind and whether when I leave a room it ceases to exist. Apart from anything else, I know that a lot of people are buying my book, so I don’t need to drive myself crazy about my blog. If nothing else, sales figures show that people exist and that my words are being read.

So why write blogs? Do I need to? Obviously I do, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this one. And – despite what I wrote above – I know I exist, even if nobody sends in a reply.

The reason I write is dynamism, that of dialogue. The book, once out there, is static; you get to the last page and put it down (or throw it at the dog, whatever). But that’s not enough for me. I want it to be part of a dialogue, a way of discussing “things”, because that is what Nothing should lead to.

If anybody is reading this, let me know about it. A word will do. Ok, ok, a little more than a word… It doesn’t have to be about this blog. Any one of the 8 past ones plus this one. Or begin your own idea; I’ll post it up, as I did with Kory’s.

Why did I write this blog? I have no real idea. I also won’t hold my breath while I wait for the deluge of replies.

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4 comments on “Who’s out there?

  1. David Lloyd on said:

    I know where you are coming from. Once similar feelings led me to write the following:

    If a blog falls off a log into a bog, does it make a splash?

    And if it does, is there a current? Or only ripples? Can there be both? One on top. The other on the bottom?

    And when it dries, has it transformed into a glob? Perhaps now oblong, sounding only bl … ?

  2. Paul Callaghan on said:

    Only nine posts and you’ve had comments already. I don’t think you can moan too much. Despite the instant appeal of the internet, it still takes time to build a readership that wants to comment on your blogs.

  3. Tina Ryan on said:

    Hmmm – OK I’ll reread blogs and post comments. I suppose feedback is always welcome.

  4. marvin on said:

    I came to your site about a week ago.. in the midst of a long personal search I started to ask some deep scary questions (scary for ME that is). one of them is, ‘what if NOTHING matters?’. Anyway I’ve read some of your blogs and appreciate your frank honesty. I recently started blogging and ask myself, why am I doing this? for the attention? to feel appreciated? or do I want people to ‘think’ more about those questions we bury deep inside? well when it appears as though, the blogs are not being read, or that people aren’t moved enough to comment, all these questions come up. Deep question like you asked in this blog, more and more questions. Even if, as you’ve discovered, people are actually reading the blog, I think putting it out there serves another purpose; revealing to you your own desires, thoughts, needs, unanswered questions etc etc… I think the best thing about a blog like this is it gets the listener to think about his/her own deeper things, many might walk away without replying, but I wonder if it takes them a little further down that road of personal discovery, the road which challenges their beliefs, the road which leads to that place where things are far less black and white??? I’m waffling here… well thanks, and keep on blogging…

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