Would Judas ask that question? Who knows! As I have visited my usual round of blogs this week I have been struck by the number of apologies for not posting anything for a while, as if we are somehow accountable to our loyal readers for the quantity of stuff we share. Maybe this is because most of the Blogs I visit are written by ministers who are used to having to churn out a sermon or two every week? But surely this is not the purpose of blogging; is it not instead some kind of strange mix of a journal and a desire to talk to other people coupled with the need to be a little cautious about what is out there in the public domain?
Frankie Ward in a comment on Sean's blog (here) asks about blogging as a form of theological reflection, and poses some interesting questions.
Do I have an 'ideal' or 'imagined' reader? Well, to an extent yes, though the nature tends to evolve as I become aware of who some of my 'real' readers are. I tend to assume some level of basic Christian knowledge, a slightly odd sense of humour and then it's a sort of mish-mash of around half a dozen colleagues/friends.
Beyond that, there is the potential for the good people of Dibley, or those who know them, to drop by. This inevitably colours what I say as getting sued is not a good idea, nor is upsetting or wounding the people among whom I live and work. Inevitably some of what is posted is filtered for this reason and pseudonymns used (surely you did not believe I REALLY live in Dibley?! ;-))
When I read other people's stuff if often seems much more refined, as in having been through a more careful cycle of drafting and reivsion, than mine, which is usually just the product of manic typing - so more authentically my kind of journalling. I don't think either is more or less valid but they are different. I enjoy reading the carefully thought through stuff and learn from it, I also enjoy reading the trivia which helps me to remember that these clever folk are also quite normal too.
So, in answer to the title question, I guess the answer is 'it depends on the blogger.' Whether we share stories, learn from each other's studies, have a laugh, reflect deeply or just engage in some kind of virtual catharthis what seems to matter is that we enjoy it, not how often we do it or how much we write in the process. So I'll stick to 'twaddle weekly' and you can write 'quality monthly' and between us we'll fill blogland with a good mix of 'stuff'
Comments
Actually the twaddle is often the best bit, isn't it? But there's good twaddle and dull twaddle. Some people can indeed to profound thought and worthwhile scholarship, but the rest of us can manage real and personal occasionally, and that's the best of all.
I think there are similarities between blogging and private prayer. Both have an uncertain audience and are therefore testing. What is worth saying? What do we really want to say? What do I really care about when I'm doing nothing other than 'reflecting' in front of a screen?
Answer those questions and you know a lot more about yourself.