The Sound of Authenticity

There is a noise in the distance. It started out as a faint hum but is getting louder and louder. People are taking off the earplugs and setting the noise free. And my hunch is that people are going to continue to turn up the volume. What am I referring to? The sound of authenticity.

I have been a blogger for 7+ years. Much has changed on the scene since then. Facebook took over the world. Twitter shortened our voices to 140 characters. Tumblr and Instagram came along and turned our words into images. Pinterest happened and now we are all boarded up. Don't get me wrong...I love and use many of these platforms. But they are very different from traditional blogs.

People frequently note that the world presented on these sites is skewed to perfect and beautified. Perhaps too much so. As if the sun is always shining, the house is always clean, and life is always good. Instead of spreading the joy, this message can actually spread envy and distress. Now truthfully, I also often see entries on these platforms that suggest life is far from perfect. But the sense that "the grass is always greener" can seem pervasive.

As often happens in life, I think the pendulum is swinging. There is a frustration with this sense of "implied awesomeness" and a movement toward authenticity. And I believe this move is being spearheaded by the blogging community. Just one recent example is the Studio Table, where 120+ chose to share pictures of what their studio spaces really look like -- in all their messy glory.

Initially with the flood of microblogging platforms, there seemed to be a shift away from what I term "long-form" blogging. The ease of the newer sites made them very attractive. Many bloggers noted a decline in viewers and, most prominently, comments. When clicking on an upturned thumb is so easy...who has time to actually comment in words? And fill in those annoying Captcha Codes? At the same time, the crew that began blogging in the "early years" were burning out. It takes a lot of time and effort to consistently maintain a blog. A lot!

However, I have noticed a shift in the last year or so. Many new people are discovering blogging and again infusing energy into the blog community. And, happily, many older bloggers have shaken off the dust and have started to blog again. Their newest posts often start with an apology and apparent shock that so much time has past since their last entry.

Most importantly, there seems to be more authenticity than ever before in the content (see perfect example here). And for me, authenticity is very attractive and compelling. Real words from real people about real life. As a blogger, I strive to present an authentic voice in the hopes of continuing to build a community of people who connect to what I am saying and find true value in my blog. As a blog reader, I seek out the blogs where the voice and personality of the blogger comes through loud and clear -- in an authentic and genuine way.

The beauty of blogs is that they can be anything the blogger wants them to be. Every viewer can choose to read through or click past. And when I find authenticity -- I want in!