Thursday, February 22, 2007

What is anything about, really?

Today's glib observation:

The internet allows access to information and communication unprecedented in human history. It's remarkably democratic, facilitating the presentation of many ideas by those who otherwise would have no voice. Without it I'd have nowhere to post my rambling essay-type ruminations and not-terribly-groundbreaking photos for a handful of others to read intermittently.

However, any amount of time spent perusing even a small percentage of the content available reveals one disheartening fact*: No matter what thought I may get, no matter what opinion I may have, someone else has already had it and expressed it with better depth of understanding and with greater eloquence than I could. Somewhere a person with more time to devote and a deeper inclination to ruminate on it has already written what I would had I the time and inclination.

That's the danger of investigating what others have said about a topic one is considering: one's utter lack of originality is revealed. Nothing new under the sun, nor in my brain.

There's always someone who knows more about a given subject, someone who has a broader scope of experience with it, someone who is more well-read on the topic.

With one exception. I am the only one who is focused on a particular topic, who knows more than just about anyone else about one subject. It's what the blahg is about, ultimately.

Me.

I'm not suggesting I'm a subject of broad interest for the world. It's what's known as a niche market. Or at least I keep hoping there will eventually emerge such a demographic.

(* This is not to suggest the internet is filled with facts, of course; with information, yes, but not necessarily with accurate information.)

2 comments:

  1. Ah yes...have you read the quote from "Self-Reliance" I have on my blog?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Doug:

    Yes, trying to be original is usally a hopeless task, especially with the Web. How do I deal with it? Simple. I make sure not to include links in my blog to other sources of originality! Why should I help the competition? [G]

    Ray

    ReplyDelete

So, what do you think?