Every time I see a blog shutdown, or hear someone lament how nobody reads blogs anymore, I get all worried. "Is my blog a waste of time? Should I focus my energy somewhere else, like Tumblr or Pinterest or dear-God-anything-but-Google-Plus?"
I don't think this blog is a waste (and your response to our family's emergency a couple of weeks ago just proves it to me). Blogs are basically the same as all the other places online. It's just a matter of how people interact and whether you prefer to express your thoughts in pictures, words, or 140 characters.
So really, whether you're on Blogger or Twitter or MyFutureLiveSpaceBuzzFeedJournal, this post applies to you, too. If you're thinking about quitting, remember these things:
1) You love to blog. (Oh wait, you don't? Maybe you should quit. If you hate it, social media's like the worst job ever, and then you don't get paid.)
2) You blog for you. We all know you can't please everybody, but the good news is you don't have to. Write what you want and get the word out there. You won't collect people just by sending them to your blog, but you will collect a percentage. That percentage is your people.
3) You blog for your people. We read blogs (and tweets and Facebook statuses and everything else) for information and/or entertainment. Do your best to give them what they want.
What do you think? Is blogging a waste of time? Why or why not?
Nope. Blogging changed my life. Before, I was a writer trying to become published, WITHOUT KNOWING A SINGLE OTHER PERSON doing the same thing. It was an exercise in futility. It was the most frustrating thing I've ever been through.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I was about to give up on all of it before I started blogging. Then, I met all of you. And it changed my life.
Plus, you know, I enjoy it, but that's sort of secondary to all the rest.
To me the blogosphere is like you get up from your desk and step outside your cubicle, and there's all these fellow writers you can drop by and chat with.
ReplyDeleteWe tell stories, toss paper airplanes back and forth, share tips, tell jokes, pass the word to help out friends, and just generally enjoy each other's company.
I've yet to start my own blog, but I sure appreciate those who have something up on Monday morning.
I was just discussing this the other day with a friend who wasn't enjoying her blogging anymore. She wanted to know how I kept up my blog traffic and what suggestions I had. I (honestly!) had to go check my blog stats, because I had no idea if my blog traffic was up, down, or sideways (turns out it had taken a big jump when I published last fall and has held steady since). For me, checking stats, trying to figure out the "secret" to attracting blog followers just completely kills the fun for me (and I'm a numbers girl, so that's saying something). I told her that the secret to success - in ALL of this (writing/publishing), as far as I can tell - is to have fun with it. Make it fun for you (first), fun for other people (second), and for the love of all that's Blogger, if it's not fun, STOP (or get creative and make it fun again).
ReplyDeleteI don't blog for anyone but myself. When I write a new post, I throw a link on twitter and forget about it. I don't care if anyone reads it. I look at it as a writing exercise to blow all the cobwebs and other nonsense out of my head before I sit down to write my actual WIP every day. It's a warm-up exercise for me. And it's fun. If it ever stopped being useful for my writing, or if it ever stopped being fun for me, I'd stop. There's no point to doing something you don't feel is productive.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really enjoy reading other writers' blogs. To some extent, it's just one more way to delay getting to work, but I've really learned a lot about writing and publishing from everyone I follow. And I'm constantly entertained when I need a break from the inside of my own head. Thanks!
I love blogging. It's the entire reason I know so many writers. And writers pretty much rock. Ergo, blogging rocks.
ReplyDeletei do love blogging. but i've been thinking about closing my blog down.
ReplyDeletei love the community, and i prefer to read other people's posts than to post myself- unless i really have something to say. sometimes, blogging makes me feel really, really guilty. because i can't seem to get around and visit everyone nearly as much as i'd like... back when i was keeping up on blogs, i was spending nearly four hours a day reading and commenting. and now... well... it's just too much time. i could invest an hour a day, but i don't want to miss reading other people's post for the sake of putting my own up, you know?
I've thought about shutting down my writing blog a few times in the past just because I'm terrible at updating it on a regular basis. But I think it's nice to keep it around for those times when the urge to post something strikes. I try to remind myself I blog for me, and since traffic/followers/platform aren't my biggest priority, I don't have to stick to a schedule if it's not working for me. I enjoy having a personal space to share my thoughts on writing and books whenever I want, and I know my friends will still read my posts even if months go by between posts. :)
ReplyDelete