James Spinti has an interesting thought about the importance of opinions in blogging. He says:
It seems that those of us who continue to blog have strong opinions, and aren’t afraid to state them. . . . Is it wrong to have strong opinions? I don’t think so. It just lays a heavier responsibility on us to make sure that our opinions are worth reading and considering.Ah! Therein lies the rub. Because we are so opinionated, we think our opinions are automatically worth reading. A little humility might not hurt.
What do you think?
It seems to be true. Mark Goodacre is one whose blog I don’t think of as “opinionated.” He, of course, has opinions, which he expresses on the blog, but if we go by the dictionary definition of “opinionated,” I don’t think his blog qualifies: “unduly adhering to one’s own opinion or to preconceived notions” (M-W). Everybody has preconceived notions, but the question is how much we let ourselves get carried away by them. On the description of my own blog, I say, “I belong to the Brethren in Christ denomination and hopefully that biases me just enough to make this blog interesting, but not quite so much to make me an ideologue.” I was thinking of this idea when I wrote that.
To be good, I think that blogs based on biblical studies, or any concept (e.g., politics, nutrition, engineering, ecology, etc.), should be more than simply an op-ed dumping ground. These blogs, in my opinion, should also be truly informative. For blogs that are more “online journals” of personal thoughts and experiences, perhaps unique personality and provocative opinions count for more. But then again, even these blogs (the good ones) are “informing” us of something: this person’s experience. So I guess I feel that information and opinion should be the primary blend of a good blog, and an ability to communicate ideas in an interesting way always helps!
This also makes me think of a reader’s purpose for reading a blog. I’ve seen many discussions on the purpose of writing a blog, but not much thought about the purpose of reading a blog. Why does one do it? Too many reasons to count here, but many of them are related to opinion. For example, I read some other Anabaptist blogs because I am an Anabaptist and I’d like to see how other Anabaptists are reflecting about the issues of the day. But many of these blogs have a readership far beyond loyal Anabaptists. Perhaps the non-Anabaptists are interested in expanding their horizons and open to dialogue with those who are different from them. Maybe some readers scour the blogs looking for heresy. Being open to dialogue sounds the best out of these, but certainly reading those who agree with you has its place. Looking for heresy may sound really bad, but if toned down a bit significantly, I suppose it’s simply another way of pushing forward a discussion.
In sum, I also don’t think it is wrong to have a strong opinion reflected in a blog, but I think a blog should be otherwise substantiated with informative content. And I think a good blogger should find the balance of revealing her or his own point of view in an interesting and provocative way, versus the extremes of being obnoxiously ideological, on the one hand, or tediously colorless, on the other.
