Blogs Blogs Everywhere

The Blog Universe Exploded and We’re All Drowning in the Fallout

By Jeff Salter

Topic: What characteristics make for an interesting blog? Do you regularly read many/any blogs (besides this one)? Why or why not?

This topic was one of my suggestions… largely because it’s clear the readership of our 4F1H group blog has fallen considerably during it’s 12-year run. I wish I knew what would / could rejuvenate our blog in a way that would attract new readers and entice former readers to return.

Now for this week’s topic:

Let me preface this with a few observations:

With Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and all the other “social media” venues out there, it’s difficult – for me, anyway – to completely separate “blogging” from “posting.” I guess the chief distinction is that POSTERS provide material that is (normally) visible in the initial click, whereas BLOGGERS provide material that is only visible after you click THRU the initial link to the “site”. [I’m sure somebody more tech savvy than me can explain it better, and I invite them to do so.]

If I clicked on all the blogs that potentially interested me – or all the blogs by people who I’m connected to (however loosely) – I fear I’d do nothing but click on blogs all day. The ether-verse is awash with blogs, vlogs, and the like. And, sadly, many of them – my opinion – are not worth the effort.

The domains or sites or hosts (whatever they’re called) which provide free blogging space tend to be driven by pop-up ads, sign-in windows, or other obstacles which have the sole effect of turning away potential readers of the material itself. The more clicks / keystrokes you require of me to reach your material… the less likely I am to make the effort.

What characteristics make for an interesting blog?

I love humor — of many varied types. You want my attention and return visits to your blog? Then make it funny!

That said, I’m gonna flip the subject. As a career librarian and a life-long seeker of out-of-the-ordinary curiosities, it would be difficult for me to name a topic that does NOT interest me… at least a little. One might say I have very eclectic tastes / interests. So I can better respond to this question by stating the characteristics that make for (for me) an UN-interesting blog.

I don’t want the content to be so narrowly focused that it’s hardly different, week to week, than the material already covered 52 times last year. For example: let’s say you’re blogging about WW2 American military helmets. After you’ve dealt with the development and production and three primary manufacturers, what else is there to cover? Week after week, you just focus on a particular battlefield pickup? Why not broaden that blog to include all the countries involved in that war… or broaden it to include other 20^th Century wars/conflicts? If you’re a helmet fanatic, why not broaden your topic to include other periods? Maybe go back to Roman times, etc.

Conversely, I’m not drawn to a blog which is mostly political in nature. Lord knows, these are antsy times in which so many people have hair triggers about so many issues. Anything that stirs us up or causes further divisions… is not for me. Just as I avoid those TV talk shows where “panels” of mouthy, self-annointed experts pontificate on political issues… I also avoid bloggers who do the same. All it does is raise my blood pressure.

I don’t want to read a blog with so much personal drama. Yes, I understand some people blog about illnesses, or grief, or tragedy, etc. And I can understand there are likely people going through similar issues who CAN find comfort therein. But, for me, it’s a struggle to read about such struggles.

Do you regularly read many/any blogs (besides this one)?

Frankly, no. I don’t have time… and cannot afford to take on any additional distractions. There have been a few – mostly by fellow authors – that I HAVE followed regularly. One – by my friend Jenn Bray-Weber – alternated as informational one week and writing prompt the next week. I looked forward to the writing prompts and nearly always had something to submit. I can’t think of any others that I read without fail… though there are several which I check out periodically (depending on the topic, whose blog it is, and whether I’m “free” at that moment to indulge).

Question:

What about YOU? Which blogs – or how many blogs – do you read regularly?

[JLS # 635]