The Ramblings of Samwise - #1 - Blogging about Blogging, Motivation and Passion

God, here we go again. I’ve decided that I’m going to extend the olive branch of knowledge above and beyond how I’m getting on during my travels in the form of some personal blogs. Well, not too personal, calm down. But indeed, thoughts related to, well, next to nothing. However, they do run through my skullet. There’s hardly a crescendo of deep and meaningful opinions flowing around up there, however, I ponder just about enough to give me a bit of content. So, let’s give it a go, shall we.

I wanted to start off by writing about blogging in general. The word itself somewhat cringes me out and gives me a bit of a headache. Here, I know what you’re thinking - ‘Samwise, you cringe me out’. Fantastic. Blogging gives people the opportunity to mount their own canvas, slap whatever the bloody hell they want on there and plonk it in a gallery for all to see. It’s an expression of ones desire to entertain people while keeping them well informed and educated about a particular topic.

If done to even moderate success, a bloody spiffing blog can captivate, motivate and inspire it’s readers. Whether that means somebody simply learns a new cupcake recipe through the medium of another persons cooking blog, that’s good. It’s roots can run deeper then that though. It can help people branch out to a community and restore a degree of comfort and happiness. Somebody diagnosed with an illness for example can read about other peoples stories of pain and suffering, their heartbreak, mindset, treatment and eventual road to recovery. Almost like a storybook. It’s good for the writer and good for the consumer too. Without sounding like too much of one of those bloody hippies, it brings people together. I can say from experience that I’ve ended up reading a blog about a health issue and, you know what, you lose the sense of isolation which is damn important. What I find most grasping about some blogs compared to others is the delivery and manner in which they are presented.

Popular consensus suggests that the written word is in fact dead. Popular consensus, generally speaking, is usually correct - thus coining the term ‘popular’. Indeed, the written word is down on all fours and swinging hopelessly. And who is to blame, you ask. Well. Us. People. Society. Truth be told, it’s not devastating, just a sign of the times (big up Harry Styles). People want immediacy. There is precious time to waste nowadays, but you already know that. Blogging has turned into Vlogging. Taking the time to read something for the sake of entertainment or purpose is too much to fathom for some peoples less than impressive imaginations. Sitting there and consuming the information you are being passed on through a visual representation and imagery, that’s a tad easier.

It’s a shame, because, well, writing has an extent of charm. You need to engage people baring a clean slate. The reader has to decide how to interpret things and decide how to react through their own natural instincts - when to laugh or cry, so to speak. You might say that it’s a little bit rewarding, least not so for your brain.

See, vlogging and sticking a camera in your own face is daunting, especially if your reflection is as soul crushing as my own. It takes balls and is genuinely difficult, even for the most confident and gene blessed (I assume). In actual fact, you could go as far as to say that I envy people who do it. With all the cameras and DSLR’s available today, why wouldn't you make the most of it?

The battle that blogging is facing today is as followed. Instead of somebody describing a luscious beach with golden sand and crystal blue water - bam - theres a high definition video of old’ bloody Zoella basking in it on a digital platform, accessible to millions. Happy freakin’ days. It’s a win-win situation for the consumer. There’s less left to the imagination and less seconds taken up seeing what it is that they want to see. I don’t have beef with the situation because it’s a shortcut well worth taking for both parties. But where does it leave people like myself - the soppy old writers. Um, pretty far behind, I reckon. Being able to broadcast my life may well be something that I want to do. I want to help people, entertain people and give advice, I suppose. Only if you ask nicely. But, basically, my blog wont be able to compete with the stature of, say, a Youtubers blog, due to the fact that people are too bloody lazy to find it and read it. Well, ignore the fact that they’re just as intriguing and charismatic as me (which doesn't take much) and don’t whinge as much, but still. It’s not in my nature to speak down a camera which, given that I have a journalism degree, is just a little bit tragic, but understandable.

Also, it’s no secret that YouTube personalities can pocket a tidy sum of money for their content. Getting rewarded for documenting their own life, are you sure? If they are interesting and the content is meaningful, then sure. In the grand scheme of things, it’s probably the worst and most annoying who prosper most. Cruel world. The ones who lack creativity and clone other peoples content and ideas are clever in their own regard, but frustrating. It doesn't take a genius to look at somebodies videos with a million views and think, ‘I’m going to do the exact same thing’. And, you know what, it works. People bloody fall for it. People make a legitimate living off filming themselves eating a chocolate bar imported from America and giving their review after a tiny pretend gag reflex. The content is shit. Excuse my language. mother. But it is. And these people are scoring views. How? I can somewhat get how it constitutes as entertainment and it all comes down to money from adverts. But, does society need to be paying these many people to endorse toot on Youtube? In the interest of balance, having that bit of showmanship and exaggeration is probably good for the overall presentation - something that a blogger can’t properly crack through writing. When your creating something for the purpose of entertainment, play to your strengths, I guess.

But people are getting paid for the way they look, their personalities, the backing track they use and the way they brand themselves as appose to the actual content. It’s starting to sound like the ramblings of a mad man, but Jesus wept. Even the great Samwise falls for it. I tell you what, my next blog article will be me describing the taste of all the New Zealand delicacies I can find - sit tight, it’s going to be magnificent. Jesus. I

Does this sound like it’s coming off a bit bitter and twisted? I am renowned for that, you know. But that’s not my all conquering intention, honest.

I hate proof reading my blogs. They have absolutely no structure and just dally from one splurge of nonsense to the next. Quite funny, actually. If I don’t laugh, i’ll cry, so let’s waddle on, shall we.

Trying to find something to write about other then the unjustified success of some YouTube bastards is difficult, believe it or not. I struggle. An article or two about my beloved Liverpool FC is an avenue that I’ve considered, but writing about sport is a very formal business. I can’t just go around calling Paul Pogba a nonce, I need the stats to prove it. Besides, there’s too many know it alls who don’t actually know it all. It’s an incredibly pompous business. Travel writing is one for the wanderlust enthusiasts. The ones who flash the peace signs, have to butter everything up and give tips on the lowest budget pasta sauce. Do us a favour.

See, writing has made me think about where my legitimate passion lies. That passion will naturally hold the key to what I want to do in life. Well, probably not. Not many people are in a privileged position whereby they generate income based off their overriding passion. No barman goes home after his eight hour shift and reads up articles on Fosters super chilled and prays to the God of Stella Artois.

I’m an odd one though. I chop and change so, so often. I play an online computer game and think, ‘Man, I was I could design something like this and create characters and storylines’ - thing is, that is some fellas job, he brings home the bacon by doing that. It seems surreal. The next day I’ll go back to wanting to be a sports journalist, filming and editing video packages. When all is said an done though, I’ll probably be behind a bar, making lime and sodas for pesky holiday makers for all and an eternity.

Thing is, I think about these opportunities a lot and, deep down, I think I could be secretly good at one of them. I think a lot about how things work but feel as though I need to know everything or nothing. I always feel a bit like a numpty when I work somewhere and the customer can correct me.

I suppose my downfall stems from only being about 30% invested into four or five different things as appose to having a fully fledged mindset of ‘yep, this is what I want to do’. I say this a lot, but fair play to those people who left school, knew what they wanted to do, got the training and got on with it. Fair play. I wish that was me. Thing is, the competition throws me off, man. So many people flocking to do the training to get these really cool jobs that are so plausible is daunting. There’s always someone out there better, that’s been my ripe old mindset for a while, I’m afraid.

Anyway, this has stemmed into a basilisk of obscurity. A few final thoughts though. I shall keep the blogs coming thick but not so fast. Additionally, I’ll work on the style and grammar, honest. Apologise if you wasted your time reading this and you might have felt it lacked a certain, oh, I don’t know, substance. Oh well. Paul Pogba wears Jordan Henderson pyjamas to bed, pass it on. As you were.

Samwise