From on-line diaries to modern blogging

I'll be honest, I'm completely new to blogging.  Last time I was this active on the internet was in the late 90's and it was an on-line diary that I regularly contributed to.  On the surface, a blog and a diary may seem the same but there are some major differences.  For a start, back in the days of diary entries it was perfectly acceptable to be over emotional and complain in a full on woe-is-me way about your life.  People loved it, nurturing types thrived on giving advise and solace to the broken, lost souls.  If someone wrote that way in a blog post no-one would read it, at least not all the way through because in the blog world, it's seems fine to be discontent or unhappy as long as it is written as a rant, the content reasonably funny.  If someone is seen as being too emotional, it's assumed they must be begging for attention.  This is completely ironic because why would any of us use these sites, write about our points of view, if we didn't want just that little bit of attention?  It was also quite usual for someone to give a blow by blow account of their day and avid readers would each comment on a different aspect of the writers life as there was easily enough content for everyone to empathise with part of it.  Can you imagine us writing this way in our blogs?   Readers would move on to something more interesting well before they reached the thrilling tale of breakfast.  Don't get me wrong, there were many diary entries made by myself and others that would have sat perfectly well in the modern blog but anything that's truly emotional, aside from anger, just doesn't seem particularly acceptable.

Is this because the virtual, non face to face world has made us harsher, less human?  Or is it because the 90's were well documented as being a hypersensitive time?  After all this was the era that gave us the 'sensitive new age guy'.  Both concepts have merit but what is most likely, is that what we need, both from the reading and writing of such personal material, has evolved.  It's far better that we do not need the suffering of others to entertain ourselves and the modern blog is far more diverse in it's content and humour, providing something for everyone to empathise with, without revelling in others misery.  That said, have we gone too far?  Do we no-longer offer sympathy unless it is encased, hidden in humour?  Are we depriving those individuals who have no out-let for their sorrow in the real world, a chance to be heard?  I hope not.  What do you think?

While you are considering this, here are a couple of blogs that I enjoy empathising with;
The very smart and equally as funny  StayatHomeBabe
The extremely lovely but rant filled FutileRage