Blogging is Not a Conversation, But That’s Fine With Me

I have been blogging for about a month now and I thought it’s time to capture the essence of my experience so far. Overall, I like blogging as a forum for expressing my thoughts and opinions. I think of my blog as a public storage for my observations so that anyone can read them whenever they want. Initially I thought the blog was going to be a way to initiate conversations and receive constructive input. That has not turned out to be true—it’s hard to have a conversation through comments and, in retrospect, I think I was mostly interested in putting the seed of my thoughts into the reader’s thought stream, which I can achieve by simply writing the blog.

When I first started, I also got quite caught up in promoting the blog—submitting the blog to various blog aggregators and search engines, commenting on other blogs, sending trackbacks to others, all in an attempt to drive up traffic and get linked :-) Some of my enthusiasm was due to the novelty of it all, but much of it is because of my continuing desire to find readers for my blog. I am sure everyone else has the same itch. I know I’ll continue to promote the blog and probably even set up a Web site as well to promote by books.

Of course, I am not the only one making these observations about blogs not being conversations. A quick Google search brought some similar musings from others. Here are two interesting examples: Blogging: Conversation or Soliloquy? and Why "Blogging" Sucks (it's the nomenclature of "blogging" that the author days sucks because a blogger is just a writer).

The bottom line is that I like blogging and I plan to continue writing. As for the reasons why, I point you to David St Lawrence’s Ripples blog where he explains his reasons for writing in Why I Write. All I can add to his thoughts is, my feelings, exactly!

Tags: blog weblog conversation writing blogger writer

Comments

[Joe Wikert]

Naba, I'm thrilled that you're actively blogging. Even though you and I have known each other for several years, I've learned more about you from your blog than I have in some of our other discussions. Keep up the great work!

[Brad Hill]

I agree, Naba (even though we're talking abut it in your Comment section). Blogs have never seemed to me to provide a good community environment. They are not nearly as effective or fostering as message boards. The lack of threading, hit-and-run commenters, and generally poor follow-up mechanics in the software all combine to wreck the community spirit. I receive about 50 comments a day on my various blogs, and I rarely respond. It's enough to keep the entries going at a regular clip! Also, comment spam is a gigantic problem when blogging on a big platform; our network administrator at WeblogsInc spends a horrendous amount of time erecting barriers and confirmation systems. All in all, comments can be more trouble than they're worth. In the past, I've run a couple of blogs (one personal, one professional) with the comments turned off. I definitely disagree with those who define blogs as community centers, and believe that if the comments are turned off, it's not a blog.

I'm glad you have yours turned on, though [g].

[Naba Barkakati]

Hi Joe, Hi Brad,
Thanks for reading and commenting. I feel good that at least someone reads the posts :-) Joe- Thanks for the encouragement! Brad - I finally found your blogs at WeblogsInc and I have subscribed to them. You're certainly a prolific writer.

[David St Lawrence]

Blogging IS a conversation, unless you choose to broadcast like Instapundit or Brad Hill. Actually, a blog is what you make of it, no more, no less. You write about things that others find interesting and you will have a conversation before you know it.

I think of a weblog as the ultimate power tool and have written an entire category of posts which explain what you can do with that concept. Click on my name to see them.

I can give you a basic secret in one sentence. Write with passion about things that are important to you and leave thought-provoking comments on sites that you visit. This will build a community of readers who will return again and again.

Use Pingomatic to announce every new post, but concentrate on the quality of your content rather than on any search engine fun and games. Read Rebecca Blood's Weblog Handbook to get your blogging basics in, if you have not done so already.

Good luck!

[Naba Barkakati]

David, Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I'm going to continuing writing and see where this takes me :-)

[Brad Hill]

I didn't say that blogging isn't a conversation; I said that enabling comments and responding to them are not a requirement of a blog. I regard the 'sphere as a whole to be a gigantic conversation. On one of Naba's other posts I mentioned Alex Ross's music blog; he's the music critic of The New Yorker, and has his comments turned off for good reason. But he is an active commenter on other blogs, and his "broadcast" entries are widely cited. In other words, the conversation transpires across blogs, and that meta-discussion is often of great interest. Chris Anderson posts long lists of outside links to specific relevant posts in the global discussion. the big discussion is the important discussion.

So, while I don't participate much in my own comment sections, here I am writing in Naba's blog and in several others. One other thing ... you use Pingomatic for every post?! Man, you must not write much. If I did that I'd do nothing else. So here's my advice to you, and you don't even have to click on my name to see it. Get deep into your writing groove and forget about self-promotion. Produce, produce, produce. Write as if nobody will ever read it.

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