... but this post has been brewing for a while. So let me lay it on the line, and no dressing it up this time.
WHEREAS
(First) I blow a wee bit hot and cold with my blogging life;
(Second) I blog primarily to connect with others and exchange ideas;
(Third) Comments on this blog are, sadly, decreasing;
(Fourth) This blog feels to me like a conversation that is gradually running out; and
(Fifth) Nevertheless, I don't want to give up blogging
AND NOTWITHSTANDING
(First) My oft-repeated view that my favourite blogs have a distinct voice; and
(Second) My concerns over sharing
NOW I AM WONDERING
What the solution is? Group blogging? Guest blogging? Any suggestions most welcome. (Note: this is not a plea for reassurance. It actually is this question I am asking.)
Posts
17 comments:
'Comments on this blog are, sadly, decreasing'
I have a feeling that some people are blogging less than usual at the moment, others are perhaps commenting less than usual, and I wonder if maybe it's because it's summertime and people are doing more offline things in their spare time and/or people have gone on holiday and/or they're spending more time with their families.
agree with Laura. Also, sorry to bore YOU with this again, but you know you are always welcome to blog with me, occasionally, frequently, unofficially, officially, about your job, spouse, kids, historical romance, plot and character, music you love, or whatever the hell you want, as long as you keep blogging. And I am at sea so it cost me 68 cents a minute to tell you that so you'd better appreciate it, missy!
I've never commented here before but was moved to do so by this post. I really enjoy your blog and read it faithfully (in fact, I have you on my Google Reader subscriptions). I'm thrilled when you have a new post up and read it as soon as I see it. For whatever it's worth, I DO think you have a distinctive voice and I think that voice is valuable, particularly since it's often articulating things, illuminating issues, exploring concepts, that most romance bloggers seem to have little interest in or time for (which is fine, but I'm just not all that interested in perusing reviews of current books I'll never bother read-I guess I'm more interested in the big picture and the "why" of genre romance, than the specifics of the "what". I feel like you and Teach Me Tonight give me that big picture view even when using specific examples as illustrations).
Plus, you have wonderful taste in music (fellow Newsom fanatic here)!
I also think Laura brings up a good point regarding summer in the Northern hemisphere with people out and about and away from their computers. Even on Library Thing and Facebook two places I frequent where participation is generally steady, there seems to be a drop off in summer.
So, before we're forced to break out Tchaikovsky's mournful, violins, harps and oboes (love that pic of the Cygnettes!), please keep blogging in whatever way feels most congenial to you. Although we may not always comment, you have more appreciative
readers than you may realize.
I think definitely summer has to play a large part in it. Especially with the weather in the UK being so good at the moment we are making the most of it and probably people are spending less time on their computers and more time outside sunbathing and barbecuing. :)
*raising hand*
I read your blog--in fact, I check it every day to see if you've posted something new--but rarely comment.
(Then again, these days I rarely comment anywhere--and rarely blog myself!)
Please not to stop?
I think you should keep it going if it's not too much of an impingement! I actually don't think group blogs are an answer, though guest blogging may be okay.
I always read your posts and can't help but enjoy every single one of them, although I don't always post a comment.
I agree with some of the other comments here that summer, or the time of the year plays a role on blog hopping, etc.. (I know it does for me). However, I still love to read the posts once I have the time and catch up with my favorites. You are one of them.
Quoting Carolyn:
I think you should keep it going if it's not too much of an impingement!
I think for me it's seasonal. My blogging is way down for the last couple months too, summer and work stuff are distracting me. I hope you post when you feel like it.
Generally speaking I prefer single-owner blogs.
I'm here! I'm reading!
For years I've been half-heartedly trying to gather together or join up with a group author blog. It hasn't worked out and I've seen so many other groups dwindle.
I do find myself commenting less in the summer. I don't want to be indoors...
All - how kind you all are! I'm not looking for reassurance as to whether people read the blog as it happens, but it was sweet of you all nonetheless.
I have to disagree on the seasonal thing. This is not a trend I've only noticed over the last couple of months - it's been coming on for a long while. And my dissatisfaction isn't about lack of readers, it's about the lack of exchange.
I don't actually think it's just my blog. I think it's a couple of reasons. Blog growth and fragmentation - I too comment much less than I used more. And even more than that, Twitter has affected blogs. I suspect that some of the energy out there that caused the blog-focussed exchanges of ideas that I used to enjoy so much has moved to Twitter. And I don't want to follow it there.
Fact is, I'm not getting out of this what I want to get out of it, but I'd rather see if I can get what I want some other way than give up altogether.
Laura - *waves*
Jessica - you are ever kind. I thought of you when I formulated my questions of course.
Marie-Therese - bless you. Joanna Newsom fans are always welcome here.
Lesley - it IS a remarkably good summer this year, I agree!
A'lady - you, of course, have a very successful blogging partnership!
Carolyn - I hear what you say re guest blogging but will miss the sense of ownership if I give up...
Hilicia - thank you.
Nic - I agree generally but there are stand out exceptions, like Dear author. And I do like Readers Gab where you get the likes of Robin, Rosie and very very occasionally Meriam (who I miss *pouts*).
Jill - yes a lot of group blogs do dwindle. I suspect that happens often when they group up for the wrong reasons.
Thanks again for all your kind words. Nothing will happen imminently. I am going on holiday very soon.
I think more people are reading via feed readers, and I suspect that may contribute to a drop-off in comments, (1) because people tend to keep adding new blogs to their feed and they may then feel they need to rush through all the posts because there are so many to read and (2) because when you read via a feed reader you may well only click through to the blog if you feel you've got something important to add. Because of that people may be less likely to see existing comments and join in a pre-existing conversation.
Re Twitter, I'd agree with you that it's probably having an effect too, but Twitter's not ideal for certain kinds of discussions because of the limit on the number of characters and the way that forces people to condense and/or break up their thoughts into more than one tweet.
Personally, I prefer not to try to condense an argument (along with all the supporting evidence) into tweets. I also like the way that a blog provides a permanent, easily searchable record of the discussion. Even if each individual post of mine doesn't elicit lots of comments, I know that there will nonetheless be lurkers who are interested in it at the time, and there may also be readers who come across the discussion later, via a search engine. In addition, blogging can force me to think things through, read things I might not otherwise have got round to reading, and create an archive of links, quotes, and ideas which I might find useful at a later date.
That said, my aims in blogging are probably a bit different from yours, so while I'm still getting a lot out of blogging, that may not be the case for you.
I think it might be a couple of things - that you've already pointed out. Twitter has taken away from blogs quite a bit I think - not from me - I find it very difficult to condense on Twitter. It goes against my why say in 10 words what you can say in 100 philosophy. And I think Google Reader or whatever it's called also makes for less commenting and thus less interaction. I myself don't have one. But I know quite a few bloggers have them and read blogs but don't necessarily come back and leave comments.
Another factor that might be in play is there are so many romance bloggers now!! This is good and bad. The more the merrier I think, but it also spreads us thin on our blog stops - thus creating the need for a Google Reader, - see vicious circle.
Another reason in my case - I've been reading quite a bit more so far this year - which sadly - leaves less time for blogging and blog hopping.
It's all trending. Twitter is immediate so when someone wants a quick response and to engage right away... Twitter does it all. Time is my complaint. I have a much more demanding job than when I began blogging 5 years ago.
Having said that, being the worst blogger ever this past year, I stick with it however sporadic it is because I still do interact to some extent with people AND the writing of my blog makes me feel good. Like swimming makes me feel good. It's an outlet. So I'm hanging in there.
FWIW, you add something to the mix in my Google Reader. You are always thought provoking. I'd miss you, but when I talk about these same sorts of topics on my blog what I've found I really want to hear is for someone to tell me it's okay to do what I really want to do.
Consider me that person. Do what it is that little voice inside of you is telling you. It's okay to do exactly what you want to do.
I'm really at a loss -- I comment less but I'm so very appreciative of a few (sadly, lessening group ... just running outta time!) wonderful blogs. Of which yours is one! I especially like the sensibility of home/family/"place/and everything else. It's like a Golden Notebook blog for me. And it's personal. I do so love the "one voice" blog, altho occasional guest gigs are always fun. Janet W
Feedreaders and Twitter definitely are huge factors for me in terms of reducing the number of comments. As much as Feedreaders save time because you don't click through to blogs which haven't updated, it does become easy to just flick through blogs. I struggle to get through the blogs I have subscribed to on a regular basis.
Group blogs are well and good, but the posts have to be pretty good every time to get me to subscribe in the first place, let alone to keep my interest.
I think I stopped worrying about comments at my blog a long time ago. They seem to play a very different role there -- less of an exchange -- than at other blogs. It would be easy for me to think that I fail as a blogger because I can't generate a good exchange of ideas among commenters.
If that was why I blogged, then perhaps I am a failure. But I find I blog because I enjoy the opportunity to sift through my thoughts as I read books, other blogs, Twitter, and other media.
Now, if I discovered no one reads my blog at all... Who knows. Maybe then I wouldn't bother. But I suspect I am just that selfish I'd still write something.
Well, I've come back from holiday, wanting to blog again - I just kept thinking of things I wanted to blog about. So as long as that keeps happening, I think I'll keep on blogging. Here.
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