To blog or not to blog?

[Giovanni Schwartz]

blogspot? *barf*

Oh, quit hating on blogspot.

Although Marduk, you could switch to Tumblr before more people read your blogg.

[Laser Jock]

blogspot? *barf*

Oh, quit hating on blogspot.

Although Marduk, you could switch to Tumblr before more people read your blogg.

What makes Tumblr appeal to you (and to anyone else here who uses it)?

I probably just got unlucky, but the only Tumblr-based sites I've seen were really, really uninteresting, both visually and in their extreme paucity of content. They reminded me of Twitter (or at least they would have, if I'd known about Twitter back then).

(Not to insult anyone who uses Tumblr; I just don't get it, and I'm hoping someone here can explain it to me. Though, I may still not really care, like with Twitter. )

While we're at it, what's wrong with Blogspot?

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I use blogspot. So I can't talk. And I agree that Tumblr is drab. But bizzy boy loves it, so I was sticking up for him.

[ahem.]

I like the ones that have short, funny, frequent, and personal (not "this is why I cry" personal. Just "this is what's up in my life and what I think about it" personal) posts. Uffish Though, Optimistic., and his wife are great examples of highly readable blogs. They just don't post often enough.

Interesting. I have just concluded reading the archives of my blog in their entirety. (There were only like 2 posts I wished I have never written. Score!) I noticed a shifting focus over time. In the beginning, it was more about how I was feeling about life with a few specific examples to demonstrate. Then it shifted more into "this is what's happening in my life" phase where I would recount events and try to keep readers update with major changes. Now it feels more like I'm trying to entertain/enlighten my readers with my quirky thoughts and humorous observations.

Which is best? Or should I try to come to some combination of these?

[wryness]

I might be a bit behind the conversation, but I thought I'd chip in:

I've liked reading others' blogs (well, the good ones). I tried starting my own blog, once, as an alternative to Facebook, but I think I only had one reader (not even my family checked for updates).

You should decide now, if you haven't already, if your blog is for you (and who cares if anyone else reads it or makes a comment to you about it) or if you are writing for your readers. Both of these are good goals, but I think they are a bit in conflict with one another. ahem., you should decide which of those two goals is most important for you (or if want to try to straddle the middle ground. Warning: if you do, I suspect you'll often be disappointed because it will be tricky to make your blog fulfill both of those ends). It's kind of that Age-Old Annoying Question Always Asked in English Classes: "Why do people write? Why do people read?"

Okay, now I'm just blathering. I personally think that the personal/"this is what's happening in my life" kind of blogs are more niche-like in their readership, but that's okay because they're more interesting that way; they're truer to the author. And, of course, the readers who DO like that sort of blog will like it a lot.

...of course, that's only important if you care if others will like your blog. So now we're back to the question from before; who are you writing for?

...and now I'll shush up.

[Marduk]

Steering this thread back in to its original direction, i.e., my blog. Now that I've got a few posts up, what do you guys think? Should I change direction? Should I continue to post in the same manner I have been? Good writing? Bad writing? (Oh, and if you do happen to like it, or even if you don't, you should 'follow' me. It makes me feel like I'm doing well.)

[C is for]

Steering this thread back in to its original direction, i.e., my blog.

Nice.

But I do like your blog so far! I follow (secretly).

As for what kind of blog I like best, I'm torn. It depends on how desperately I stalk someone. In general I just like to know observations and anecdotes, but if I really want to know every possible thing about someone then I like it when they blog about every possible thing. But ... I can't think of anyone for whom that is currently the case, so stick with things that are amusing or interesting.

[NerdGirl]

The number one thing that keeps my attention when I'm reading something on a screen (like a blog) is short paragraphs.

I really appreciate short paragraphs, because it's hard to read large blocks of text.

And I like your blog.

And also, I didn't even know you could officially follow someone's blog!

Yay for short paragraphs!

[Giovanni Schwartz]

The number one thing that keeps my attention when I'm reading something on a screen (like a blog) is short paragraphs.

I really appreciate short paragraphs, because it's hard to read large blocks of text.

And I like your blog.

And also, I didn't even know you could officially follow someone's blog!

Yay for short paragraphs!

I so agree. So very much. I also make sure I always have a picture at the beginning of each post, because I've found that unless the post is only a few sentences long, I'll skip it if there's no picture.

[ahem.]

Sorry, Marduk. Didn't mean to steal your spotlight. As penance, I've read your blog and comment on several posts. Fairly entertaining and enjoyable.



Okay, the short paragraph thing is something I can totally get. I try desperately to keep away from those huge blocks of texts as they're a turn off to me as a reader. I also try to punch things up a bit with visuals of some form. So good tips. I approve.

I don't really care how many people read my blog, only that those who do, enjoy it. The problem is, I don't have a common denominator among my readers. Some are family, some are college friends, some are non-Mormon friends, etc.

So if I'm talking about something churchy, I feel obligated to explain it a bit. If I'm talking about family members, I feel obligated to explain who they are. If I'm talking about a BYU-thing, I have to put it in context. So I feel kind of stretched every which way, constantly trying to make sure any given reader will understand but not be bored by the distillation of information they already have.

Is this a common problem? Or is my blog readership especially eclectic?

[Giovanni Schwartz]

Dear Ms. ahem.,

I kind of love your blog. And your shared items in Google Reader/whatever.

Thank you,
Gio