Yeah, about that whole blogging thing…
I’ve been on the Internet for over half my life. Hey, don’t make fun – it’s the truth and I’m totally cool with that. As the web has matured evolved, each new generation has spawned new ways for people to ramble on about whatever they want. There have been forums, channels, chat rooms, IM’s, web pages, and, of course, blogs.
And here I am ramblin’ on about it, but all of this digital nonsense has lead me to an utterly pointless question:
Come on, when are you seriously a blogger?
I look at it this way: when are you officially a runner? Is it if you go for three mile runs twice a week? Do you have to run races? How many underarmor shirts do you have to own? If you’re a dude, do you have to wear those short running shorts (ew, I hope not)?
So similarly, when are you officially a blogger? I mean, some people call themselves bloggers whereas others seem to wait until their community labels them as such. But I am curious as to the criteria people use to measure this. Does it happen when your first thought about most life events are how would this look on the ole bloggy blog? Is it when you speak in hash tags? Or what about when you refer to your friends by their online handle?
It’s pretty obvious that we’ve all got different ways by which we define ourselves (or others) as bloggers, but I’m wondering if we’ve got some kinda common thread that ties all the varying opinions together.
Seeing as how it’s Friday and how I really have no idea about this stuff, I’m tossing this out here. When are you officially a blogger? Do you brand yourself as such? Or, maybe better yet, when do you consider someone else a blogger?
Photo credit to the wife.
I think you’re a blogger when you first start to blog. But hey, I’m a total non-athlete, and can still call myself a runner. Anyone can post their rambling, incoherant thoughts online and be a blogger. But it takes work to do it halfway decent. So I’d strive for that.
“it takes work to do it halfway decent. So I’d strive for that.” That’s what separates the boys from the
menreal bloggers.I usually feel like there is a difference between being a blogger and having a blog. Just like I can run a mile (ok, I can jog a mile then have an asthma attack), but I do not consider myself a runner. I can do it, for a while, but I don’t do it consistently enough or well enough or far enough to be a runner. And I hate running.
With blogging, I have our old blog while we try to get my own set-up. But I still blog several times a week. And I’m pretty sure that the only people who read it are family and a few friends. Which is fine, but I think that my audience would probably need to expand quite a bit for me to be considered a “blogger.” If you have several subscribers or even people who don’t use rss but follow regularly, that seems to be an indicator…ya know, other people consider your blog worth reading. Though…how many people following is considered to be “several?” I have no answer to that.
I also thought about regularity. If your blog has new posts at least 4 or 5 times a week, that’s kind of essential, it seems, to keeping it fresh and keeping the readership up. And what about blogs that companies pay to advertise on? If you can support yourself or your hobby (say photography or cooking or whatever…if you can buy what you need with money from your blog), then dang, child. You are a blogger.
Funny thing is, “making it” as a blogger…obviously you must appeal to a lot of people. And there are some pretty big blogs out there that I love. I think I read thepioneerwoman.com religiously. I’ve even gone into her archived stuff. She’s an example of someone with huge amounts of success in blogging. But then there are some other big blogs (I won’t name names) that I read and go….generally, I don’t get this person. Every now and then I think they post something worth reading, but most of the time I roll my eyes or feel like they are copying other “bloggers” blog ideas and wonder why I am still following them. And I would rather read my friends’ blogs with the other 20 people following them than read that kind of blog written by a “blogger” that thousands follow.
SO….I guess what it comes down to is how you define success as a blogger. I mean, some of the big bloggers in ministry have been saying lately that they’ve found that the number of comments or number of followers doesn’t satisfy as much as seeing good, thoughtful responses in the comment section. Other bloggers don’t think they’ve made it until they are nominated for some kind of award. Some want readership in the hundreds or thousands. Some want comments galore. Some, like me, just blog because they feel like it. I like to have a “journal” that I can share with family and friends and anyone else who wants to read it. And if someone finds it interesting, that’s great. I might not be a “blogger” in terms of “success” with tons of followers or 200 comments, but I blog because I want to. And that’s enough for me.
Dude, you covered all angles. Subscriptions, comments, post frequency, and so on. I’m surprised you didn’t go all out with word count, font size, and analytics ;).
But seriously, between this and what others have said, I think that it’s obvious there’s no common thread as to what really makes a blogger.
I kinda think that, in some spaces, it’s easier to read “blogger” status than it is in other spaces. For instance, looking at spaces like cooking or software development, it takes a lot of effort to be a credible, reader-worthy source. It’s a dense market, I guess.
Not so true with thinks like cakes. Y’know what I mean?
You’re a blogger.
And, it’s all downhill when you start speaking in #hashtags.
#what?
I have owned and written in my Livejournal religiously since freshman year of college. It’s almost seven years old and has well over 2000 entries. I still write in it almost everyday and share it with a few buds. I also have a photoblog, a 365 blog, and my sporadic design blog. Do I consider myself a blogger? No. It feels like there needs to be a particular amount of openness to be considered a blogger and a reasonably sized readership to go with it. I think you’re a blogger. I don’t think I really am. I’m a phoographer whose hobby/side job spills out onto the Internet sometimes.
“I’m a photographer whose hobby/side job spills out onto the Internet sometimes.” That’s kinda what my Posterous is – somewhat. It’s more just a cacophony of stuff I stumble across that I may wanna eventually look back over or share with others, but has no real significance.
But see, you’re kinda hitting on something that some other commenters have mentioned – you don’t consider yourself a blogger, but the nature of the fact that you blog kinda makes you one.
According to some.
And that’s why this whole blogging this is weird anyway.
I think when they start to make some money blogging and have a pretty big platform (1000 plus readers a day) they are a blogger.
Also, when they get speaking opportunities, etc…because of their blog, they are a blogger. Or when you get to go on a mission trip to raise awareness through your blog (compassion international blog tour) you are a blogger. Or when you go to a conference, for example catalyst, and you are listed as a blogger covering the conference you are a blogger.
I of course do not fit any of these categories therefore I am not a blogger.
Personally, I tend to lean in your direction. When you’ve got a substantial following of people that care to read what you say and converse with you and others on the site via the comments, you’ve kind of arrived. The money angle works, but isn’t a real criteria for me.
And for whatever it’s worth, I consider you a blogger. Maybe you aren’t giving me a play-by-play of Catalyst or whatever, but that’s like saying people aren’t baseball players if they aren’t in the major leagues. Kinda.
Kinda like a blogger turning pro?
Or becoming a sell-out? ;)
Something like that..
Pulling a saddington.
It has a nice condescending ring to it…
… so depressed… thought I was a blogger until I read your post.
now what do I do with my life? ;)
Uh oh. I should’ve kept my mouth shut! Don’t listen to me. Like I said in the post, I’ve really no idea what’s going on ;).
when you hate blogging.
Then you, sir, are clearly not a blogger.
You know what I really dont think about it.. becasue if i think I am a blogger I try to hard to be something I am not. So I am just a guy who has a blog.. If I have people who read it then cool.. if not.. then its cool too.
My original reason to blog was more of an online journal for me to express feelings of what was going on with my son. Now that he has received his ultimate healing.. I am kindof struggling as to what the heck do I write about now. So we will see how things progress in the future.
“So I am just a guy who has a blog.. If I have people who read it then cool.. if not.. then its cool too.” Word – I like that.
“My original reason to blog was more of an online journal for me to express feelings of what was going on with my son.” I don’t have any kids (not yet, at least), but I’ve got major respect for you being public with that stuff. If it came down to it, I don’t know if I could do it.