A couple of months ago, I laid out a challenge to my readers - What should I give up for Lent? One of the best challenges was from Lottie, who suggested this:
“I have a suggestion, but you’re probably not going to like it. By no means stop blogging, but do stop blogging about blogging and in particular, advertising on your blog. By this I mean any mentions of adsense, entrecards, adicons, digg, visitor stats, that sort of thing. Leave it all up if you want, but just don’t mention it until Easter Sunday. Although I thing you’re a good blogger, my enjoyment of your writing has been marred recently by your harping on about the above. I want witty anecdotes, discussions of current events that interest you, that sort of thing. Old-school blogging.
Obviously I don’t mean to offend with this, but you did ask for suggestions! If you take it up and manage it all the way through lent (and of course I’d be the judge of what was allowed), I’ll buy you an easter egg.”
Well, it did stick with me, and with a couple of jokey little “censorships” of certain words (such as e*******d, which incidentally I have really gone off by the way), I’ve tried not to blog about things like that. Specifically “more personal posts”. In other words, in my book blog, Lottie - you owe me an easter egg.
But, now what from this website? For some of you newer readers, I have been blogging for nearly 6 years now (my sixth anniversary will be in New York, yes I will let you know who gets that sacred day) on two different domains. To begin with up until the end of my time in Liverpool, I found it easy blogging about things that I was upto, because I was upto so much.
However, since the end of my time there, my social life has kind of dwindled a little bit. Not in a bad way, oh no, but the amount of noteworthy bloggable things that happen on a night out has decreased considerably.
So, as a way to keep blogging up, I decided to blog about something which fascinated me at the time and still does today - blogging, and the rise of it. Trust me, I read hundreds of blogs a week, and notice and pick up on things that are witty, amusing, inspiring, and depressing. Fact is, and this is (no pun intended) I believe most the bloggers out there don’t deserve to clean my keyboard, as their writing is appalling, bland and innoffensive (I believe Pureblogging said it best when they referred to a certain type of blogger as Lindsay Neagle, the corporate shill lady off the Simpsons) , they contribute about as much to the blogosphere as your average tumour does to a human being.
This blog did become a cleverly veiled vent of anger at these bloggers, but also offered them a rope if they chose to accept it - “your blog’s rubbish, this is how you do things better”, sure enough, a number of articles were picked up by bigger bloggers and I got a nice boost of traffic, few new readers, and even - shock horror - sponsorship. For the first time ever, my blog was beyond entertaining. It was useful.
I still kept up my personal posts, probably half and half, and - whilst I have changed to a more personal posts for the past 36 days and 36 nights - I have managed to retain the readers. I guess simply that unlike Lindsay Neagle bloggers, the real way to be a good blogger is to be personal.
The second thing we need to be is interactive, which is why I’m throwing the following question out to you, my readers.
What do you want to see on this blog?
Choices are:
1. Old School blogging, with stories about my life. I’ll try and make them entertaining, but I may have to blog less per week.
2. Blogging about blogging. May not be to everybody’s tastes, but it’s something I am interested in (largely that most people who are “experts” are rubbish), and I’ll at least try and make it entertaining.
3. A mixture of both (how many posts out of 5 per week would you like to see personal, and how many about useful stuff/observations)?
I’ll be honest, there is a probable answer, and one which’ll probably win (and one I want to win), but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
See you Tuesday.
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Rhys Wynne, the author of this blog, is a 20 something web designer from Colwyn Bay.
You have indeed kept your lenten promise! (Or whatever the correct term is). Email me your address and I will send you an easter egg. Do you mind if I smash it into bits first for ease of postage?
Also, much to no-one’s surprise, I vote #1. Happy Easter Rhys! (Oh and I will reply to that other message sometime soon… just building suspense)
3.
With added stories about underground mammals
kthnxbai
Its pretty obvious you want 50/50 i reckon but its always more entertaining reading about what you’ve been up to and the general randomness of lifes goings on.
one thing that niggles me a little is how some bloggers think they are better than and more worthwhile to the blogosphere (what eva the fook that is!) fair play you’ve been tapping away on here for 6 years and people have and continue to read but i dont think its fair to belittle anyone that wants to have a go.
like most things once a craze has kicked in its much harder to get involved and be good at it than those established. not 100% sure of my point but i’m just as interested in a blog (and i do read a couple) which is of meaningless crap and updated rarely than one thats updated daily and talks about how crap other people are and in order to improve they should do X, Y and Z
as for what id like to see on your blog… less adverts
The thing is, I’m not going to have a go at personal bloggers. It’s basically people who think they are better at everybody else because they’ve got x amount of subscribers and x amount of traffic and whatnot. Personal bloggers rule
Like me?
I should blog more, but I am useless
(Comments wont nest below this level)
I like stories.
I dont think I’ve ever celebrated my blogs anniversary! Its probably coming up to 8 years now - when I go home i migh thae to digg out my old posts from my old virus riddled computer!
I vote 2 - just cos I wanna see big popular bloggers pwned.
Well i read to see what you’ve been upto and hear your funny stories - it’s like keeping in touch coz even though it’s a long time since i last saw you, it doesn’t feel long coz i can see how you are on here.
Isn’t that what blogging was? Web-logging your life for others to see? Or did i miss the point of it? Computers ain’t my strong point. : )
Are you allowed to mix posts? If your were writing about another blogger it might prompt a fun tale from your life?
I say old school blogging. I find it interesting, especially because it is a lifestyle on the other side of the ocean. It is somethin different. Blogging about blogging like adsnese and the like, I tend to tune out because I have no interest in it.
I don’t care, I’ll read either as long as it’s done well. :p
I gotta say I am enjoying the more personal blogs more than the blogging about blogging but then the odd few posts about blogging are a good read, maybe a 70-30 mix in favour of personal?
I personally love to blog about the mundane stuff in my life, and I love to read posts in a similar vein. When people go on about “getting more traffic” and “SEO” stuff (which I still don’t really understand) I kind of scan over it and move on.
My blog is prolly dull as dishwater to most people, but I keep going because I know that I get people checking it daily, people that wander in to see what I am up to and suchlike.
The more personal a blog, the more I enjoy reading, so my vote would be for #1.
However.
This is your blog, and you should do what you like. If you love doing the “other stuff” then do that as well. So I think the better choice would be #3. That way, those of us that like the personal stuff are happy, and those that like the blogging stuff are happy.
Just remember, you can’t please all the people all the time. But f’k em
Yep I’m with 3, too much meta-blogging a bit of a turn off, but none kinda misses out on the point of reading someones blog who’s so techie. I’d say 3 out of 5 personal.
I like number 3 too.
I really like to hear your funny stories about how exciting colwyn bay is and I think you have an authoritative way of doing blogging about blogging posts
oh, well done on the successful completion of your charity run too
I like a mixture of both. I’m considering blogging about blogging, just so I can reflect on all the kazillion blogs I read!
I like the way you write Rhys. I would like to read a mix of both blogging and personal and useful stuff.