LAMORINDA WEEKLY | The 21st Century Diary


Youngjoo Ahn is a senior at Miramonte High School. In her free time she hosts Express Yourself teen radio, volunteers teaching Korean, and blogs.

The 21st century is the Age of Technology with the rapid developments in communication. With programs like Skype, Google Hangouts, VSee, and Facetime, long distance face-to-face conversation is possible for anyone in the world connected via the Internet. One of the by-products of this "Age" is blogging.

Blogging is almost like a virtual diary that can be shared with everyone. Some blogs focus on one specific subject and have a niche following. There are many blogs dedicated to fashion, food, book reviews, traveling, dating, teens, and everything imaginable.

The most alluring aspect to blogging is sharing. How fantastic it is to know that a stranger in the Netherlands is reading your blog and struggling with your very same issues! A blog allows people from all over the globe to connect and learn about one another. Many people also use blogs as an outlet for opinions, rants, and random thoughts.

"Blogging is really fun. It consumes my life in a good way. I'm always thinking of new things to try from blogs I read and what I'm going to say in my blog. I'm constantly looking for different subjects to blog about," Miramonte senior Dashia Kwok said. "Blogging has helped me form opinions about topics that I probably wouldn't have considered otherwise."

Gaining followers and readers is not as easy as it seems. Overnight popularity is almost impossible and should not be expected. A blog, like any other hobby, takes time, patience, and care. The best way to gain readers is through excellent writing. It's important to actually sit down and write something special, carefully editing for grammar and spelling. With so many blogs in the blogosphere, quality matters. Pictures and social media are additional power tools to enhance your blog.

The rewards of blogging are limitless. Blogging can be an online journal or a private 21st century diary. I enjoy looking back on old posts and remembering what I was feeling at that time. It's also gratifying to learn that others are intrigued with my thoughts.

For me, the most impressive reward with blogging is that I own a small slice of the Internet community. Blogging can boost your business and your career, but for me, and many of my Lamorinda friends, the best part is that my posts are personal keepsakes that we'll treasure forever.

Teen Scene is YOUR voice. If you have something to say or have writing skills and want to be part of our Teen Scene team, email our Teen Coach, Cynthia Brian, Cynthia@CynthiaBrian.com.

The opinions expressed in Teen Scene are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lamorinda Weekly.