Filed under: Blogs, DMP, USF | Tags: Blogs, DMP, Future of Blogging, Self Expression, USF, Why I Blog
This is my first personal blog, however this is not my first involvement with the blogosphere. I work one of the many companies that saturate the Internet with content all day every day, “SF Weekly.” I write for their blog, “All Shook Down,” writing music reviews. The Weekly has two blogs in addition to the one I write for, putting out a dozen or so entries on each every few days. A miniscule blog compared to “the New York Times” or “Huffington Post,” but still a lot of content. There’s pressure to post often, a corporate infrastructure that judges a blog not by content, but by page views and click throughs.
From this background, I completely understand why writers like Paul Boutin have abandoned the blogosphere in favor of other technologies. My blog will never get the views of major sites and I’ll inevitably have to deal with the trolls hiding around the internet. However, I’m not ready to give up on blogging. I think aggression towards blogging comes from expectations. Writers expect their page to get millions of views, comments and links. It probably won’t. Is that a bad thing? Is the only purpose of writing for other people to see it? Is there something wrong with blogging for the self? Absolutely not.
I don’t have the time to be a full time blogger. I read blogs every day that update on a regular basis, anywhere from three to ten times a day. Those people are incredible — rich with time, energy, patience and ideas. I subscribe to the slow blogging sect. I think I have something important to say and I want to say it. However, I also believe blogs should be written in reflection. If bloggers think about what they say before they say it, there’s going to be more depth. Blog when you have something to say, not just for the sake of blogging. Let ideas wash over you, let thoughts flow onto the screen. I don’t advocate for the blog as diary approach, but I think everyone has something to say about the news they read, the pictures they see or the movies they watch. Why not give commentary? Criticize? Perhaps even comment ideas expressed in other blogs. Whether people read it or not, there’s always a place for self-expression.
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This is really inspiring Melissa… almost inspiring enough to make me want to use my blog for more than class assignments. Maybe someday.
Comment by Laura March 5, 2009 @ 12:50 PMIt would be phenomenal if you could sustain this blog.
That being said, I disagree with you when you say ” Writers expect their page to get millions of views, comments and links. It probably won’t. Is that a bad thing? Is the only purpose of writing for other people to see it? Is there something wrong with blogging for the self? Absolutely not.”
But don’t you contradict yourself when you say that you don’t advocate a “diary” approach either? When you publish something, and no one sees your work, isn’t that a type of diary in a way? A private platform for reflection?
I feel that blogging is inherently a public tool for free and easy publishing, The very purpose of it is to reach out to other people–it is impossible these days to achieve such goals
. It’s really unfortunate that blogs now get relegated to the backwaters of the internet, lost in a sea of binary code, if you will.
I 100% agree with you that an incubation period is necessary to get good ideas out. It may not be practical, but is most definitely a prerequisite if you want to publish smart work.
Btw, great minimalist theme.
-b.s
Comment by bharatsharma March 5, 2009 @ 5:30 PMthis – “Blog when you have something to say, not just for the sake of blogging.” – really sums up my feelings too. i’m struck by the similarity of your ideas and ryan’s – both of you don’t have the problems/issues raised in the boutin reading, and both of you are healthier bloggers for it!
Comment by david silver March 9, 2009 @ 9:15 AM