photo credit: Andrew Feinberg
This post is in reply to a Facebook comment from Rhys.
The comment (if you’re not my facebook friend – if you’re not, why not?), said this:-
“I’ve stopped my full posts coming onto FB – it stops people visiting your website, as they just comment here.”
This post is an answer to why I do put my posts Facebook.
When I was last on the Beeb to talk about blogging & the state of the blogosphere (listen to the interview here), I talked rather a lot about hubs (much more than made the final cut incidentally), blogs now are seemingly the final place to drive traffic to, rather than the first place to go for news. As a result, my posts shouldn’t be a “the only place to find good posts.”, it should be a “hey, look here! My post has been on facebook and you like it. If you subscribe to my RSS feed, you can get posts like this daily!”.
Okay, maybe not daily. But the point is that whilst I feel that the community surrounding my blog has dwindled due to the lack of comments, in actual fact it’s risen due to Twitter, Facebook and the syndication of my posts in a few places on the internet. All because that there are only 3 comments in a post compared to 7 or 8 a year ago, doesn’t mean that they’re not commenting. I get replies on Twitter & Facebook as well (though mainly my facebook replies are “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”), hence what brought on this comment.
And that I guess is what being a blogger about. It’s not about denying possible readers your posts, it’s about being as open and approachable as possible. I know a lot of people think like Rhys, who try and tease readers into their blog, and that’s their perogative (I’m not going to tell people how to blog), but for me, by being as open and approachable as possible seems to work.
In which case, does that make me a blogger? Or some twitter/blogger/facebook mutant?
Comments: 4 Comments
Rhys Wynne, the author of this blog, is a 20 something web designer from Colwyn Bay. 
Having said that, which of these options do you think is a better promotional tool?: Syndicating your posts to Facebook, or using a plugin to update your status with a link to the blog’s post page on your site? (like many do on Twitter)
If I’d have to choose one, I’d syndicate my posts. My having the uniformity of facebook, hidden behind a login (so google can’t see it), it means that my posts can be read on most systems (facebook mobile for example will have my posts). I know you can get Mobile & Iphone (and even Wii) CSS files, but it’s far more uniform in facebook’s layout.
Nevertheless, I generally do both (I publish it when most people are on the morning commute, so checking facebook & replying to comments there), then I usually retweet the post on twitter, which will bring it into Facebook as well.
I really decided to not fully syndicate because I spend time making sure my images look right on my blog layout, and whenever it’s syndicated, it breaks and looks shit
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I don’t actually have any ads on my blog, so for me it’s not about the money. It’s not about anything really. Just the joy of writing and being able to put my thoughts somewhere for someone to idly read and possibly share their thoughts too. I like to talk crap, and too often no one wants to listen. The interwebs listen… kinda.