linky do's!

Monday, April 4, 2011

why read a blog?

i just finished up a week's worth of blogging for KnitCroBloWeek.  i had fun, but i feel a bit unsettled.

on average, there were about 160 participants in the project.  that's a lot of blogs to read!  i enjoy reading other people's blogs, becos i like to see how people design their pages and what kind of writing style they employ.  i get tips on photo skills.

people do a BloWeek for different reasons.  i like the challenge of writing something every day (even tho i cheat and often write ahead).  others do it to increase viewership.

i discovered this go around, as i had with NaBloPoMo, that even with a week (or month) worth of blogging, my viewership didn't increase.  oh, i gain a few readers here or there, but that's not huge growth.  the same thing happens with a contest/giveaway - i can get a bunch of responses if i give yarn away, but rarely do i get a new reader out of it. (and for the record, the only contests or giveaways i enter are for blogs i already read.  maybe therein lies the answer.)

i don't know why i let it bother me.  the reason i started this blog was to give myself an outlet for my knitting.  the blog grew to include my children and the occasional thought about something that happened in the world.  my blog is my virtual scrapbook, and i really don't care whether i have 2 or 2000 readers, becos the blog really exists for my own amusement.

someone brought up an interesting point in the blog hub - what kind of blog do you prefer?  one that's pictures heavy/few words or more words/a few pictures?  i shouldn't be surprised that readers prefer more pictures than words, but how can you get your point across with a picture and no words?  oh, i know pictures can speak volumes, but they don't always get the point across.  why did the blogger include the picture?  what were they thinking?

seasoned bloggers will advise that if you want more viewers, leave more comments on blogs and people will become curious about you!  i do that already, and while i've gotten an occasional shout out (usually on their blog), the comments aren't reciprocated.

i guess one answer is that people don't have time to read.  someone mentioned that they preferred short posts (a couple paragraphs or sentences).  is this what society is coming to - that all we are capable of is digesting small bits of information?  i'm not trying to write a treaty here - just a jot of what's in my head.

perhaps it's my content.  i read a lot of christian mommy blogs, and as far as i can tell, they don't knit.  and a lot of the knitting bloggers i like aren't moms.  perhaps i'm in a very small niche market?  or maybe it's my design - too many buttons, antiquated widgets.  yet when i asked in a blogging group where to find a calendar that showed when you blogged (and believe me, i googled the hell out of this subject), not one person offered to help me or answer my question.  and these were people who had the same calendars on their blogs.

in a world where twitter rules and even facebook statuses aren't short enough, i wonder how long blogs will exist?  will i have a place to talk about my knitting or something annoying my kids did?  i have a twitter account, but i rarely use it.  i just don't get it.  i use facebook as an informal place to touch base with friends and family.  any other social media - i'm clueless about.

one last question - what do you like in a blog?  what don't you like in a blog?  what makes or breaks a blog?

maybe i need a break from blogging.  i know i've blogged about this topic before.  maybe that's where my answer lies.  

2 comments:

  1. Hi! I've been reading your blog all this past week and really enjoy it. I like a blog where the writer lets their personality come through. It doesn't matter if the posts are long or short or if there is knitting content. I just like feeling like I'm getting to know someone.
    I try to comment if the writer asks a question or if I feel I have something to contribute but normally I don't if I am just going to repeat what other commenters have said. The reason why I didn't comment until now is the settings on your blog require I have java script running and my safari evidently doesn't have that. I downloaded and signed into Firefox to leave this comment.

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  2. Thanks for the heads up! I'll tinker with the comments section and fix that. I tightened security becos I'd get spam comments and perhaps if I loosen up it won't be others will have an easier time commenting. Thanks!

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