Bloggers who do and don’t carry on
I’m sure there are many reasons, but one thing I’ve noticed is that proper writers like Scott Thornbury, Jason Renshaw and Vicky Hollett seem to be able to both sustain their interest and keep up a steady stream of posts. It could be that it was that ability that meant they could also write books, or it could be time management skills they’ve developed while doing so. Alternatively, maybe like me they use blogging as a way of putting off more serious writing. It’s only that, I reckon, which keeps me from joining the major opposite group for whom blogging leads to other things that then overwhelm said blogs.
September 11th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
As blogs become a more established medium, and sustaining a blog becomes a reality beyond ‘Hello World’, the purpose of a blog is becoming more vital. By purpose I mean not only the theme, but also the blogger’s communication goal.
Sustaining a blog requires a theme the blogger is truly enthused about, and this needs to rub off on readers. Unlike the heady days of 2005, when my circle of virtual friends read and commented on each other’s regular blog posts – about none other than our fascinating lives! – readers want and deserve something of value.
That said, my later professional blog is now well into a newfound identity crisis.
September 12th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Hello Alex
I guess I am not a “proper” writer then :)
Hope things are well in your neck of the woods!
Sara (Greece)
September 18th, 2010 at 7:03 am
All good thanks Sara
Maybe those who start with a real sense of mission are another group that burn out fairly quickly…
September 18th, 2010 at 9:51 am
….the mission doesn’t change – but people’s circumstances do. I am on blog break cos other things are taking my time and attention but I would like to come back to it in the future. I’m not sure if the sign of a good blogger should be assessed only in terms of how regular their commitment is? This seems a little too performance related to me! Worth asking if those who maintain blogs regularly are able to find more online time, are self-employed and therefore at home more, or any other reason (like in some cases no family responsibilities).
I hope that I am not “burnt out”! Sounds negative and scary : )
S
September 18th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Hi Sara
How’s the pregnancy going. Just been reading and writing about cultural differences related to that on my Japan blog
http://japanexplained.wordpress.com
That’s what I was trying to say in the post, that it is probably things that have little to do with actual blogging, and that time management and avoiding other writing were two of my guesses why.
Most importantly of all- we don’t want to pressure you to start blogging again, but we need you!
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:33 am
Took a long break due to lack of inspiration, but this post has encouraged me to get back into the swing of things. Thanks (again), Alex.
September 23rd, 2010 at 8:36 am
Might I suggest starting with an interview…
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:58 am
Insert embarrassed smiley face here.
September 23rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Wow, just been over there david. You sure are making up for lost time!
September 25th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Everything a person does or doesn’t do is always a questions of priorities and the way we choose these priorities is based on our intrinsic motivation for doing them in the first place… there are a lot of bloggers who start blogging, out of perhaps – shall we say – “shallower” purposes (this is really without being rude, it’s an observation based on long-term close watching).
I think it basically – whether starting off or continuing – always this: why do you blog?
If there is done out of a deep love of communicating – a, to paraphrase Eduardo Galeano, to assume that one can transmit knowledge and affect the behaviour of the ones who reads ones words, to in a sense save ourselves when crying out against the very things that cause discomfort – if it to help end solitude (in the sense of the often isolated global teaches in our field – blogging sort of brings them together and helps to bridge bridges) then, well, there is no question of returning to the page.
It’s one’s calling. :-)
If blogging is done however simply as some kind of stepping stone to achieve something else or a tick off check box – to supply a requirement in the e-portfolio… to be noticed or anything else that fits in that category then why, yes, of course the blogging will be a lesser priority amongtst all other commitments.
Personally, I teach anywhere between 25 and 40 hours a week but some weeks I only teach 10 so I can use this time to draft out ideas to come back to the more manic weeks – I also have personal relationships which need to be taken care of – and sometimes I also have bigger projects requiring massive amounts of concentration and energy so I can not be on the page as often as I would like to (I would love to write everyday).
It’s not wrong to say that blogging fits in and around whatever else is going on in one’s life – but we always come back, we don’t stop because there is life to be lived.
I… and the bloggers who continue to remain consistent… I think we simply “have to be here” perhaps out of Galeano’s most important suggested reasons for writing – to know ourselves collectively.
:-) Yeah, Saturday morning musings…
K
September 25th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Sorry, sorry, I am on my netbook and when I tried to review to start editing… the computer decided to publish :) so apologies for the 100 typos in the above.
September 27th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
LOL! I think all this may have inspired me to write a blog post. On what it all means to write blog posts. Hyper-reality is upon me! I reckon (in a nut shell) that it is about communicating but beyond that the reasons why we all do it are as diverse as we are as a group. I think I prefer to leave the judgment about what constitutes an “authentic” blogger there. I am building up to something……I think : ) Alex thanks for your kind words of encouragement and Karenne who reminded me on twitter the other day that my self-imposed time limit is almost up! Alex looked at your writings on Japanese experiences of pregnancy. Saw many parallels with Greece – Pregnancy as an illness. As you can imagine I ignore all of that and just get on with it. All except for blogging at the moment. Who knows….maybe it will change soon!
September 29th, 2010 at 9:26 am
I quite liked the potential double meaning in the title… bloggers who do and don’t carry on!