« Blog Swearing »

I’m noticing a proliferation of potty mouths on the internet lately. Swearing, that is. Sure, it’s eyecatching in your RSS reader, but once the novelty has worn off, what have you got left?


The jury is out for me still - I think I can count on one hand how many times i’ve dropped a doozy, I’d like to save those biggies for really big deals.  For the shock effect, you know?  I’ve got a feeling that if my blog voice adopted the language of a drunken sailor, no amount of profanity would make people interested… ;-) Not to mention the fact that your blog history will follow you around like a wee puppy for the rest of your life. I suppose that is fine - if you indeed are a drunken sailor….

What say you? Is swearing acceptable in blog-land?


Technorati Tags: blogs, swearing

Comments

[The Zero Boss]

Whatever. I've blogged this way for close to three years running. :)

[Doggy Mama]

I try to keep my blog PG-13... I'm not opposed to swearing, but I think there's a time and a place. If you go around just swearing for the sake of swearing, I think you lose your point somewhere.

[Jorge]

I think it's fine, so long as it's done in a particular way. Swearing like a sailor is an artform. Not everyone is good at this artform.

[Adrian L]

Positively stuns me. I wrote abotu it once too:

http://www.a-rain-of-frogs.com/83/an-historical-downpour-licking-the-toilet

[Imani]

I confess that I do not understand the phrasing of the question. "Acceptable" in blog-land? Acceptable to who? Blog-land has some sort of principles/rules/whathaveyou that all and sundry are (or should) be paying attention to?

[Phil]

I don't swear in real life, so I don't swear on my blog. I just try to be myself. I once tried being snarky on my blog, but it ended up sounding stupid because I'm not like that in person.

I certainly know how to swear, though... It just doesn't come out very often.

[jules]

Hi there Imani,

I think it's less about rules, and more about being effective. Simply put, if you use the word fantastic enough to describe pieces of interest, at some point, the effect of the adjective is lost on the reader. Same goes for swearing....

cheers,
jules

[Imani]

I disagree. Swear words are usually far more flexible and have more nuance in meaning than the word "fantastic" if that's what you're going to use as a comparison.

I haven't even bothered to question the assumption you made that people are swearing a lot in order to attract readers. Who says they're using it for "shock"?