Want to know what I know about blogging? Not that much, but here are just random combination of words that I hope resemble a sentence. String a few together and they just might turn into a sentence and maybe one day they will resemble a post.
Some bloggers will compose the most brilliant posts. They will be full of wit, insight and be composed with so much poise and eloquence they would elicit praise from the bard himself. Many if not most of us will be among that crowd, or at least will consider our work worthy of that kind of praise.
Hordes of bloggers will write posts in which they declare their love of writing and their disdain for those who whore themselves out for comments. Many of those same bloggers will secretly wish that they had as many comments.
Some of those bloggers will have no problem complaining about the lack of comments and will beg, plead and scream for them, no matter how trivial or inane. Some of the blogs that receive the most traffic and the most comments will be among the worst, at least from a quality standpoint.
Posts about blogging will generally receive more comments than virtually any other posts.
Many will complain about flame wars and episodic bouts battling trolls, but the sad reality is that a good flame war is like a fight in junior high. Without a doubt a virtual circle will form around the combatants. Some of the watchers will goad the warriors into attacking. Similar to vultures they will pick at the weak and tender spots in the hope that blood and fur will begin to fly. Some will watch, some will cheer and some will join in for no other reason than just because.
Tend your blog the way you tend your garden. Water it, keep it clear of weeds and give some and care and it will grow. Blog when you have nothing to say. Writing takes practice and there is no better time than the present. Write about things that you are passionate about and your readers will follow.
Be honest, be firm in your convictions and be prepared to say why. It is your blog. Who gives a damn if some virtual person disagrees with you.
Link to other blogs and other blogs will link to you. Link to stories that you think are interesting. Share little pieces of yourself and others will reciprocate.
Try all of this or none of it. I don’t know if any of this has worth or meaning. I titled the post “Crap I know about Blogging” for a reason.
Hi Robbie,
Is that because you are in your 20s.
GT,
Social gatherings is a good term.
DG,
Always good to see you here.
Shira,
Good advice.
Here’s a piece of advice that I picked up from either treppenwitz and/or PsychoToddler: Respond to all comments, insofar as that’s possible. If your commenters feel welcomed and appreciated, they’ll be encouraged to keep coming back.
“Link to other blogs and other blogs will link to you.” I wish I’d realized that when I first started blogging. That would have spared me sending an e-mail to 3 bazillion friends and relatives the overwhelming majority of whom have so little interest in following my blog that probably less than a minyan’s worth ever figured out that it was mine. I’ve now sorry that I bothered, as I’ve occasionally found myself in the embarrassing position of blogging about some of the few people who know who I am. (For the record, I’ve long since ‘fessed up on my own blog that Shira Salamone is not my real name.)
Link to stories that you think are interesting.” The more links, the merrier. What goes around, comes around. If you link it, they will come–and link back.
Robbie and it would appear that no less than Yaakov Kirschen agrees with you!
It’s not necessarily a contradiction to say you blog for yourself but still want comments. If part of the reason you are blogging is to draw others into conversation about topics that mean something to you, both are perfectly valid statements.
That is exactly how I feel about my blog. I am doing it for myself, because I want to talk with people about these topics.
It’s far sillier, IMO, to blog not-for-yourself, or to blog without comments. What are you acomplishing at that point? Blogs aren’t private diaries, they’re social meetingplaces.
I like blogging when I have nothing to say – or commenting when I have nothing to say. It seems do be the thing to do.
Yeah, let it rip.
WBM,
Absolutely. No stress is needed.
Jameel,
It is a conspiracy, people are trying to make me look funny. On second thought, that may be genetic. 😉
JC,
Thank you.
Stacey,
I knew that you would say that. Want me to tell you what else I know you’ll say. 😉
Westbankmama is right. Why should someone blog when they don’t feel like it.
And I get tired of hearing bloggers whine that they get no comments and then in the next breath say, “But I really do blog for myself. No, really I do.”
thats because we feel that we have accomplished our blogging task for the day.
Nicely done Jack.
This is definately considered a Seinfeldian kinda post…a post about nothing
🙂
J.
Hmm – doesn’t look like this post got that many comments at all.
WBM: but think of the relief one gets AFTER posting! Whew. Posted something…now I can function again.
I think most of what you said is true – but you left out one thing – blogging should be fun. Some people complain that they sometimes feel stressed because they feel they have to post when they have nothing to say. So don’t! Why should someone let blogging become one more stress in their lives?