Warning: slightly rantish post ahead. If you’re not in the mood, suggest you go here or maybe here.
On to the rant.
Over the past week or so, it seems like a new cycle of "deep blog introspection" has started. What’s that, you say? It’s when bloggers start engaging in that time-honored activity, "blog navel gazing." The principal symptoms? Posts about ME with the occasional dash of poor poor pitiful. Thoughtful pronouncements on the future of blogging.
Huh?
Here’s the thing. Blog if you enjoy it. If you stop enjoying it, stop. Don’t worry about your fans — they’ll survive. Another blog will step in and fill the void. Really.
How often you post? Whatever you want. It is YOUR blog. Even if only you and your Mum are reading it (and trust me, I’ve been there. Thanks, Mum!), it will never be too much. We should welcome new voices all the time. Big boys and girls, we are capable of filtering and choosing material based on what interests us today. And picking different stuff tomorrow. Read this post by Stowe Boyd. He says it far better than me (thanks to Kent Newsome for the link).
Don’t have time to read all your email. Fine. Don’t. The world will keep on turning. Make sure you read the stuff for your job, but all that email from blog buddies and fans. Skip it if it is too much. Of course, don’t expect them to read YOURS either. Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t.
The conversation will go on.
Now, before everyone jumps all over me, I am NOT picking on anyone specific. Deliberately. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and can blog about whatever they damn well please. Or not.
Just don’t ask your readers to care when you stop blogging about the interesting things they started reading your blog for. Your friends DO care if you are upset or hurt or pissed off or whatever. But most of the people reading your blog don’t. At most, they are online acquaintances. They may become friends, but it takes more than a conference meet up and a few blog comments to make a real friend. Really.
Your readers started reading your blog because there was something in it for THEM. When it becomes all about YOU, hhmm……
It’s all about choice. We choose when we enter the conversation, and we get to choose when we leave.
And that’s cool.
Just like this post. If you didn’t feel like reading my rant, I gave you some fun alternatives. Worth checking out even if you did (thanks!) read to the end.
Rant off. Back to our regular program.
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Yeah there is definitely some blog depression rolling around lately. I’ve been going through my RSS feeds today paring off feeds. Have kept yours, though 🙂