I’m a subscriber and loyal watcher of the Washington Post’s HD video podcast, which I love because it looks at ordinary life from different perspectives. I was actually drawn to it when I got an email from Apple showcasing some of their HD podcast, which of course means higher picture quality. I like getting the best when possible, so, why not? Besides, it’s free like all podcasts.
Well, one episode I watched recently talked about today’s blogosphere (that’s the world of blogging) and how most blogs are actually written in Japanese, not English. This is actually fairly surprising given the population of Japanese speaking people compared to the larger English speaking population. What I also found surprising is how the general Japanese population blogs.
Where most American bloggers blog to stand out, Japan blogs to fit in. In America, a lot of bloggers will thrust their political views, opinions about life, and many other sometimes harsh sentiments out for the world to see, often in an attempt to draw attention to someone or something. I’ve done this a few times myself. Rarely in Japan will you see a petition drive on a blog. Instead, they often blog about boring everyday life. You know, like how the train ride was to work (as in everyday) or how they met a new friend; things a lot of Americans tend to not deem important.
This got me thinking about a couple of things. First, it occurred to me how hostile of a culture we have at times over here. We tend to wear our stress on our sleeves and blurt it out when possible without regard of how others would like their social environment to be. Japan apparently doesn’t do this, declining to express their stress.
Secondly, this gives me the impression that Japan treats life as it should be treated; as a gift. Again, we treat every day life as ordinary and as a result we tend to miss some of the small things. Japan blogs in an open journal kind of way, willing to let you in to one’s personal life without being extra personal. Really, it’s very similar to the way I use Twitter, a service that simply asks, “What are you doing?”. Seems like a redundant thing, until you actually start using it.
My dad has gotten really good at this kind of writing. Often, I’ll get emails concerning his lunch and how he shared it with his cat, Pixel. I enjoy reading these emails for the way my dad has for describing the simple intricacies of life.
Maybe we should all take a look of life like this?
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