My first 100 days, give or take

The big news lately (besides swine flu) has been the conclusion of President Obama’s first 100 days in office. But there’s another equally important milestone being overlooked… my first sixty-ish days of blogging. (I’d count the actual days, but that reeks of effort.)

So here, for you, are ten things I have learned while blogging.

1. Blogging is hard work. There are fifty million things you could write about…. how do you choose what gets attention and what doesn’t? What do you have to say about these topics that needs saying? How will you find the perfect LOLcat?

2. It is really difficult to say what you mean clearly and persuasively. I agonize over the words in each post, only to realise that in the end, I’m probably still not coming across the way I want to. It always sounds much more straightforward in my head.

3. There is a LOLcat for everything.

4. LOLcats are probably the best part of most of my posts.

5. Blogs can be highly effective for contemporary feminism because they speak to third-wave feminists in their own language, the language of the personal. They allow members of marginalized groups to connect with each other to increase their understanding and validate their experiences. They can function as interactive safe spaces.

6. Blogs also allow unfiltered access to anyone’s personal stories. We’re not restricted to just what a media conglomerate tells us.

7. However, blogs on their own are not enough. If the activism is only online within communities of already-likeminded fellows, nothing will really get better. There must still be writing letters, calling congresspeople, and actively challenging patriarchal attitudes in your day to day offline life.

8. Watching your viewership stats is hella addictive. There’s even a little line graph.

9. I plan to continue this blog after the class ends. I’m hoping to recruit some of my friends who are also fellow prisoners of academia and make it a group blog. That way there’s a guaranteed readership of at least the five or so people posting.

10. I don’t know if they’ll use lolcats.