| I want to talk a bit about why I blog. I've gained so much blogging: most of my best friends, a book deal, speaking engagements, amazing professional connections, and the ability to help people I've never even met change their eating habits, swap manure for chemicals on their garden, or call their Congressperson. But my reason for blogging - and my perceptions of blogging - changed from when I first got started.
Blogging Terms
First off, let's talk a little bit about some blogging terms for anyone who is new to blogs. Let's say you read blogs but you don't write or comment. That's makes you a lurker. Some lurk because they don't want to reveal their identities, they don't feel they have anything to contribute, or they just simply aren't interested or don't have time. Or maybe they lack the computer skills to do anything but read.
If you want to respond to a post someone else wrote, you can comment. The best blogs have lots of comments, with interesting conversations and information in the comments that are sometimes even better than the original post itself. (By the way - when I say blog post or diary, they mean the same thing.)
If you want to go on a blog and write nasty comments, that makes you a troll. A troll on some food sites is Audrae Erickson, President of the Corn Refiners Association. But she's not that bad. She's a hit and run commenter - she posts one comment and then goes quietly away. The worst trolls are the ones that follow you around and really harass you. And if anyone does that on this site, I will ban them so they can't continue to do so.
When you want to share something that isn't a direct response to another person's diary, you can post it as a comment in an open thread if you'd like. An open thread is a diary that people can post comments to about any topic they want. On this site we call our open threads Pot Luck. If you have something to say that is more substantial than just a comment, you can post a diary.
If people like your diary, they can recommend it. With enough recommends, you will make the Recommended List - a list of the top 8 recent diaries. If you consistently write good diaries, I will invite you to post on the front page of La Vida Locavore (instead of the Diaries Page, where everyone else's diaries show up by default).
Hope that helps!
Why I Blog
At first I blogged because I wanted to shout things to the world through the biggest megaphone I could find, and there was no way anyone would actually publish anything I had to say. The quickest, easiest way to get your words out to the world is through a blog... although if you can't get people to read your blog it probably doesn't do you much good.
Over time, my reasons changed. Now I CAN get published... although blogging is still quicker. Whether my published articles or my blog posts get more readers is a tossup. I have no idea. BUT, I really appreciate how much freedom I have in my blogging vs. published articles. For instance:
- When you blog you can share in depth info on a subject you feel your readers need to understand that would be seen as an unnecessary tangent in a published article.
- A blog post can be informal, and it's OK if your grammar's not perfect. People will get over it.
- A blog post can be posted immediately, vs. having to wait for a published article to be published.
- You don't have to pitch a blog post to an editor and hope it appeals to them. You just write it.
- You can use creativity in getting attention to your blog post. Write it from the point of view of your dog. Swear in the title. Write something satirical. There are no rules.
- A blog post gets instant feedback. You immediately know what people thought and you can respond to anyone who disagrees or connect with those who agree to collaborate further.
- A blog post can change after it's been posted if you get feedback that necessitates it (for example - someone gives you some great info in a comment, so you add it to your post).
- The world are your fact checkers and they will nail you if you screw up. Which means you have a REALLY strong incentive to get your facts correct.
- Blogs feel very personal and human to readers. You can connect with them in a way you cannot using other media.
Why I Read Blogs
I have a few favorite types of things that can only be seen on blogs.
First - sometimes a person is in the right place at the right time, and they can post about it whereas a reporter can't post a firsthand account.
Second - sometimes a person is an expert in an obscure topic that reporters don't understand well, and they can explain it on the blog. (For example, a coal mining expert wrote a blog piece during the Sago mine tragedy that a lot of people read.)
Most of all - it's a meritocracy in which the best writing gets the most exposure, and because none of the writers are beholden to advertisers, the writing lacks the spin of the mainstream media. |
