From my first post back:
This is a personal blog now. Just what we all needed. If you have high expectations, lower them. Don’t write this up on Intl Wota.
Apparently Misa doesn’t listen to the rules . . .
But it’s done so oh well.
Misa (from IW):
I think I do it because I am proud of my collection and like to “show it off.”
A very honest answer. Of course, to show off a collection, one has to have other collections to compare to. As I’m learning, individual fandoms are not just about one’s own likes/dislikes, but where they fit in within a collective. This is best saved for another day, maybe with a good editor.
CK (from a TLS comment):
Two of the most popular blogs around IW are Morning Berryz and Hello!Blog, both of whom regularly post their recent “gets” Both of them have huge readership. So as far as the readers are concerned, I imagine it is because people want to see what the items look like, what comes inside of the packages etc…
Well these two blogs are interesting because they are not only are they popular within IW, but they would be popular if IW did not exist. Maybe I put too much focus on IW when I talked about these posts of recent purchases. I’d personally like to consider Hello!Blog and Morning Berryz as a part of the IW community, but they are not defined by it; as opposed to this blog which exists and functions within IW.
So this isn’t a quirk of IW. This adds another layer, which makes the discussion more confusing and worth talking about.
Maybe I should talk to Paul and MB about why they make these posts and why they think their readership reads/talks about it. I find it hard to believe that someone really needs to see what a digital cam photo of a T-Shirt or a CD looks like.
As far as Paul and MB go, they often find (and purchase and post about) peculiar items from Hello! Project. I can understand why this would draw interest. These peculiar items are often things that I think a lot of people wouldn’t or couldn’t buy. So I guess that makes Hello! Blog and Morning Berryz the MTV Cribs of Hello! Project blogging.
CK (continued):
For me, quite often it is about utilization of the blog. Personally I want to keep my site active, and I can only do so many “think pieces” and live concert reports. So the natural thing is to report on the items that I have purchased, if for no other reason to give a review.
You know, the fact that there is an emphasis on “think pieces” is somewhat bothersome. This is not as off-topic as it sounds. I do pay attention to certain posts (and because of this, certain blogs) more than others if they have these “think pieces” - or rather anything analytical. There is a reason why these posts often get more attention on IW than reviews (especially non-H!P reviews), news (unless it is breaking H!P news) and picspams.
It’s not that these type of posts are “better” than the reviews or whatever. I think a lot of the people (both staff and readers) in IW prefer them.
Personally, I think this is Ray’s fault. IW was created and, for a while, solely maintained by Ray. So naturally the community was going to grow based on the type of posts he prefered/recommended. He might disagree with this.
Then again, if there were true, we’d have a lot more AV blogs and W-look-a-like porn involved in our community.
So where do the GETS posts fall into this picture? I think Ray (and IW when Ray started to AFK) gave a lot of focus to these posts. Exactly why is another story, but it does explain, at least to me, why GETS posts grab attention within IW.
Pex (from a TLS comment):
For me, I’m just happy that I got these things, and want to share the fact that I’m happy about getting them. It’s a bit child-like perhaps, but when a child gets a new toy, he wants to show it off and say, “Look, I got this! Isn’t it cool? I’m so happy!” Of course, there are those who do it to show off, but for me, it really is just simple happiness and wanting to share my good fortune with those who read my blog.
I appreciate a response like this; it brings up the role of individual personalities in this discussion. Although I think Ray shaped a lot of the attitudes with IW, he didn’t control how people blogged. Eventually, it comes down to individuals blogging about what they want to blog about.
This is an interesting idea, Pex claiming that they want to “share the fact that I’m happy about getting them [purchases].” I’m not going to deny that, but I think reception plays into this. So far, at least from what I’ve seen, these posts get either no reaction or a positive reaction. If every GETS post on IW was written up with the title “ATTENTION WHORE,” then I don’t know if people would be as willing to share their individual happiness.
krln99 (from a TLS comment):
It’s a digital “show and tell.” A lot of times most of us will never have the dedication or disposable income to get these things, so this is the next best thing.
I’m not going to deny that there is a “show and tell” aspect going on here. Thankfully, I’m not seeing many blogs that are entirely GETS-focused. The blogs that would stand out in a community focused on GETS would be either the rich folk or those that can get creative about a Kumai Yurina sticker. Either way, the appeal would get old fast.
As eluded to before, this is not a IW/blog/wota-exclusive discussion.
CJ (from this TGML post):
Recently at YODC, Langdon asked me if I wanted to make a regular feature out of doing something I was doing on occasion over there, showing off bits from my still-growing vinyl collection.
…
The vinyl posts at YODC happened, on-and-off last year and regularly this year, because Langdon and some of the other YODC crew dug them when I did them, and asked me to keep doing them. And, with the exception of two unintentionally missed instances so far this year, I have.
CJ’s example here is just one example, but I’m sure there are many like it. I believe CJ when he says he isn’t doing this to show off, just like I believe Pex.
Ray (from twitter):
You’re onto something with the post on idols and consumerism, but it needs more follow-through to really make that point…
The fact that I’m onto something scares me. I’m constantly doubting and redoubting what I have to say here. That is why you are getting a post like this, and not something that I would have put together on the old TLS or for P2. There are just too many angles that I’m throwing out in this discussion and it is not really focused. I will try to continue the talk though. It’s going to help to get responses though because I’m really awful at challenging myself and my own positions.
