"blogging culture...tell me about it please. " Topic

sometimes I get an urge to start a blog. more and more I find myself looking at people's wargaming and hobby blogs. I especially like it when people document how they accomplished a terrain piece or project, scenario design, rules review, etc..

less so with battle reports. but anyway..

I notice that some get lots of comments and some don't. I could leave more comments myself than I do. but I kinda like the idea of everyone with a blog also follows some other blogs, leaving comments to each other and what not, encouragement to try new things…

do you find blogging rewarding? how so? is there a certain culture or norms about blogging that I should be aware of? what makes a good blog or a good post for you?

any negatives? is there a 'you didn't comment on mine so I'm not gonna on you' policy?

please give me your insights into the blogging culture if you would.

Yes its worth while

It is good to record what you have done and how you did it – for future reference
It is good to do rule plays for future reference
It is good as a way of targeting yourself to get stuff done
It is also good for seeing what other people up to – in their own worlds as it were

diggingforvictoryblog.com

I have a blog, CavCrazy@rich blogspot.
That being said I started it some years ago thinking I was going to show all my figures and games played, but I have not posted anything since 2014.
I would like to think my blog is/was a great blog, and it could be, but I don't have the time.
I will post something sometime soon…..at least that is what I tell myself.If you want to see a great blog that has great links, try "Wargaming with Silver Whistle", his blog is the best on the net, it has plenty of eye candy and tutorials.
It is everything I wish my blog could be.

Blogging can be great fun for the reasons noted above. These include motivation to get stuff done to show off, as well as documenting your process. For example I like to note in the blog posts the specific paint colours used. Helpful if you ever revisit a project later.

Our blog is a collaboration among about 3-4 of us in our informal club. That's great because there are several of us updating the blog at any time. I know if it were up to me to be the sole blogger the updates would be… much less frequent :-)

Cheers and have fun.

w.
wpggamegeeks.blogspot.com

I've been blogging for a few years now and I hope my work is well received. It is quite a commitment, but can be very rewarding as well. Here are some semi-random thoughts about the business:

• I try to post regularly. To start with, this was twice a week, but in the longer term I find once per week more manageable
• Think about *why* you might wish to blog. Is it for the glory and fame? Is it to help and teach? Is it to record projects for your own benefit? Is it to spark discussion and solicit new ideas?
• I throw in anything wargaming related; content is at my whim! It tends to be mostly painted models and some battle reports. Occasionally, I'll publish game aids such as a deck of cards.
• Battle reports can be very dull if you weren't there playing the game. I annotate my pictures copiously; this is a lot of work but seems to be well received.
• The bloggers who have a large number of followers are often very active in publicising themselves, by posting links on forums such as TMP and by commenting copiously on other people's work.
• I always respond to comments (though sometimes it takes a day or two); this shows appreciation of followers.
• Responses from the wider community aren't always proportional to how good *you* think the post is! Sometimes a trivial, throwaway piece has a dozen comments whilst something I've laboured over for hours gets only one or two. You just have to accept the downs as well as the ups!

Hugh (aka colgar6.blogspot.co.uk )

I use my blog as a wargaming journal. I can record what I'm thinking about a given gaming topic at a particular point in time. This includes things like rules experiments, projects in the works, campaign results, etc. If other people find my peculiar musings useful then all that much better. But even if no one read it, I would still find it useful to record these things for my own benefit.

I try to post regularly (once a week is my goal), even it is a post explaining why I didn't accomplish anything. In reality I find that I post in bursts – a few weeks of nothing then a bunch of posts when I get into a project.

I like reading other blogs. I learn a lot about different rules and different approaches to gaming. I find a lot of inspiration for my own gaming. I don't comment on other posts often (only if I feel I have something substantial to say), but that doesn't mean that other blogs aren't helpful.

warwellwg.blogspot.com

I posted regularly for three years but this past give months I have done nothing. Not sure why – just blanked out.

I decided to blog as I was starting abrand new project.

I thought it would be interesting and useful for people to see a whole project from thoughts at the beginning through to games on the table. I also hoped it would keep me focused.

It worked I am stuck to the project for a year and delivered 4 games recently. I have also met people I would never have met and even games with some of them. Really pleased I did it.
gapagnw.blogspot.co.uk

I have a Blog, dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk I find it therapeutic and fun. I would recommend trying it, although I know that it will not suit everyone.

Tony

I have a blog at paintingshed.blogspot.com

It is a great reminder of past games and projects, however as much of what I post is pictures I now find a facebook page at link
is faster and easier to use, and the blog gets updated less frequently, just with bigger "events" or when I have completed something. All the "work in progress" now goes via Facebook for those who don't object to that platform.

If blogger reintroduced a decent iphone app then I'd probably update the blog more often. I use a third-party app but this doesn't allow editing of posts not made via the app itself. It really is a bit more work than pleasure to use.

Other than that, I enjoy blogging and updating the facebook page. I suppose its mostly about showing off..:-) Whichever method I use, I find it helps to keep my projects rolling.

I get far more visits to the blog than comments, although do have a few very loyal and patient followers that leave nice messages. To be fair, I generally post about 99% painting and 1% gaming so there isn't really so much to comment on or ask questions about. I'd like there to be more gaming but it not such a practical proposition at the moment. Things will change! :-)

Haven't been able to get to it yet, but thought it might be a way to find others in the world with the same niche interests in this very broad hobby – eg a way to start some good friendships??

I have my own blog:
link

been running it for 5 years now.

originally set up to share photos and AARs of my gaming group's games.

Mutated somewhat to include my wider gaming activity, and personal game projects, plus the "how I do did that" type posts. Oh, and inevitably some Cat and climate change related items.

As others have commented, I get more visitors than comments. I do track where people are coming from and correlate postings to providing links on other forums (e.g. I expect another spike in visits after this post), but do not go out of my way to advertise it.

Personally, I also like it because I want to complete projects and have games to keep up a regular flow of "content", which helps me focus.

I have found d a few new gamers via the blog which in my rural neck of the woods is useful.

HTH.

I have two blogs that are regularly updated, both of which were launched twelve years ago.

Like painting miniatures there is a need to develop a discipline that will make posting easier.
As it too remains a part of the ‘hobby' do not become disappointed if you think to have missed a deadline.

Blogs certainly serve as a journal of your hobby. Many of my armies have been sold in the past twelve years and it is nice to have a record of those old collections and painting styles. Fortunately, new armies have now replaced them and with hopefully an improved painting style.

Of the two blogs, the ‘Storm Within the Empire' has shared a lot of ancient campaign ideas and systems over the past year. This is also the era I am currently painting a lot of armies. I have eight posts in draft form awaiting photos.

In general, if you have anything to share about the hobby, blog it.
Cheers,

I've had six blogs over the years. Three were over on Blogger until I was locked out of my account when they were acquired by Google and I changed e-mail addresses. Years of work and hundreds of posts lost.

I currently have three blogs with Wordpress. I'm happy with them, but believe Blogger was a bit easier to use.

My biggest piece of advice is not to let your blogs own you. You have to be satisfied that you are writing for yourself. It may be you have lots of followers, readers and commenters--but you may not. There are skazillions of bloggers who post on TMP. Write as often as you feel comfortable, find your voice, but above all enjoy yourself. If you find it to be one more demand on your limited time and it becomes onerous, don't do it.

agamerstales.wordpress.com

do you find blogging rewarding? how so? is there a certain culture or norms about blogging that I should be aware of? what makes a good blog or a good post for you?

any negatives? is there a 'you didn't comment on mine so I'm not gonna on you' policy?

I just started blogging a few months ago (Codsticker's Historicals and my Mordheim blog)and I did it mostly to document my progress through a couple of projects. I don't get very many views and hardly any comments but that is not why I really do it. I quite often don't think to post comments on other peoples blogs so I am not suprised if others don't think of doing so on mine. I post here as well as a couple other places and people post comments. My posts probably aren't as informative as they could be but the main reason is- as I say- for cataloguing my work and sharing pictures. And yes, I do it find it rewarding.
A good blog post for me has to have good pictures, of a decent size but not necessarily huge; it should also have some information yet at the same time not too much- no more than a couple sentences or a small paragraph per photo. If it is a review then I want good pictures of the product out of the box/bag and want more information than just a regular blog update (same goes for 'how-to' posts).

I use Googles blogger.com

It very is easy!

Look at my mine:

10mm Wargaming

And it is free!

Take care

Andy

This September will be eight years of blogging. While originally focused on one small facet of my hobby, I've turned to a devil may care attitude that covers minis, RPGs, the family, and some horrible, horrible puns. It is as much an internal tool for me to keep track of projects, want lists, etc, as it is something for the rest of the world to read and hopefully enjoy.

*Comments are an odd bird. My biggest comments are on odd topics that honestly didn't get much (non-Russian) traffic. Personally, I only comment on posts when they inspire me. I know most people are better painters than I am. The "'atta boy" comments are appreciated but not useful to the conversation.

*Blog formatting/culture: Make sure the layout of the blog is readable in multiple formats. You'll figure out linking and pages and other gadgets as time goes on.

*Never, ever fret on blog traffic. There are some of my earliest posts that still have less than a dozen views, and a few ridiculous posts get hundreds of legit hits.

With the labor of love I put into my wargaming AARs and role-playing actual plays, I'm still amusedly miffed that four of my top ten posts over the past few months are sublte election-related humor posts or linking to a dreidel fighting arena on Kickstarter.

The internet is a weird place.

link

thanks everyone for the feed back and advice.

i'll have to think it over some more I guess. mainly I would like to contribute back. like when I googled 'make a wargame mat' I found blogs talking about canvas and caulk. and other projects like that.

I've been practicing on my WIDTW thread and I've like the experience. I like to update it and see projects (currently focused on ACW).

TMP link

thanks again!