OK, this post could be mistaken for a pathetic plea for attention. But it isn’t. Really. I mean it.
I know there are lots of you who keep blogs. Some of you have invited me to view yours, and despite best intentions (and some remarkably entertaining writing, pictures, and such), I have very rarely done so.
Does anyone else struggle to maintain the illusion, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that keeping a blog (as opposed to, say, just scrawing a journal on legal pads for one’s own use) is really worth doing? Does anyone actually read these things? I am interested in your opinion.
But do NOT go to my website and read my blog because of this post. That isn’t the point. Really. I’m serious.
Blogging and similar kinds of Internet sites can be an excellent way to let others know you are up to. The advantage of a blog over email, is that the other folks can read as often as they like. Another advantage is when meeting a new person, they can look at the blog and get a sense of history.
There are all different kinds of blogs. As with any endeavor part of the decision, “is it worth it,” is what a person might otherwise do with their time.
I know some successful bloggers. The keys are consistency and publicity. They make the circuit every day to numerous other blogs in their genre and leave relevant comments there which all lead back to their blogs. They join discussion lists and forums and do the same, always linking back to their blogs. They link their blogs in all their emails. They push and push and push it everywhere, always linking people back to their blogs for the full scoop.
Their blogs are updated at least once or twice a day, sometimes more. Their content is focused to the interests of a core group. They really take themselves seriously and other people do as well. Many of this type of people move on to publishing books which they then market and sell to the blog base in the same way.
The way I see it, is it is too much work for me. Too little privacy. Too much time. Potential employers and upscale hotels, among others, are now searching blogs and social network sites to get the low-down on a person before ever meeting. And those cute pictures of Little Jim peeing on the dog will be archived by Google and forever retrievable, even when he is running for Congress. I don’t want to put myself or my family through that.
The other type of blog is the personal blog. It does not aim to grow large, but to inform. It is used like an annual Christmas letter to keep people up to date with goings-on of a person, family, or organization. For people or families, that’s great as long as the privacy concerns are acknowledged and accepted. I think it is bad for organizations to blog inconsistently. It won’t be checked on a regular basis once people look a few times and get no updates. That means an email has to go out to remind people to look at the blog, which is frustrating when the info could be in the email. We don’t mind so much when we can see the chubby cheeks of our grandchildren, but we don’t have the same tolerance level for organizations.
For anyone targeting those outside their social circle, I believe a blog does more harm than good if it is not consistent. Even if it is every Friday, people need to know they can expect an update on a regular basis. Otherwise, just get a website and update it at will.
Like Wanderer, mine is generally just read by a few people who know me well. And I don’t update enough.
It’s a means of expression, and a venue for writing, which is the thing that I do…but, ironically, because I know it’s read by certain people, I don’t speak as frankly, or lampoon as freely as I want to.
Ultimately, for me, it’s not worth much because I could (and often do) email most of the same people, and I struggle to discipline myself to put adequate time into my “real” writing projects…so I always have misgivings about wasting time on the blog.
This is how I feel as well. I have a blog because it’s a good way for me to keep my thoughts about certain things in order without having a million pieces of paper around with which to do it. Although, writing is not the thing that I do at this point. Someday I’d like to hope it will be…but for now, it’s not.
I also only have about a handful of people that read my blog, and this is fine with me. I don’t want to feel pressured to “entertain” a huge audience…as it is, like emm said about hers, I feel a bit confined with the people that I do know is reading, in that I’m unable to freely speak as much as I’d like. But all in all, I like the fact that I have one. It really has been fun for me to keep it going.
It was cool at first. The basic idea, too, of keeping others up-to-date seems reasonable. Sort of like a holiday newsletter gone daily.
But the explosion of Internet information has me getting more and more critical about what I lay my eyes on.
I have been watching the so-called demise of printed newspapers issue very closely, because I work for a newspaper.
I have come to the opinion that the “conventional wisdom” is, as usual, probably wrong. I think newspapers have, or soon will, bottom out then return in popularity to at least some degree for the reason given below.
Newspapers and printed materials have what I consider the very most important positive attribute: editors. It’s a truism that EVERYBODY needs an editor and I believe it.
Blogs don’t have editors. That’s why I don’t read them. My life is too short to read the extended bloviations of any number of people on endless topics, much less remember to keep checking them. My bookmarks list is already out of control on information and commerce sites.
This applies to several ‘newspapers’ I know of as well.
Last time I checked, the Opinion page is nothing but bloviations, haven’t they editors?
Back to the OP’s query…
I usually use my blog to let those close to me know what’s up in my life, what I’m doing, etc. It’s been a good way of keeping in touch with people who I normally wouldn’t be able to have regular contact with. It’s not something I give out to just anybody, but there are several public blogs that I find are very much worth reading.
There’s also one blog I make sure to visit once a week. http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/
…cause Wil Wheaton kicks ass…and he’s a nice guy and good writer to boot (just released another book this past month).
I had that dilemma a short while ago, when someone subscribed to my blog that i wasn’t expecting. But then I decided I wasn’t going to go back and censor myself retroactively, for better or worse, so there was no point in censoring myself going forward either.
Your gourd is pleading for attention? That must be very disturbing.
I have to agree with Weeks, for the most part. I keep a blog on my website, sort of a monthly newsletter. I’ve been having trouble keeping it updated (yes, on a monthly basis–sad) due to lack of motivation and trying to decide whether to abandon it. Currently leaning that way. Freedom beckons. But if I quit, how will my millions of fans know what I’m up to?
Yes, but you have to admit that the columns are of limited duration. They are not so long that you develop a negative response to the time it will take to read them (for the most part, anyway). It’s actually quite a developed practice and the wordcounts are there for a reason.
A crisp and self-controlled blog would probably be like the Opinion page at best. I have seen enough out-of-control blogging that I have that negative response to checking out new ones. Especailly those that focus on political things and spread unfounded rumors, which we have certainly discussed here.
I’m sure I am missing out on something that I might find interesting. But I don’t even have time to read those books I always wanted to get around to, and they take priority…
People look you up on the Internet when you are looking for a job, or even when you already have a job. So you better not write anything about your job or you’ll either never get a job or you’ll get fired!
On the other hand, I can get a job because my blog serves as a resume of sorts, because I’m a web developer and it’s an example of my work.
