I like most of you am a total trail enthusiast and find myself day after day reading the hikers journals and looking at pictures. What I’ve come to see a lot of lately is trail journals turning into personal blogs the likes of myspace.com or other advertisement funded sites. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? I’d like to hear.
Henri
Dear Henri,
This question can be settled pretty quickly if you will first provide a definition of “journal” and a definition of “blog.”
With definitions, we can see the differences between the two and decide. Without definitions we will not be able to meaningfully discuss and compare the two “things”, we will quickly lose sight of the question, produce no real opinions, and devolve into an endless morass of unsupported assertions.
We need some clear definitions. Let’s start with yours.
Sincerely, Conan.
Conan
Shouldn’t the question really be what’s the difference between a “Trail Journal” and a regular blog?.. because there should be a distinction.
Trailjournals.com should be (I’m assuming) somewhat connected to those of us suffering from trail fever - whether we’re wanting to hike, planning a hike, doing a hike, remembering a hike, etc. The actual content of a Trailjournal isn’t so much the issue as the assumption that it is coming from the hiking experience, regardless of the tangent(s) and the musings or even the mileage.
The blogs seem to creep in (and “crowd the trail”) when the hiker has abandoned the trail for whatever reason and decided to use the Trailjournals site for keeping their friends and family and fans updated… partly & probably because it’s just easier to stay with what you started.
Obviously post hike discussions and reflections are as valid as the pre & mid-journey ones. Unfortunately, it gets a little confusing to tune into an individual’s journal (Example: Wag Daddy - PCT - 2006) and see the non-stop daily score of meals, movies, sleep, etc. with hardly a mention of a trail. (Though, in Wag Daddy’s case, now that he is off the PCT for good he is professing to be on a “spiritual hike” of some sort.)
So-hey: All that be said, it should just boil down to common sense and courtesy, right? “Hike your own hike” morphs into “Journal your own journal” quite easily… If we are on this site then we are either hiking or we are self-abusing trail addicts who enjoy the vicarious living through others that Trailjournals provides. I’m not ashamed to enjoy other folks walking when I cannot. When they stop walking, though, I usually stop reading.
Sincerely, Gravy
gravy
I think Gravy articulated what I was thinking much better than I could of. I also have seen a lot of blogs out there and am legitimately concerned that if trail journals became more like blog journals than a lot of non-trail enthusiasts might start creeping in and changing what this site is all about. What concerns me is that the traditional blogs out there are so infused with spam and advertising that the same could happen here, despite the best efforts of the web-hosts. A perfect example was last month when a bunch of spam links wound up as forum topics. If everyone used trail journals to become their personal blog when not hiking I think the potential to bring a lot of non trail traffic to the site is likely, along with the spammers that follow. I think you guys catch my drift, maybe I’m just overeacting but the thing that I find so great and refreshing about trail jourals is that it is so ON-TOPIC. Most places aren’t and are watered down, not here, and I love that.
Henri
Henri Corso
I have a blog that I ocasionally check onto and write what is going on in my life. (Which when not on the trail is rather boring.)
TJ is strictly for hike related issues. I too hope it stays that way.
Sue/HH:girl
Hammock Hanger
I think the difference depends entirely on the journalist… or blogger.
Blogs, short for web logs, from what I have seen, are running chatty commentaries about life, but also contain personal comments to friends that are reading on a daily basis and some, like myspace.com, allow comments back & forth. I have only run into a couple of Trail Journals that are written that way, sans the feedback, ofcourse.
I have transcribed and read many TJ’s; most of them are in journal/diary style, a commentary of the days events that do not invite or expect feedback.
IMO, blogs are written more for the reader (the author has some expectation of an “audience”) and Journals are written more for the author (a personal account/memoir, audience --tho appreciated-- is optional).
Wild Hare
I have both my trailjournal and a blog. I use tj for hiking/hiking related items and use the blog for everything, including hiking.
freefall
There is a saying, with respect to art, the the inexpert is best advised to say, “I like it” or “I don’t like it”, and to avoid at all costs saying, “It is good” or “It is bad.”
Journals, I like: Journals were born out of a time when writing was acknowledged as a tool that, among other things, caused one to think, to refine one’s thoughts, and ultimately to arrive at higher thoughts.
Blogs, not so much: Blogs, unfortunately, tend to turn into blather, with real thought and reasoning being conspicuous by their absence.
Fletcher
Fletcher
Haiku has his PCT journal posted in blog format – blog publishing tools give you more flexibility in the design and format of your journal. Other side of the coin is that posting your journal at trailjournals.com makes you part of the thru-hiker community and its fans. Other people interested in hiking have a better chance of finding your journal at trailjournals.
While it’s true that a journal is more about the author, the best journalers always attract the most readers.
Trailjournals is about trails as much as it’s about people. If. like me, you divide your hiking among dozens of trails, it’d make more sense to hava blog to describe your hikes and post pics.
tom mangan
I can see why armchair hikers would want to read about hiking and not much else in a journal. Afterall, actual hikers pretty much exist to please them, and should journal accordingly. Right? Man, you guys are lucky I didn’t extend my journal to cover natural childbirth!
Grace