Feeling Fake

I like my job as an automotive blogger. There are days, though, that I feel like a fake.

Today was one of those days. One of my colleagues from Motor Trend brought one of the all-new Dodge Challengers to our office. While admiring its lines, both inside and out, I couldn't help but notice it was a stick shift.

I can't drive stick. Neither of my parents drove stick and it wasn't part of the driver's ed. Most folks in the U.S., in fact, can't drive stick.

But the auto industry is different. Just like how doctors can brag about being able to stay up three days/nights in a row without sleep, auto journalists and enthusiasts puff up their chests (and breasts) when they proudly declare they can drive a stick, prefer stick shift, and the only "real" driver is a stick driver. One journalist/exec, whom I admired, really brought that point home when he asked a tableful of journalists if they'd consider anyone in the industry who drove an automatic to be a true auto journalists. You can guess their answer.

Don't pity me. They have a point. I've already taken a few lessons from some of my colleagues and have researched driving schools. I will one day master the stick. Er, the one in a car, that is.

Fourteenth Hour

"It's your blog".

That's what G. said when I asked him a few minutes ago if it was time for another blog. The sharp response provoke the following topic.

Does one write posts for an audience or oneself? That's an extremely common question many bloggers ask themselves and even their readers. Who (or is it whom?) is one writing for? Since I write blog posts for pay, I'm in an interesting position to see both sides of the question.

And my opinion? It's both, naturally. I consider blog posts similar to short stories, novels, comic books, and any other auditory/visual medium (e.g., paper, webpage, podcasts, etc.) where an author tells/writes their thoughts so others can experience it. Posts, on the one hand, can be read by almost anyone depending on the permissions given (or how skilled is the hacker). If the blogger truly wanted to keep things for themselves, they wouldn't be publishing their posts.

On the other hand, bloggers need a source to tap for their topic and that's themselves. Yes, one can give a blogger a subject matter to write about, but their viewpoint, writing style, etc., is theirs -- and theirs alone. The blogger decides how much of themselves they're willing to bare not only to their readers, but themselves as well. As G. above recently said, he hates re-reading his reviews, something he shares with all writers. That's understandable, for every time one writes their thoughts down, they give something of their thoughts and hearts, which is not always pleasant to look in the stark light of reality.


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Carpe Diem (seize the day)