Is blogging so last year and long winded?

I think that question as posed by the BBC in this article may just be a bit imprecise.


As anyone who knows me, and those who have read this blog know, I can be long winded.   Part of that comes from just me being me.  Part of that comes from being in Information Technology since the days of University and before.  I am used to dealing with details, multitasking, and trying to pass information and instructions about issues that are incredibly detailed.  I've been called Black and White, which is not completely flattering, but when one deals with technology you end up having a logical outlook on things and technology commonly either works or does not.

What I think that the BBC article had missed is that it is more a function of intelligence levels and age of the individual.   The latter was alluded to since they are speaking mostly of the young as you may have gathered from the title I've used here.  The slang term "So Last Year" isn't going to come up when speaking with your grandparents unless you the younger of the conversation bring it up.   I can't picture those of the Greatest Generation saying things like that.  They're used to looking at the long view as are anyone who has passed their childhood behind.

The younger generation was raised on short sound bites, MTV, and a dizzying and flickering pace of life.  That helps the mind to be nimble and quick, but will make it much more difficult to retrain yourself for looking at the minute details in life.  Yes, that is a decided generalization, but one that has been said many times before I had tried to raise this point.

I've noticed that pictures do speak a thousand words, and it is easier to have a picture blog with a short paragraph next to it than it is to do a text article.  There have been books written on individual pictures, see Mona Lisa as an example, but having the picture there means that you are leaning on cultural background, education level and the reader's ability to read your mind to form a conclusion.  That is fairly impossible to do on twitter which is limited to the length of an SMS text message.


Part of it is that this is the "Math is Hard, Barbie" syndrome.   When Mattel came out with the Talking Barbie, the original doll had a recording that said "Math is Hard".   I know many women who are of equal intelligence to my own, some who may be more intelligent than I am in various subjects, others who are of more modest capabilities.  I do agree with the feminists who were outraged at what Mattel was teaching the audience of these dolls.  It was telling pre-pubescent girls that they shouldn't try because it is difficult, and therefore to be avoided.  A teenager said that it isn't fun to read a long article.  Some can be, others are boring.  Reading is like weightlifting.  If you want to exercise your brain for greater capacity you have to engage it in tasks you find difficult and take the time to do it right.

Hopefully this right and not too long winded.   Perhaps not.  Just my own personal ramblings.