I have been battling with a certain feeling of unease over the past few days, specifically relating to my place in the world and which particular box I should fit into. It’s a topic which has been present within my mind for longer than the few days since Mr. Warnett’s blog post on GWARIZM (even this little viral had a part to play), but his essay brought my past uncertainties flooding back to the forefront of my consciousness, and recent responses from Steve Monaghan, Eugene Kan and Jeff Carvalho have only continued to strengthen its presence there.
I struggle at times to find the correct term for what it is I do on a daily basis, and I will openly admit that when asked that ominous question, “What do you do?” I have, in the past, referred to myself both as a ‘journalist’ and as a ‘writer’, followed by a split-second wince as I would wait in agony for the sarcastic comments or side-eyed glances that often followed. This question and its various responses were never met with anything but an uncomfortable feeling on my part, as even to this day, despite the numerous contributions from my peers, I am still unsure exactly what it is I ‘do’.
First, a bit of background… My first experience at stringing sentences together, with the intention of them being read by others, outside of an educational context, was in founding The Daily Street in the Summer of 2009. With TDS, it was always our intention, to provide a similar level of product based content to many of the other blogs out there, but with a UK focus, covering products available in the UK market and providing information specifically targeted at consumers in our country. There was one element however, that remained at the front of it all, and it is that which is particularly relevant to this discussion. As a voyeur of blog culture for a number of years, I had grown tired and frustrated with the regurgitation of press releases, which only ever dictated the information that the brand or PR wished to convey, rarely any element of opinion and often without regard to the factors which had gone together to make the product in question, actually of interest, such as it’s history or cultural significance. A year or so ago, it was not unusual to see the same product blurb, word for word, across numerous blogs, accompanied by the same product photos and the same despondent approach to each release.
With The Daily Street, we sought to correct that which we thought was wrong with the ‘blogosphere’ by coming up with our own approach, extracting all that was good and disposing of those elements which we disliked, in the hope that we could create a format that others, like ourselves, could appreciate. We made it our aim never to simply command+C, command+V (apple talk, see how modern we are?) a press release, but to spend time digesting the information, allowing us to write an informed article on a product, injected with our own thoughts, opinions, knowledge and experiences.
It is for this reason that I begrudgingly describe myself using the term ‘blogger’, for, selfish as it may seem, I wish not to be tarred with the same brush as those who simply re-blog or re-hash the work of others. Perhaps I am wrong, as, in the simplest of deconstructions, a blogger is one who blogs, and that is what I do. However, if I am right to seek a pigeonhole outside of the one marked ‘blogger’, where exactly should I be looking? As my peers have already pointed out, perhaps the term ‘journalist’ should be reserved for those who have studied a degree in the subject, which I of course, have not. Since founding The Daily Street, I have been blessed with the opportunity to provide full pieces of editorial, featured in print on the pages of National magazines RWD and Front, but, without that piece of paper certifying me as a journalist, where exactly do I stand?
I agree with Gary that the term ‘writer’ should be used only to describe those who have spent years slaving over their craft, traveling to the far corners of the world and spending days without sleep in order to create the perfect piece of literature. I’m sure that the likes of George Orwell would be more than a bit peeved to find someone like myself, who spends a few hours a day bashing out short bursts of copy to be uploaded online immediately, was trying to climb into their box and find a seat amongst Kerouac and Hunter Thompson. Perhaps it was naive of me to use this term to describe myself without proper thought, after all, I struggle with the same predicament of being boxed in with those who I believe I should be separated from, but this still leaves me with the same dilemma.
I have written this article not to contest what others have said, but to ask their advice on which box I should find to call my own. I look up to people like Gary, Steve, Eugene and Jeff; both their proficiency in the written word, and their individual accomplishments are of huge inspiration to me, so it is with bated breath that I prepare to (somewhat cheekily) enter their shared discussion. I do feel that my practice and my achievements over the past year warrant more than just the badge of ‘blogger’, but I do not quite feel ready to reach for the box marked ‘journalist’, and further off, ‘writer’.
Thank you for taking some time to consider my predicament. Your thoughts, as always, are welcomed.
