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September 15, 2006
On Blogging
Kevin passed this along to me with the heading “funny article”:
How to Dissuade Yourself from Becoming a Blogger
The writers may have been trying to be funny, but they also make some valid points.
1. Find five completely random blogs, and read them daily for a month. After thirty days, you will absolutely dread your self-imposed requirement to read all that dreck. Any blog you create will most likely be on par with what you've been reading. Don't put anyone through that.
This doesn’t apply to me. I don’t consider reading blogs a “self imposed requirement”. I truly enjoy the blogs I read and would miss them were they gone.
2. Consider that your voice, even if it is truly a good one, is a tiny peep against the massive wave of tripe out there. The odds of anyone you don't already know finding your blog are low.
This, for me is very untrue. I believe the number of people who do not know me and read this blog, greatly outweigh the number of those who do know me.
3. Write on a regular basis in a text editor instead. If that doesn't satisfy your urge, and you feel that you must post your blog online, then you might just be craving attention and validation--which you'll never truly find in a blog. If you give up on your Wordpad journal after about three days, you'll do the same with a blog that just takes up server space.
This is also incorrect. I rarely post complaints and I rarely tell the horrid things that happen in my life. Granted, I DO complain on here, but not near as much as I could. I rarely post pictures of myself. Actually, I don’t post pictures of myself because I DON”T want attention. I don’t want you to look and dissect everything there is about me. I applaud those who can post pictures of themselves. To me, this symbolizes confidence and trust.
4. Ask yourself if you really have the time to commit to a blog. What about that treehouse you wanted to build? Or the book you wanted to write? Or the car you wanted to fix up? Or the restaurant you wanted to take your significant other to? Or the new career you wanted to pursue? Instead of writing about pretty much nothing, or whining about all the things you wish you were doing instead, start doing something that'd actually be worth writing about. And if it's really worth writing about, you'll be having too much fun doing it to tear yourself away from it.
What I write about may mean nothing to some people. It may not be the best thing you’ve ever read; the grammar or punctuation may not be perfect, but I really don’t care. I write about the things that are important to me. In my eyes, blogs were never meant to be a place only reserved for great writers. That would scare too many people off. No, blogs are online journals, snippets of a person’s life there for you to read, flawed or not. If I thought my readers were scrutinizing every word I said, I would give it up right now. For me, this is a place where I can share things. Hopefully, things you will enjoy or take something from.
Posted by tami at September 15, 2006 8:18 AM
Comments
I agree, I love my blog and I really don't expect anyone to write on it or read it. I know my parents do and that is a chance for them to know what is happening in my life and that is all they need.
Posted by: ellice at September 16, 2006 11:14 AM
It's a wonderful way of communicating with people, as with letters or diaries the writer doesn't have to 'own up' to everything that happens in their life. Why do people worry about blogs? If they don't like them, they don't have to read them.
Posted by: Miss L at September 16, 2006 7:13 PM