How to talk with a blogger

Tiffany has made a significant comment on the September 18, 2007 post. I originally thought I'd answer with another comment but no one is going to go back that far to read our comments and besides my answer got so large, I thought it deserved it's own post.

One of the things that used to bug me about old people is that they would tell you the same thing several times. I used to think that was because they thought we wouldn't remember unless they repeated things several times. Now that I am an "old people" I know that isn't the case. We simply can't remember who we talked to when and what we said. And it isn't limited to extended family or work colleagues or strangers. I'll tell Carolyn about my day when she gets home and 4 hours later I can't remember if I've told her about my day.

So reading this blog doesn't exempt you from hearing about things again and again. Nor does it mean you'll hear about everything that is going on. I find lots and lots of things simply not blog-worthy. But reading the blog does give you an edge up when we do get together because you have some idea of what has been going on in my life and in my head. Sort of like reading an author's book before you interview him, you have some conversation starting points. And I NEVER take offense when someone stops me in mid-sentence with the comment, "Yes, I read about that in your blog." I may say something like, "But that wasn't the half of it! I didn't dare go into the details of ....."

I love face to face communication. Seeing the other person's face gives you a lot of instant feedback so that you can modify what you're saying or how you're saying it. And we can talk much faster than we can type on a computer keyboard. But face to face has severe limitations, too. You both have to be available at the same time. You're limited to 3 to 5 people for a meaningful conversation. You are expected to respond with well thought out answers and comments in a short time. No one is taking minutes so there's a great loss of information about the discussion and probably a significant number of misunderstandings, which may or may not be important depending on the topic of the conversation.

One last thing I want to comment on about Tiffany's post was her comment that I am "checking up on" you, the blog readers. I want to make it clear that I have no capability of doing that. I get a report of the Internet Service Providers that have connected with my blog but unless you have a unique Service Provider, that doesn't tell me much. Unless you leave a comment with your name on it or tell me that you've read my blog, I can't tell or find out. I can only tell how many people have looked at the blog.

So please read my blog but don't do it out of duty or because of guilt. And I'm even happy to get critical feedback like Tiffany gave me. Thank you all for reading my blog. And yes, I get notified about any comment no matter how old the post being commented on.