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Blogging, Writing

Writing 101 Day 3 – Three Songs

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Today’s assignment is Day 3: Commit to a writing practice - Write about the three most important songs in your life -- what do they mean to you? Today, try free writing. To begin, empty your mind onto the page. Don't censor yourself; don't think. Just let go. Let the emotions or memories connected to your three songs carry you. 

So here we go...

I’m not a traditionalist so when it came to planning my wedding I aimed to eschew with as much tradition as possible mainly because of old fashioned wedding tradition has got to do with wives obeying husbands and such things. Those of you who know me, will know I was having none if it! I wanted to get married to a wonderful man, share my life with him. That’s all.

The song I chose to walk down the aisle (yes yes I know what you’re thinking, I got married in a church, mainly because my Mom wished it to be so and when parents are paying for the wedding there are some things that I had to let go of) was not the wedding march but Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade of Pale.

The organist was very excited to play a different song and had fun writing the sheet music for the organ. So why the Whiter Shade of Pale then? It’s a beautiful song, I like the melody and the lyrics are very mysterious. I’m not one of those people that reads much into the song lyrics, I often don’t remember them only the choruses. I just like what it sounds like.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the second song that comes to mind. It’s the ultimate party song that gets me up and dancing when it comes on the radio or the DJ plays it. The video blew me away, it was long, I adored the story and the dancing…wow! It had me, along with thousands of others trying to copy the moves. It still blows me away whenever I see it all these years later. It reminds me of my teenage years, finding my own taste in music (other than my parents’).

One by U2 surprises me each time. I surprise myself with how it surprises me. It starts off so softly, so gently and then surprises me with its power. With Mary J Blige singing it along with Bono the roof literally comes down. This song changes my state instantly. It puts me in a hopeful and inspired state, it uplifts me every single time. I’ve watched many versions of this song on YouTube, each one subtly different to the last one. When it comes on the radio while I’m on my way to work I turn up the volume and move to it.

Well this was fun and scary at the same time, uninterrupted writing, no editing. I’m publishing. If you’re reading this, be gentle. 
Blogging

Comments oh! comments!

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I’ve missed blogging in the last 2 days so with this post I hope catch up on the editorial calendar. Day 4‘s assignment topic was: Are there sections online that I refuse to read? Day 5’s assignment topic was: Would you read a personal blog without a comment section? How do you feel when a comment section is closed? This post combines the two.

Matt Groening, famous for co-creating The Simpsons, said about comments: “If I have one technology tip of the day, it’s this: No matter how good the video on YouTube is, don’t read the comments, just don’t, because it will make you hate all humans.”

I generally skim through comments on blogs and sites, mostly on articles that I like or am interested in. I like to see what other people thought of the post and if they’re in agreement with me. If I don’t like the article I don’t go to the comments section.

I admit to sometimes feeling like Matt Groening. Some of the comments are unbelievable.

When I started blogging I didn’t think about comments. All I was focused on was getting content published regularly and visitors to my blog. As I got more experienced I thought that comments would be nice, especially after reading that site rankings go up the more comments there are.

This didn’t stop me from getting the Akismet spam filter because I was getting a lot of spam. And before deciding to hold them in moderation some spam made it through, which I deleted.

Akismet has stopped 9,898 spam from getting though, and I have received a total of 37 real comments over the course of 2 years and 5 months.

Spam is a scourge of the internet. Just like I protect my home from those ill-intentioned people with high walls, an alarm system and 24-hour private security armed response, I so protect my blog from spam, and in the process I could be coming across as unwelcoming.

After speaking with a more experienced blogger at work some time ago I decided to close comments off after 30 days. This drastically decreased the amount of spam. I especially got a lot of spam mail on a blog post entitled “Hooter Tooter” about the usage of the hooter by drivers in India – I wonder why…? But it also means that visitors to my site who like what they read can’t comment if they want to on articles that are older than 30 days.

Still, it is a conscious decision I made, and no matter how much I dislike spam, I’m not blaming anyone.

She also said that initially she wanted to get comments and visitors but that now she blogs for herself and if no one reads her blog then it’s ok.

American rapper, Lupe Fiasco, once said: “I do this for the sake of myself. It’s a selfish process. I don’t really have any expectations from anyone for your comments or your reviews or your previews.”

It’s great to be in that space – but I’m not and I still want comments because of the vision I hold for my blog and future as a writer.

I’ve visited some blogs where the comment section was closed and I must admit to feeling a twinge of disappointment because I really wanted to comment and couldn’t. It wouldn’t stop me from visiting them but they would rank lower in my “blogs to visit list”.

So this begs the question of the person reading this post at the moment – How do you feel when a comments section is closed, and should I leave comments open indefinitely?