In class response to Blogging

2. "...After reading Lovink's article, are you convinced that blogging is truly the nihilist impulse? Why or why not?"

I disagree that blogging is the nihilist impulse. If I were to make an intuitive guess, I would guess that only half of blogging is nihilistic. It has been my experience reading blogs that some of them do go against social norms and expectations, but the other half of blogs really are pop culture and agree with social norms and practices. A blog is an expression of one's self, therefore the blogs to be found will be just as varying as the people. Not everyone hates our current politicians, but some do. I can find blogs that hate the current political system, and others that advocate it and praise it. To call blogging "nihilistic" and use this single term to describe it is just not broad enough. It all depends on the person, and there are millions of blogs on the web. I will say, though, that many people wish to be "different." They wish to express themselves in a way that makes them stand out, and so in this case blogging may be nihilistic. Although sometimes when people try to be different and buy the latest new indie fashion or something, they just wind up being the same. But back on topic, I agree that reading an article or blog post that is bashing something as opposed to praising something is more enjoyable to read. It must be the nihilist in me...