I've been thinking about this a lot lately. We put so much time and love into our blogs, and personally, I find reading them very interesting. I have a list of roughly 30 blogs that I peruse weekly for various reasons. Some are quirky and fun, some are insightful, some offer freebies like art downloads that I can use in my collages and altered books. Some are inspiring, some are slice-of-life vignettes. The best of them are those that leave me with something I remember long after I click off my computer and leave the room or that come back to me at another time, in another situation. Have you had those experiences?
I thought of this today when I read a post called "Two Simple (and sort of mean) Words Every Blogger Should Know" It really struck home for me and reminded me that when I post something on my blog, I have to keep in mind that a blog is not a journal; it's a public forum and it's meant to be read by others. With that in mind, the first thing every blogger should be thinking when writing (if we hope to have readers, and otherwise we might as well journal rather than blog) is 'why would anyone care about this?' And I guess, if the answer is that they wouldn't, we should be kind, hit the backspace key, and start again.
9 comments:
Thanks Teri....very helpful and true advice.
keeping the readers interest is important for sure.
Thanks for your insight Teri, I never thought about it like that!
That is what I wonder about every time I post something. I dont like to be controversial, I dont like to be confrontational, I dont like to be opinionated and know it all, so all that leaves is my weird and wacky sense of humor and psycho babble. Hopefully that is enough.
I read the article you linked to (very sage advice, thank you) and agree with you and the author of the article. Now, I just have to remember "So what?" everytime I blog and before I hit publish.
Thanks!
As long as we're ourselves when we write, that's really all that matters.
Thanks for getting the ball rolling with the Chicklits Bunko Blog. I'm enjoying it and appreciating it more each day!
I agree, though I will say my blog is more for me than anyone else! It's a gratifying way for me to let out my personality & creativity when I don't have much opportunity to do so elsewhere or via other means. (And to a degree, depending on what you're using the blog for, I think it can be a visual journal of sorts!) I get such enjoyment out of blogging & I've been doing it much longer than I've had readers! It tickles me pink when someone connects with and/or enjoys a photo I've taken or something I've written or a song I've got playing on there or just gets a kick out of the background, I won't deny that! But when I kept the 'reader' too much in mind back when I was first blogging (and didn't have any readers!), I didn't enjoy what I was doing and those 2 attempts were not a personal success (or otherwise!)!
hmm
i am sure many people who read what we, I write could care less...
and i pretty much think that while i am writing and posting it to my blog..
yet i write and post it anyway...
i would like to think of the blog as a space that someone has come to visit
and then they are visiting me
i hope they stay a minute and might be interested in the kind of work i am doing, have done, or intend to do at some point in time...
and if they aren't i won't know because they clicked out
and that is fine by me
because i do the same thing...
so when a person comments to a blog
i think of that as conversation in the visit..like now
so you had a visitor or two today
:)
isn't it nice they took the time to comment
even if the post wasn't something they might have cared about?
So true, Teri. That is why I hesitated to start a blog in the first place. However, on the other hand, I think it is healthy for us to vent our emotions, experiences, worries and so on. Thank you for sharing that link with us. What a great point. :)
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