I had 198 words of a mini-rant before I deleted it. I will not bore you with the topic.
Gaw, I’ve forgotten what I was going to write about in the very first place. Gathering thoughts…
Yeah, I remember now: pithy fringe commenter Jack has a post in his space about becoming the blogger he wants to be. He has a few goals in mind and having goals is always admirable blah blah blah. Dunno. I nearly blew off his post because it was a blog post about blogging, and I’ve written my share of those lately. But he caught my attention and gave me an idea for a post while I was running empty on ideas.
Do you have concrete blogging goals? There are those who have commercial goals, plans to monetize their spaces. I’d love to do that because who wouldn’t want extra cash or a book deal or enough advertising revenue to quit their jobs? That would be cool, but I see similarities in birthing a star blog and the qualities of stage parents. It takes an extraordinary personality with extraordinary ambition to turn something so ordinary into Miley Cyrus*. Do you hate America that much?
I want weird things for my blog: a mix of friends and strangers who create a welcoming community without stressing me out with nitpicky negativity, to be a resource for Internet surfers who Google why does this shit keep happening to me then land here, read a few posts, and leave with a big sigh of hey, my life is not that bad after all, and for it to be temporary storage for thoughts that are driving me crazy. Check, check and, for better or for worse, check.
I like it small. Before Facebook and Twitter, when blogs defined social media, my old blog had its share of traffic. More in a few days than this blog gets in a month, but it was stressful managing so many competing interests. I complained last week, but not too loudly, that the Chevy Moms were introduced as bloggers in our daytime TV segment without anyone mentioning our actual blogs. I was curious about the uptick in visits that an appearance on local television could cause, but nothing came of it. Was I relieved? Well, we’ve been asked to return tomorrow (we were popular!) and I made sure to ask about the host’s mention of our personal blogs this time. So I guess I’m just as ambitious as the next blogger, just without the smart girl glasses and the BlogHer private party invites.
*No questionably talented child star was harmed by the writing of that sentence
Caffeinated rambles in comments…
Erica, I too think about my first blog and mourn the loss of dozens of comments each day. But while it was happening, there were days when I wished it wasn’t.
Enjoy your second TV appearance!!! That’s very cool.
I felt like part referee, part job slacker since working that space took eight hours a day. It was fun, though, and I miss it sometimes. Did you abandon yours like I did mine?
Oh yes! Abandon it I did, and on a social level I never quite recovered from it.
Like you I spent hours replying to comments and doing the endless rounds of reciprocal commenting. I desperately wanted to earn an income from all the effort I was putting in and when it didn’t happen, I couldn’t justify the hours I dedicated to it. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when I lost all my comments through a technical glitch. I’d had enough by then, and after a while I just let it all slide.
Sad but true
I’m in serious need of blogging about blogging posts.
No, really. My new spot is peppered with all the wordpress stock stuff and I feel like it’s my first day at a new catholic hs, and my skirt isn’t short enough yet.
Was it a ‘mini-rant’ because it was under 200?
Hey, you’re starting a WordPress blog? Holy moly, call me! I can help you sort it out. I’m so proud! The mini-rant was the original intro to this post, and it felt a little cranky.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this topic lately since it’s the subject of the panel I’m speaking on at BlogHer. I’ve come to the conclusion that the value of my blog is that it exists and continues. It’s part of the reason that I have the job I do, but I don’t have any grand plans for it beyond where it’s developed on its own.
That’s exactly it for me, too! Whatever comes comes. Especially since I am not the world’s greatest self-promoter. If Harpo Studios were to appear in my stats, I’d not block them, however.
Blogging about blogging has always been an effective tool for driving traffic and generating comments. Alas, I never seem to keep the readers for long.
And Twitter/Facebook have assuredly stolen some of the old crew who used to hang with me. It is a cyber tragedy.
Ah, I hadn’t given much thought to the traffic generated by the blogging about blogging posts. That makes perfect sense. Oh, and Facebook is da debil.
Never thought about making any money off a blog. Hell, I don’t post nearly enough to build an audience anyway. I only post when I’m really moved to which is usually while posting a comment on someone elses blog and notice my reply would make an excellent post on my own blog.
I also noticed how you all were mentioned as bloggers yet none of the blog addresses were shared. Good luck on TV! It’s a nice (only) way to see you almost in real life.
Blogging can be a full-time, unpaid position. But no worse than any other expensive hobby, I guess.
I know I’m late to the game here, but better late than never, eh?
Generic lame comment to begin with, “I could have written this post myself,” but it’s true. While I would love to be able to quit my job or get extra cash for writing about things I actually want to write about, I am stupid when it comes to technology (this is different than technically stupid, mind you) and the world’s worst self-promoter. I don’t Tweet, which automatically disqualifies me from the cool club.
It seems that if I did everything to promote myself that was required, I would have no time to actually write anything on the blog. That would kind of defeat the purpose.
For now, it’s for me and hopefully a small community of like-minded people. But like you said, Oprah will not be denied.
Abby is dying for you to read Dear Tooth Fairy- Move your ass
Oprah can never be denied even if she is da debil. Feel free to comment on any old post. I’ll find you and reply.