Thursday, August 16, 2007

To meme or not to meme -- still trollling for comments

Yesterday's discussion about memes drew some thoughtful comments.

I asked whether you like getting tagged. Do you feel left out if you're not tagged? Would you prefer not to be bothered with it? I'm ambivalent on doing memes: Some are more fun than others. I'm reluctant to tag people because I'm hesitant to impose... but I like the links and the extra traffic memes can bring in.

So, while I'm busy wringing my hands indecisively, the floor remains open. If you haven't already commented, please do. (Hello, lurkers....) I look forward to the discussion continuing.

17 comments:

Barb said...

I'm here to pick up my tag now. :)

Mother Jones RN said...

Do I feel left out when I'm not tagged? Actually, I'm relieved when I'm not tagged. I hate tags, but sometimes I play the game because I don't want to hurt the other person't feelings.

MJ

Nikki Neurotic said...

I would rather not get tagged for meme's, I don't mind meme's per say...usually I have my own topics to write about and after I write about what I want to write, I either don't have the time, or the motivation to then participate in some meme. If I see a cool meme that I want to do, then I will do it...but I just don't like having that feeling of obligation to participate in a meme just because a fellow blogger thinks I should. That's why, when I choose to do a meme (usually) I then open it up to everyone on my blogroll so I give them the choice of participating or not participating and not obligating them because I linked to their blog.

I would not mind too much if I only got tagged occasionally by different people, but it seems that every week I get tagged by the same people to do a meme...and often times the meme's are very similar and I find myself repeating myself!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

It's a good topic for people to comment on.

Ralph said...

I do not mind the tag - it means that someone is at least reading me. For instance, I enjoyed last week's layered meme, as tagged by Mimi. Agreed that occasional is better, but a good tag can allow me to think differently...

Dr. A said...

This is a great discussion!

Ben and Bennie said...

I don't feel left out. neither do I mind being tagged as long as it seems interesting to me. If it's a way to gain readership I don't think I'd participate.

I like reading memes that dig into the soul so to speak. The best ones will make me remember something interesting from the past that was meaningful. I enjoy reading those answers of bloggers that are willing to be honest and make us all feel human.

I identify with that for the most part since I'm half-human and mostly Martian.

Hilda said...

I answered on the original post - in short I love memes and don't mind getting tagged. For more see other response. :)

Robin said...

Cur (meant with all due respect),
I made sure not to read anyones comments before adding mine. I'll probably be sorry.

Anyway. Meme's.

I don't like doing them as a regular thing. An English teacher once said that if you were writing, you should seldom have need for an exclamation point. The way you write the sentence should express the energy. I guess I feel the same way about Memes.

TO ME (caps obviously on purpose), Memes are a lazy, self-indulgent exercise. That said, sometimes they can be fun.

I've often wondered where my own interest in the ones I like comes from. It's the same with the ubiquitous quizzes. Sometimes it's just boredom. Sometimes, I want to see what my answers say to other people. Rarely, but sometimes, they will say something to me.

I found you, this time, through Skittles. But I've lurked from other places, before.

Thank you for your question.....and your blog.

Linda said...

This is sort of one of those "mixed bags" as there are times when I don't mind being tagged, times when I am flattered that I have been tagged, and time when I really wish that I hadn't been tagged. How's that for a vague answer?

There are some good memes out there but the biggest problem I see is that they generally flood the Blogosphere and you end up being tagged by the same one over and over (I've been hit by the "8 Things" one four times). At some point you have to politely refuse but then I feel bad as if someone took the time to think of me, I feel bad not holding up my end.

However it's just too easy to get lost in doing them. I only have x-amount of time for blogging and it already takes up way too big of a chunk of my life and I also try to do only one post per day as I think that's what people expect of me. If I have to keep trying to catch up with memes then I get behind on the stuff I really meant to write about but got sidetracked away from.

Now I know I've tagged you in the past but I try to only tag people with memes that I think they might really enjoy or might be able to be creative with (which you have certainly proven to do). If someone turned down a tag, I wouldn't get my feelings hurt as I know that we all have lives outside of our computer monitors but wishy-washy person that I am, I feel bad turning down someone else.

So, in summation, this appears to be a lengthy comment without any real answer! Do you think I have submitted enough double-speak to confuse the court??

Pilgrim said...

I don't mind meme's however I don't feel comfortable tagging others. I don't want to presume others feel the same way.

Heather said...

I am ambivalent. Falky may be a better word. ;-)

Linda said...

In response to your question re:iced coffee - I, personally, love iced coffee but I couldn't really give you a definitive answer as to why. Maybe because it's rather like thin coffee ice cream? Maybe because it gives you that caffeine kick without the heat on hot, humid summer days? It's a good question, I may have to pose this to my readers in some form or another as I know that iced coffee has really taken off as a beverage of choice for a lot of people. I might even have to see if I can dig up the history of iced coffee - if there is one! If not food for thought than definitely beverage for consideration!

The Curmudgeon said...

I'm still processing these comments -- and I hope there may yet be more -- but I thank you all for your contributions so far. I think I want to reply, though, in a new post.

One more thing on the to-do-and-maybe-never-does-get-done pile.

*Sigh*

susan said...

The short answer? It all depends on my mood. Now you can read the rest if you care to...

How I respond to getting tagged completely depends on the moment in which I discover the tag. If I already have a direction in mind for my next post, I tend to find being tagged somewhat of an annoyance. I am one of those people who follow directions (almost) robotically (is that a word? In the manner of a robot? Drone-like-ly?), so when I am told to do thus and such, thus and such I generally do. And, in true ISFJ fashion, I tend to take care of what I view as "responsibilities" before I move on to what I view as a personally fulfilling. So, being tagged can interrupt the flow of whatever I direction I was originally headed in.

HOWEVER, if I find myself in a spot where I feel less than inspired, a gentle tagging seems to have the effect of getting the brain moving again. Not that I'm trying to suggest that the posts that follow the meme are likely to be of a particularly thought provoking nature. That's why my space is "stuff & nonsense". It wouldn't be an accurate portrayal of the gobbledy-gook in my head otherwise.

Anonymous said...

I don't mind tags, but write so much anyway, I put them aside at times and forget them. I was hesitant to tag people for fear of putting them out, but really, refusing a tag should not make us feel bad. I am noticing more people just saying, if you want to do it, let me know and I will link back to you and they leave it open to anyone that passes by. I like that idea for the more general ones.

rdl said...

I like memes and i like that if i don't like a particular meme, I don't have to do it - like grown-up homework; or if life gets in the way i don't need an excuse not to do it.