THE BLOG MUST GO ON

Since the entry (far) below, entitled “THE SILENCE OF THE BLOGS” (an entry that drew from the ether that rarest of events, a comment on this blog) I have made the phrase “Blogs,-what-are-they-good-for?” into something of a recurring theme here. Today I attended a talk by Mark Thorton, of Mostly Books in Abingdon. I’ve never been to that book shop, but it sounds good – Comfy chairs, coffee available, a large children’s book section, plus an unusually extensive bookshelf of poetry books – up to 50 different poets - (this would have suited me around the age of 15, when I very keen on poetry reading, and indeed poetry writing. My own verse, as I recall, was mainly on the theme of bitter self-pity, with occasional cod-biblical references). During Mark's talk – which was aimed at promoting better understanding between authors and independent book sellers – he mentioned blogs. In his view they’re worth the effort. It’s all down to key words, apparently. The way I see it is like this. If I was keen to promote, say, parsnips, I could write a blog in which I mention parsnip-related facts on a regular basis. Parsnip-fanciers the world over, all busily googling the word “parsnip”, would be directed to my site in their hundreds. Soon an on-line community would develop, leading, eventually, to the overthrow of governments and a world ruled by the all-conquering parsnip. That’s the theory anyway. There are, I fear some flaws. Of course, this wasn’t the way Mark Thorton described it. He made it sound quite sensible in fact. So I shall continue with the Book Log. The blog must go on!