Essay: What Makes a Personal Blog (partito due)
Dearest Reader-
As you know, I have been discussing what makes a personal blog. We've looked at Ron's blog, and how it dealth with any and everything in his life. He wrote about anything that interested him, from the Cleveland Indians to various movie / music stars to anything that affects him personally. We also looked at Chad Fox. Chad writes a diary type blog that details his life and the things that happen directly to him.
Today we'll look at a blog writer whose recent entries are more like a travel journal than anything else. Benjamin Nicholas writes a blog called 15 Minutes More. As a little background, Benjamin was, and maybe still is, a high priced male escort. His earliest blogs talked about the various aspects of that life. Like I said, though, his latest blogs tend to be more like travel journals. Most recently he has gone to Chicago, Athens (Greece), and New York, to just name a few places.
He also writes a lot about celebrity gossip. We get a lot of who's doing what to whom, and how often. We get the low down marriages, divorces, and impending births. He also takes digs and jabs at politicians, on occassion, for what they are doing, or not doing as the case may be.
One thing they all have in common, other than begin written by gay men in different parts of the US, is that they all incorporate pictures.
To start we'll look at Ron's blog. Ron uses pictures to help prove a point or show why he is writing about a certain subject. For instance, Ron posted a picture to help show why he thinks Kenny Chesney is gay. The last thing he did was post a blog on his top 10 celebrity crushes. He includes pictures of each of those celebrities so that we can agree with him. I personally, disagreed on one and told him so.
Chad Fox, though, is an artist. When he puts his pictures in his blog, sometimes they enhance the story he is telling while other times they provide a contrast. For instance, I have in mind a blog of his I read where he talked about running into this older tranny. He, the tranny, didn't have the money to get home. Chad agreed to give him the money if he, Chad, could take some pictures. The tranny agreed, posed for the camera, then took the money and disappeared into the crowd. Chad posted those pictures in the blog which detailed that story.
Lately, Chad did a blog which tells how he met a young man whose partner had just died of aids. The story is very sad and touching, but the pictures aren't. They are of blue skies and towering buildings. Makes you wonder how, in such a large city as San Francisco, this man had no one to turn to except a stranger on the street.
When Benjamin Nicholas went to Greece, he took pictures and posted them for us to see. When he went to Chicago he did the same.
Of course, he also adds to his blogs the pictures of the various celebrities, politicians, or nefarious criminals that he talks about. Also, to the delight of many (including me) he has his "eye candy" section. It is the pictures of numerous young men in various states of undress (with the appropriate parts fogged out).
So, what makes these personal blogs? The writers all include different stories depending upon their indiviual personalities. While they are all personal blogs, they all have different flavors. Even though they represent different (sub)genres, they fall under a broader umbrella for one more major reason. They are personal blogs because there are no commercial interests involved. There are no adverticements on the web pages to "entice" the reader to another site to view a product.
As you know, I have been discussing what makes a personal blog. We've looked at Ron's blog, and how it dealth with any and everything in his life. He wrote about anything that interested him, from the Cleveland Indians to various movie / music stars to anything that affects him personally. We also looked at Chad Fox. Chad writes a diary type blog that details his life and the things that happen directly to him.
Today we'll look at a blog writer whose recent entries are more like a travel journal than anything else. Benjamin Nicholas writes a blog called 15 Minutes More. As a little background, Benjamin was, and maybe still is, a high priced male escort. His earliest blogs talked about the various aspects of that life. Like I said, though, his latest blogs tend to be more like travel journals. Most recently he has gone to Chicago, Athens (Greece), and New York, to just name a few places.
He also writes a lot about celebrity gossip. We get a lot of who's doing what to whom, and how often. We get the low down marriages, divorces, and impending births. He also takes digs and jabs at politicians, on occassion, for what they are doing, or not doing as the case may be.
One thing they all have in common, other than begin written by gay men in different parts of the US, is that they all incorporate pictures.
To start we'll look at Ron's blog. Ron uses pictures to help prove a point or show why he is writing about a certain subject. For instance, Ron posted a picture to help show why he thinks Kenny Chesney is gay. The last thing he did was post a blog on his top 10 celebrity crushes. He includes pictures of each of those celebrities so that we can agree with him. I personally, disagreed on one and told him so.
Chad Fox, though, is an artist. When he puts his pictures in his blog, sometimes they enhance the story he is telling while other times they provide a contrast. For instance, I have in mind a blog of his I read where he talked about running into this older tranny. He, the tranny, didn't have the money to get home. Chad agreed to give him the money if he, Chad, could take some pictures. The tranny agreed, posed for the camera, then took the money and disappeared into the crowd. Chad posted those pictures in the blog which detailed that story.
Lately, Chad did a blog which tells how he met a young man whose partner had just died of aids. The story is very sad and touching, but the pictures aren't. They are of blue skies and towering buildings. Makes you wonder how, in such a large city as San Francisco, this man had no one to turn to except a stranger on the street.
When Benjamin Nicholas went to Greece, he took pictures and posted them for us to see. When he went to Chicago he did the same.
Of course, he also adds to his blogs the pictures of the various celebrities, politicians, or nefarious criminals that he talks about. Also, to the delight of many (including me) he has his "eye candy" section. It is the pictures of numerous young men in various states of undress (with the appropriate parts fogged out).
So, what makes these personal blogs? The writers all include different stories depending upon their indiviual personalities. While they are all personal blogs, they all have different flavors. Even though they represent different (sub)genres, they fall under a broader umbrella for one more major reason. They are personal blogs because there are no commercial interests involved. There are no adverticements on the web pages to "entice" the reader to another site to view a product.
posted by bagelbuoy at 21:06
1 Comments:
Nice blog...
Always nice to see what others are enjoying about what you write :)
Thanks much for keeping an eye on 15 Minutes!
Benjamin Nicholas
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