05/05/12 – Moving Day

I moved the blog from Tumblr to Wordpress this week.  The move has a number of advantages and disadvantages.  One negative is that Wordpress is just so advanced.  The customization and options are far beyond what I want or need.  And yet the Android app for it doesn’t acknowledge many of the options I’d actually like to use.  Tumblr’s GUI is rather simple and easy to use, which I imagine is why it’s known for being a haven for stupid users.

My main reason for the switch, though, is comments.  Tumblr made it far too difficult for a common viewer to engage the blogger.  And ultimately, that’s what I want – to engage people in conversation.  The worst kind of person I can meet is a quiet person.  I may say something informative or entertaining, but so what?  All I want is to hear your story.  I know my own; why the hell would I care to hear or share that?

A problem I’ve had for a long time, however, is that shy people…Well, if they don’t respond to whatever I’m saying, I won’t stop.  I’ll just keep spouting words until there’s something there for them to run with.  And if that something never comes, I’ll continue until I get bored or things get awkward.  You’re the one I want to hear about.  You’re going to tell me about some viewpoint or bit of info that I’d never heard of before.  You’re going to tell me something that could be part of my next story or, at the very least, entertain me.  Maybe even useful.

We consume so much media about others’ lives, but there are so many fascinating, engaging stories in our own neighborhood.  The person standing next to you during the apocalypse will have a completely different tale than yours due to the context, all the moments leading up to the moments you shared.  Biology can get involved too.  Someone who’s colorblind or with better hearing noticed a completely different narrative from you, so how can anyone’s story be boring?  If you’re not entertained by someone, maybe you’re just a poor interviewer.

“It’s what you don’t understand that makes you sharper than the ones who take advantage of you” – Zeromancer’s “Idiot Music”