Wednesday 10 October 2012

Why blog?

Sarah's recent post about counting followers and this video on Rosalilium about why she got into blogging started me thinking about it, and in fact it's a question I ask myself fairly often.  When a post gets almost no readers, or it's the beginning of the week and I can't think of a song to use for Music Monday, or I write something I'm really pleased with and no-one comments... "why blog?" I wonder to myself.  Sometimes I find it a real chore, and sometimes I'm brimming with ideas.  Sometimes it feels as if only three people in the world ever read what I write *waves to Sarah, Laura and Leanne*, and sometimes a post attracts so many nice comments - both on the blog and in 'real' life - that I feel uplifted and excited. 

The urge to put my fairly mundane thoughts on screen and press 'Publish' so that anyone, anywhere can read them is an odd one.  I came to blogging late, having enjoyed reading various music, lifestyle and fatshion blogs for a good few years before I plunged into the world myself.  I was a fanzine writer and editor in my late teens and the thrill of seeing my own words, hastily typed and cheaply photocopied, has never left me, and over the years I had vaguely wondered if I should start writing again.  I can't remember the precise moment when I decided to start blogging; I know that in the summer of 2010 I put a plea out on Facebook for a good blog name (an ex who answered my plea is to blame for the unwieldy and hard-to-type-into-a-browser name which I eventually settled on).  And then, one chilly March day last year, I came home from work, sat down at my laptop, and started writing

Originally I intended the blog to be a fatshion/lifestyle blog.  It didn't exactly work out that way.  My genuine phobia of having my photo taken scuppered the fatshion idea, and my utter failure to lead a life interesting enough to write about did for the lifestyle part.  Over the past year, as I've become more interested and involved in crafting, that has begun to get a mention; my natural curiosity about other people's houses leads me to post about my own home; and my obsession with reading and music was always going to be reflected on here.  But even now, I'm hard pressed to explain to people what exactly it is I blog about: the "lovely stuff" bit of the tagline at the top of the page is the nearest I can come to a definition.

The thing is, what I most enjoy writing about isn't always what people seem to enjoy reading.  I regularly get the most readers for posts I'm kind of 'meh' about, while posts I really like putting together (Music Monday, photo posts about my weekend adventures) garner almost no comments and fewer readers.  Should I amend my writing so it fits into what my audience, evidently, wants?  Or should blogging be about self-expression, and damn the stats?  It's something I often question, but have never quite come up with a satisfactory answer.

One thing I've started doing more of is reflective, "this is what's inside my head" posts.  I don't really want this blog to become a (less razor- and Richey Manic-obsessed) version of the queer/perzine I used to write, but I do enjoy writing about stuff that matters instead of just posting pretty pictures of things I've bought.  I always get amazing responses from my most confessional writing, but publishing those posts is quite a risk to take as a blogger.  For one, there can be something uncomfortably solipsistic about them (although what else is blogging but endless solipsism?!), for another, they involve me putting quite a big part of my self 'out there', and I sometimes wonder if I'm making the right choice by writing about such personal topics.

There's a kind of blogging rule that says you should put out new content regularly: at least every three days, ideally more often. But life gets in the way and sometimes, especially recently, I just don't feel like writing. I find blogging easiest when I'm in a happy and contented place, and for various reasons, I've not always felt like that over the past few months. I still try and post at least three times a week, but I do wonder if perhaps less could be more? Fewer posts, but of higher quality, about stuff I actually care about rather than have written in a panic, thinking, "oh crap, I really need to post today... erm, this'll do".

I've become somewhat rambly now, but I suppose my point is that I don't know the answer: I don't know why I blog.  If you're a blogger, what keeps you writing?  And why did you start?  I'd love to hear about other people's experiences.

7 comments:

  1. Your blog is one of my fave's! I enjoy your writing and your honesty. I dont put too many comments on here as I dont want to look like some wierd stalker type! I started my blog as my employment circumstances changed and it was just something to do, it was intended as a housey type blog buts its turned into a mish-mash of all sorts of rubbish. I have loads of topics I want to blog about (why I hate the fact I got married, why I left my last job etc) but I dont feel I have the writting skills to do them justice, so I keep things lighthearted. Mainly I blog because I want something to be proud of. Sorry for the rambly comment! Keep up the good work!

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    1. Aww, thanks Helen! I know what you mean about the stalker stuff - I'm always aware of it when I comment on other blogs but I love it when regular readers comment here, so go figure. And now I really want to hear the story of why you hate the fact you got married... sounds fascinating!

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  2. *waves back*

    I ask myself these questions a lot, too, but I think I've figured out *my* answers. I blog because it pushes me to keep doing something creative on a regular basis, because I like the feeling of community and because it prompts me to look on the brighter sides of life. Sometimes it does feel self-centred and pointless and I get a bit embarrassed when I think about acquaintances finding my blog, but for me the pros outweigh the cons.

    As for the stats, I've given up worrying about them - I've realised they creep up slowly on their own so I leave them to it. Some posts I get loads of comments, some none at all; I used to feel a bit disappointed that nobody ever commented on my photos but I've realised that I hardly ever comment on other people's photos either because it's hard to come up with anything more interesting to say than "nice shots". I think maybe it's the same with music posts; I don't really know what to say about them. As long as you're enjoying it, just keep writing for yourself - better to have ten readers who really get you than 1000 who are only following you for the giveaways, right?

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    1. Hmm, really interesting points Sarah. I think I need to remember how much I loved being creative when I started the blog - when I had about 2 readers - and just write for myself like I used to then.

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  3. It is a question I also ask myself. I have tried to stop looking at the stats and am often surprised at the posts that draw the most comments - they are often the ones that took the least effort. I wish I had more followers, I wish that people would comment but I am not a great follower and so often write a comment and then delete it, so why do I expect to be treated differently? I also get hurt by close friends who read your blog but never admit that they read it but will drop it into conversation unintentionally. From them I would expect an honest crit or a pat on the back. We are a weird bunch. I love your blog Janet. Mind if I "steal" this title for a post this weekend?

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    1. Feel free Jenny! I actually quite like it when people unexpectedly reference a blogpost - I'm always surprised by how many 'real' people (as in, people I actually know in real life) read this. It should probably make me more circumspect about what I write, but it doesn't!

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    2. It's funny, when i first started my blog (about 4 years ago, woah) I used to feel a bit embarrassed to show anyone it. But since then a few friends have started reading too(heck, even Tom's grandpa reads it sometimes, bless him!) and I think its a real compliment to hear people have been reading. A lot of people tend to read posts and not necessarily comment on them too. I go through periods where i have nothing to post about, but I think it should never be a forced thing if possible. A lot of my favourite bloggers only post occasionally, its hard to know when inspiration will strike!

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