I was supposed to attend a certain blogging summit recently, then thought, "Ah, screw it." I've been blogging for years and know people who've been blogging for years, and I'm too set in my ways to attend a two-year-old summit. Besides, I see no need to shift away from my blogging principle, which is "Write whatever the hell you want", and I will not be taught how to blog by people who were just discovering blogs long after I've retired my first-ever, second, and third online journals.

You see, I'm given the impression that blogging summits and conferences talk about how to become A Blogger. They tell you how to write, what will sell, what will capture your readers and hold them in your thrall, and how you can make money off your blog. Like I said, I've been blogging for ages and I didn't know there were even any strategies and techniques for blogging. Blogs have taken an entirely different direction, which I can't properly describe, except I know it means that you are not A Blogger unless you have commentaries on news, pop culture, trends, etc. or link to other people who have made similar witty comments on those topics.

I am missing the good old days when blogging was an activity for you and you alone. You didn't have to make sure people were responding favorably to your posts, nor were you expected to make such a huge impact on culture. People would be happy writing about anything going on with themselves and their lives, and blogs didn't just contain trackbacks to other sites, nor were they merely some kind of news portal. And people weren't making their thoughts known on merely blog templates. Everyone I know used to lovingly craft and code wonderful layouts which were really quite impressive. Before you know it, they would suddenly change their layouts and you just don't have an interesting online journal to read, but also a nice personal website to look at.

Still, things change, and blogs are just another one of those things that have grown so popular and can be done by anyone who's got Things To Say, so no doubt that they'll continue changing. Eventually, someone will break into the "blogosphere" with a completely fresh and new take on the activity, which will eventually become the standard for blogging. Meanwhile, I will stick steadfastly to my old ways, and you just know I'll be sneering at any blogging trends that will pop up in the future.

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If I had to hold a blogging summit, however, the talks would go something like this:

Write Properly, Child, You Look Like An Idiot: tYpNg lYk DiS and Other Blogging Crimes

Flame Wars: When Something You Said Irked Another Person and Now You're In Deep Shit

Avoid Getting Dooced: How To Gripe About Your Job, Your Boss, and Your Company and Get Away With It

Ranting and Raving: It's Your Blog and You'll Write What You Wanna

Subtopics: When There's Just Too Much Information; Do You Have To Censor Yourself?

When Creativity Attacks: Breaking Away from Templates And Making Your Own Layouts

Subtopics: Thou Shalt Not Use Blinkies, Marquees, and Clashing Colors; Say Goodbye To Blogspot and Hello To Your Own Webspace

Wouldn't that be loads more interesting?