For one blogger, public attention is all-or-nothing

Publication Date: 11/18/2009

Response to Lydia Williams –

I am very confused by a claim you made in your commentary, “Both blogger and opposition make unwise moves.” You claim that reading a blog is like eavesdropping. As a blogger, I have to disagree.

My blog, “The Walls Line the Void,” is a way for me to spread my thoughts on a variety of topics. I want people to read and consider my thoughts on a topic. My blog is through the Blogger service operated by Google. Were I to want to keep my blog to a conversation between myself and my friends, I would change my privacy settings. I maintain open access to my blog as I want others to read what I have to say. A blog is also not a private conversation when it is advertised publicly, such as on a profile available to the public.

I would like to propose a new metaphor. Reading a blog is like reading an opinion in The Exponent. People want their blogs to be read, just as they want their Exponent opinions to be read. I hope I have not eavesdropped on your conversation with a group of your friends by reading your commentary.

Nicholas Goldsmith

Sophomore in the College of Agriculture