The Concept of the "Blogosphere"

Virginia Woolf unfolds her argument that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction" (4) throughout her book A Room of One's Own. During the time when she wrote this book, writing for women was looked down upon and often discouraged, as were many other freedoms we now take for granted. In order to become a successful writer, Woolf argues that a woman needed money and a private room in order to write fiction. Paula Maggio, in her blog post "Blogs as Literary Devices," refutes Woolf's argument based off of present day experience and opportunities. The recent popularization of "blogging" allows women, men, and children of every race, religion, and ethnicity to write from their heart. Due to the fact that blogging is free, informal, and uninhibited everyone has an opportunity to express themselves freely with just a simple click of a button. Soon, unexpressed thoughts and ideas are published for anyone to read. Maggio talked about how this allows for empowerment of an individual and I agree with this idea completely. There is a "blogosphere" for anything and everyone, which creates a safe place to write about anything. Our society has progressed so much within the last century, it would have been inconceivable for Woolf to imagine a world where freedom of thought and words was so simple. The room that Woolf talked about is now behind millions and millions of computer screens where people are able to escape for a moment from their busy lives and express themselves with hopes to be heard. Who knows, maybe someday their blog post will be the most widely read blog. Until then, at least their thoughts and feelings are out there. Virginia Woolf would be proud.