Ailment: Lookatmeitis
Manifestation: all forms of communication
Case Study: Subject starts a blog and then is very surprised to realize after only a couple weeks that he is worried if anyone is reading. Should there be more comments? Should subject be doing something to network and build relationships? Are people linking and blogrolling? Do they see how clever he (thinks he) is? Subject is not sure how to understand new information about self: he is needy for attention, or validation, or some kind of positive contact related (even if in pseudonymity) to others of his ilk. Nice blogger seems to take some interest, seeming to understanding subject's innate insecurities. He starts blogrolling others, gets a sitemeter, starts commenting to others, and is overwhelmed that he is starting to make some new writerly/readerly relationships with said ilk. Though he has trouble keeping up with and reading as many blogs as he wants to every day, he checks out a post by New Kid about the different kinds of academic blogs/bloggers, referencing a blogger whom subject has not yet stumbled upon. Subject follows a link to Arete, who (how fortuitous!) has recently written a post that is a guide for new bloggers, which follows a hilariously juvenile-mundane photo of found (anti-) art. Guidebook addresses blogging form of lookatmeitis and wisely reframes the ailment as a failure of practical communication. Subject is even more happy to see that sagacious veteran blogger is doctoral student in field very similar to subject's own. Subject appears to be less down of academy at present time.
Edited to apologize that I don't think I know how to do the trackback thing correctly, as evidenced by the link to "guide for new bloggers," which went nowhere when I checked it.
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5 comments:
awww, me? Me!
I think it's that need that's striking, because it indicates an absence in my perception of my current community. And blogging reminds me of one of the greatest things about grad school--perhaps the most important psychological thing: it was a community of people in the same boat whose bond was forged over shared bitching and disclosure and humor and blowing off steam.
Nice blogger? That's my pseudonym? How come I never get to be bitch or crazy or any of those cool names? Sigh.
What's funny is that I'm always surprised when I do get comments. I think -- why would anyone possibly read my ramblings? I'm the third girl in my family, out of three girls born in three years, and when I was growing up, I often felt like I was invisible. So it still is always a surprise to me when people remember me or use my name or comment on my blog. I love it when they do of course.
I really like some of the stuff you write -- so I comment because I know it encourages you to write more.
And besides, I like you. Even though we've never met.
thanks, jo(e). I'm sorry I couldn't describe you in more extreme terms. :)
I guess the important thing is to be writing at all.
Wow! I'm just now finding this, or I would have come and said hi about a year ago. *waves*
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