"Are blogs taken for granted?" Topic

After running what I have always felt has been a fairly successful blog, I have decided to stop blogging. My posts have always tended to be fairly substantial or at least have take up a lot of time to prepare and I have come to the conclusion that a bloggers time is not as valued as it should be.

I don't make the post as a 'cry-baby', but rather I thought I would make my exit a time perhaps for some reflection on how bloggers are regarded and even encourage people to stop and comment on blogs they like, rather than just flying past to the next one …….. Or as I have just discovered, not even visiting a blog because the link does not include a picture of the subject matter!

the social Internet etiquette of all of this is important and worthy of discussion, so can I please ask that comments on this thread are kept constructive. – many thanks, Norm smith.

LINK to my blog close down post – link

In my limited experience as a blogger there is little correlation between the number of readers and the number of comments. I rarely comment on blogs myself. I tend to blog on themes and I'm gratified if visitors read all the related posts as many do. If someone does comment I consider it a bonus.

I suppose it comes down to why we blog. I see it as an opportunity to share ideas and information about my gaming enthusiasms and historical interests. If anyone wants to comment that's great but if they just want to read that's fine too.

Not sure if they are taken for granted as such. When it comes to other people's blogs I have my favourites and ones I bookmark for specific posts that I use as references for painting or wargaming and so forth.

For my own part I enjoy blogging. It has brought me into contact with a lot of wargamers and roleplayers I would not have otherwise met. It also gives me something to aim for with my painting – get something finished so I can do a post – otherwise I tend to slack off. In the three and a bit years since I have been blogging I have painted more miniatures than I have in the past two decades. For me it is a motivator and painting/gaming aid.
Cheers
Brian

I approach my blog as less a way to share my ideas to the rest of the world (except when questions and requests come up), and more of a personal log of my hobby. Though, I write it in such a way that others can share in and enjoy as little or as much as they choose. I look at it like this: I'm painting a mini, and some friendly folks are watching over my shoulder -- both of us enjoying it.

But I've certainly had those moments of wondering if it's all worth it. I've certainly made a few connections I wouldn't have without the blog.

Most blogs require people to log in to comment on them, using one service or another.

I find that to be annoying, and overly restrictive, so I don't bother, virtually all of the time.

I do appreciate some blogs and the time and effort people put into them, but certainly they are more a labor of love by their creators than something I can truly recognize in a substantial way.

And yes, I'm one of those who frequently won't bother to visit a blog if the poster doesn't tell us what it's about, post a photo or two with a link, or provide some other info about why I might want to check out their blog – giving a clue as to what the latest update includes might be helpful.

Life's too short.

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by "I have come to the conclusion that a bloggers time is not as valued as it should be".

To me a blog is "just" amateur journalism – it's very much like a fanzine. It's main purpose is to give pleasure to its creator. It's nice to be read, of course, but any expectation of adulation and acclaim is probably an optimistic one.

The idea that "if you build it they will come" only works if you're the only ball park in town – once the town has a thousand ball parks most of them will stand empty. That's life I guess.

I did follow the link from your blog back to another TMP discussion – and whilst I disagree that you have any reason to expect to "have your time properly valued" I will admit that there were some strange (to me) views being expressed. These implied that some blog readers get angry that the thing they get for free is not as good as they'd like it to be. It's free – take it or leave it or even ignore it, that's really fine – but why complain that you expect more for nothing? That's pretty daft. IMHO – others are free to differ.

It is your last paragraph in which the reader can't be bothered to click on a link (because it hasn't got a picture) to a piece of work that has taken me hours or days to put together, that has got me hot under the collar.

I have gone for a few years now with relatively few comments on the blog and I am OK with that (less comments is actually less servicing of the blog on my part) and Mako11's point about people not being logged onto all the different forums as they browse is quite valid, though every now and then, why not sign in and just do the courtesy thing of just thanking the blogger. It is the near absence of this that is worthy of discussion.

I think people are so used to consuming blogs freely that their value has been taken for granted.

Surely by regular visiting the reader is expressing how much they value a blog?

Many things are free on the internet that is why newsprint is dying. Appreciation is now measured in clicks in many areas of life. Same applies to blogs I suppose.

For the most part my blogs are a way for me to record my own campaign interests. So you could say I blog for myself and not others.

For the most part my blogs are a way for me to record my own campaign interests. So you could say I blog for myself and not others.

Ditto. But I also record some non-gaming stuff on my blog. Weirdly some of my rural life posts get as many hits as gaming related ones.

"Writing is not a serious business. It's a joy and a celebration. You should be having fun with it. Ignore the authors who say 'Oh, my God, what word? Oh, Jesus Christ…', you know. Now, to hell with that. It's not work. If it's work, stop and do something else." – Ray Bradbury

You should blog because you want to. If you want to have more readers or give the readers a better experience, then you need to find out what works.

Including a simple photo when advertising your latest blog entry on a forum or news list generates additional excitement to read your blog.

For a couple of years, I fought the idea of linking my blog to a Facebook page. When I did, readership went up. Not only did overall readership go up, readership by women went way up.

I don't think your 2600 & 2000 word post is out of the ordinary. I routinely have to cut my posts in length or into multiple parts. And I plan and work on a post for at least a week.

I don't think blogs are taken for granted. They provide a wonderful means for exchanging ideas and a way to connect with others.

To have a decent blog, I've had to learn to write better; I've had to learn how to photograph minis; I've had to learn design to have a layout to make my posts easier to read; I've had to learn to how to market or advertise my blog.

Andy Weir started with a blog post & with support from others & his own imagination it became a series of blog posts, which became a self-published book, which then was picked up by a major publisher, which caught the attention of an actor and a director, and bam, "The Martian" became a top grossing film.

Readers, publishers, editors, critics, reviewers, are all human, all fickle. If you write, you do so because something compels you to do it and it is a lot easier if it is fun.

Now for a shameless plug:

atomicfloozy.com

To be fair, I always thank bloggers and others for posting links to blogs and other sites that I visit and like, here on TMP.

Don't want the hassle of setting up Google, FB, and all the other IDs needed to post a reply on a blog. It's not worth the trouble, and I don't need Google tracking me more than they already do.

Norm, sorry to read that you are pulling the plug, but understand. However you spend your hobby time, just do what you enjoy. Best of luck.

I have been to your site a number of times when you have posted links here on TMP. I never leave blog comments because I don't want to go through the machinations that leaving a post requires. I check out a lot of blogs that are linked here, but I thought the object of a blog was to be cathartic for the blogger.

I've been a blogger for a long time. People rarely comment on my posts, and I'm fine with that. Honestly, I'm always shocked if readers follow me, let alone comment. If you post on Blogger, it can be difficult to comment if I don't have a Google account. I post on WordPress and I'm sure there are hoops to jump through. My rule of thumb is to post a body of work others might find interesting, but to use those posts to document my activities in this hobby.

agamerstales.wordpress.com

You have 122 followers, so that's more than a hundred people who read you. You can look at the stats and see how many people actually drop by, even when they don't comment.

I too use my blog as a gaming log and a platform to share ideas, so I am not too fussed about people not leaving comments (though very appreciative when they do).

I guess that's where Facebook got blogs beat – just a click to 'like' a post without really saying why.

Thanks all, to be clear, I really am not so much bothered by the amount of traffic / comments I get' I only mention that as an aside and to encourage people to give thought to inter-acting with other bloggers.

My beef has been purely generated by a thought that on one side of the fence you can have someone doing some creative stuff and on the other side, we seem to be moving to a new almost dumbed down approach to browsing – the sort of 'give me a picture so I don't make me have to think approach'. Sorry if that sounds rude, it is not meant to be.

Just to put in some perspective of the nature of my blogging, for the last 3 years I have made sure that I have provided a very substantial read that is posted on Christmas morning, this in recognition that for a variety of reasons, Christmas is not for everyone and the Internet is otherwise pretty dead – it was a deliberate selfless act (due to the amount of work needed just days before Christmas) to give that particular audience some quality gaming down time – as I say, my motivations are wider than hit counting or comment catching and I don't want to give an impression that it is otherwise.

My three Christmas posts were the tactical game comparison, an extensive Christmas newsletter and a free game with counters, map, rules and a scenario – they felt like work rather than being fun to put together.

It is being thought of as being a lazy blogger because I don't include a picture in the link that leaves the the most irate and disappointed.

I see my blog as essentially four things

1) source of instant gratification

2) Gaming log

3)convenient place to place all the resources I collect-create for the war-gaming community.

I am not to stressed if people read or not, or comment or not, as that is not the case in most blogs. If you want comments you have to be controversial and get into fights. Not worth it.

I'm blogging since 2008 and I have only 170 followers and my posts got rarely more than one or two comments but it's fine. I blog for my own amusement mainly.
Also, notice many bloggers only post on some others' blogs just to get answers in their own blogs.
My own blog and some other ones I visit keep my hobby mojo flowing, and that's the important thing in my opinion.
Cheers,
P.S. The blog also helps me to improve my English. Here's mine: javieratwar.blogspot.com.es

Well, my blog has 31 followers, so on that basis a lot less successful than yours. If I get comments on an item from more than two people, then I'm thinking 'what hit me.' Most items on my blog have been seen by way under 100 people, 100 page hits a day is 'good' (when I ran Garrison 2,000 hits a day was poor)

What does that matter?

It's more like keeping in touch with friends and letting them know what I'm doing – even if they're not really friends and I've never met most of them. The blog is for me. And at least 31 other people. But mostly me.

Once that stops, probably the blog will stop.

It's also a very useful way for me to make a record of what I'm doing. So much of my past has been 'lost' – I don't even have any photos of the things I did in the 70s.

For anyone interested, my blog is currently about my building up a sort of 28mm Lovecraftian Arkham city. Mostly (usually) though it's about early Garrison and Minifigs Ancients. easterngarrison.blogspot.co.uk

I have blogged for years more for the pleasure of doing it – I agree with many of the reasons given above for blogging.

That said, I'm also inspired to keep going for the (wait for it…) 23 people who have made the effort to follow my ramblings – thank you to that 23. You make it worthwhile for a whole other reason.

20thmaine – I got to these posts (or, rather the "No picy no clicky" thread) by the same route – via Battlefields & Warriors (from a recent post update on my blog). I agree that some opinions on the other thread seem a little odd to me. But, others may say that of mine, too!

GarrisonMiniatures – I agree. I've sold many of the minis that feature in early posts. It's great to look back and remember what once was!

I say, if you are inclined to write and share – blog on, blog into the gloom, blog like nobody's watching!

Ha ha… here's mine too: senlachill.blogspot.com.au

Maybe No. 24 is out there!

Cheers
Alan

I wouldn't worry about what anyone else thinks about your blogging style. Personally, I treat my blog as a wargaming journal, and would keep doing it even if no one but me ever read it)

I blog a bit as well, and, like others here, just blog for myself. If others like it that's great, but if you're writing to please other people then it's going to be a tough old game.

I do like to visit other blogs and leave the odd comment to show I read the blog, be neighbourly, mention how much I enjoyed a post or – very occasionally – add my tuppence to an 'opinion' post.

Regarding the posting links here issue, I find that it's mostly not worth it these days. Only a small proportion of the people who open the TMP post go to look at the link and I get the feeling a link succeeds more at getting people's backs up than it does in contributing to the hobby or to TMP discussion. A small number of people will be interested, but when the reaction is mostly silence and (as I have noticed) you start getting talked over in other threads by posters you respect but who clearly have you on stifle it's probably a signal that people see it as spamming, not as a positive contribution.

Cheers,
Aaron

I blog what I enjoy in the hobby, mostly old school miniature related bits and pieces. I check stats and comments regularly and do wonder why more people don't comment…..then of course realise that I check out a plethora of blogs and rarely leave comments myself…

deartonyblair.blogspot.co.uk

You can follow a blog with an RSS Reader and it wont show you as a follower. When Google killed their reader that fragmented things.

I faithfully follow over 60 with my Feedly reader. No way I can make comments on every one.

I have one myself, you may have seen a few of my posts about.

Looking back I suppose it was never about the picture. It was about the blogger who can't be bothered to give any kind of lead into the story. Just a "here is my link".

I've got tons to read every day including to my little ones so I have to cull it somehow. If you are trying to advertise to get people to read your blog then do the best advertising effort you can. Just be prepared that if you make little effort you will reap what you sow.

Having to sign in to some sort of Google All account, etc. turns me off. Otherwise, I'd follow more blogs and comments more, too.

1) If I were to have only a single disappointment in life, it's not having enough time to chase down all my interests. Yes, I'm lucky.

So I find that I don't enjoy looking at mediocre hobby output. I like a preview to predict if I may get some satisfaction by pursuing it further.

If you have all the time in the world, why not click through to everything? I have other things to do.

2) A great part of blogging with satisfaction is getting positive feedback. Just logging your own hobby time is fine but why make it public unless there's prospects for mutually agreeable interaction with others?

Yes, it's just for you but without any attempt to please others with your content then why should anyone care?

Oh, I haven't yet looked at your blog Norm, so my comments aren't directed at anyone in particular! =D

If your content pleases you, there's a good chance that some other people may also be pleased by it. Some people have a need for positive feedback in which case they should make sure that the content is at least partially targetted to get this. Depends on what you want your blog to achieve.

I do not follow any blogs. I visit them if I see something on TMP that peaks my interest. I never comment, as others have said, too much a hassle to log in, et. However I do appreciate the amount of work and details bloggers put in.

I never started my own blog because I realize I simply do not have enough free time to put a decent effort into one. But I am always thankful for the tip and articles others create, I find them an inspiration for this hobby.

I've been following this quietly, much like how I follow other people's blogs, but decided to weigh in. I'm a blogger. I started doing it in response to other cool blogs. So I like to write and sometimes tell stories. I like to document what I (and indirectly our group) has been doing. I like getting the positive affirmations of noting the read count and treasure any comments. I'm always logged into Google so totally do not comprehend the "hassle" of logging in to post a comment. How lazy is that, assuming you have something to contribute. I never feel an obligation to post a comment simply because I looked/glanced at their blog. If something resonated with me, sure. I don't heavily promote my blog so may only get three or four dozen hits per post. If I share it here then it goes way up. I do have 48 followers so take that to mean I'm doing something right.

So in short (too late) I started blogging just for my own satisfaction but admit that over the years feedback in the form of hits or comments have come to mean more to me.

My blog link -is a way of recording my games, and trips to shows.
I am always grateful if people read my posts, and especially if they comment!

Many thanks to all who do!

For the most part my blogs are a way for me to record my own campaign interests. So you could say I blog for myself and not others.

My view as well, as echoed by many others. In several years I have only had one comment but that bothers me not at all; I do it to keep record of past events for myself so if anyone gets any entertainment value that is a bonus.

I write my blog, and have since day one, with the hope to give someone several hours of picture browsing some late night.

And I love comments. I don't have many people to talk toy soldiers with, so blog comments are the only way I get any feedback!:)

Oh… And shameless plug!

link

I blog. I have 59 followers.

That is great, but I certainly don't expect a ton of comments. It is more a log of what I've been doing and a handy place to put photos to share with TMP:)

Easier than doing a website anyway.

I think if you use a newspaper as an analogy – do you read every article, or only ones with an appealing headline or picture? To me if a blog post description doesn't grab me they why click on the link? I don't have enough time to visit all the sites on the web I would like to. However like a paper sometimes you will always read articles by certain regular columnists and so forth.

I agree with the comments regarding treating it as a hobby log, and it should be something you do for yourself, firstly.

Some of the downsides of blogs such as having to create various accounts to be able comment, poorly tagged posts, and searching, puts me of blogs in general. But like a good columnist there are some I follow due to the focused content they have, or I know the person.

As an aside, I tried adding a shop to mine yesterday (to sell the Bob Olley blog minis) but added it to the front page in error – no way of correcting it as I hadn't backed up before trying…..spent hours trying to amend the foriegn language of HTML before remembering I had created a page for pics some while back so ended up copying and pasting the HTML from that one…….lost too much hair so remember to back up your blog!

I find there are too many blogs, and too many of those are of low quality or rarely updated. About the only time a visit a blog is when I seen something on TMP, like an AAR on a set of rules I'm interested in, and then I follow the link and read that post.

I read blogs here and there, mostly via a link posted here at TMP, but I've rarely left a comment -- mostly because the blog demands I join something or other. As if it is some sort of privilege to leave a comment…like it is here on TMP. :)

I don't blog, but being a writer by trade, I do run a private e-mail list sent to those I've met or corresponded with, where I do AARs/Reviews of miniature games, board wargames, magazine wargames, card games, dice games, and any other game I've played that I like to comment on. Better formatting with PDF than the usual three-column blog.

Much centers around rules mechanics, often with purple prose tucked inside to show my rules admiration, outrage, and all points between. I started just to recap games that my group put on.

Thanks all for posting to his thread.

Russ I like your idea of what sounds like a more private affair. It reminds me a little of Don Featherstones's newsletter that was circulated all those years ago before magazines, never mind the internet.

Martin (R), I am hoping that a website actually proves easier to 'present' hobby stuff, but it probably needs to work hand in hand with another service like Dropbox.

For the past 7 months I have been without internet services at home (long running saga) and so have had to travel 4 – 5 miles to one of my nearest towns to make blog postings and service my other wargame interests – this is the sort of thing that feeds into my questions of blogger effort Vs regard.

When advertising a new post, I generally visit up to 6 forums to post that info plus link, TMP returns the largest number of viewers, but it is also surprising what people type into their search engine and come up with your blog address (Google statistics shows this) – so I think that a Niche hobby that itself has a lot of niches, benefits from the diversity of the large number of blogs that we seem to have – but my own perception is that blogs are taken for granted rather than celebrated, but I suspect I am a lone voice.