DISQUS

klecu · 1 year ago

Reminds me some of an article I read at http://thegrowinglife.com/2008/06/not-being-a-r... under the heading "The Fake Unreal LIfe". Don't become your own frustrating boss.

Mark Krynsky · 1 year ago

Good advice Louis. When I first started Lifestream Blog I was very excited to fill a niche that had almost no coverage. It was easy for me to write about all the tools and services for Lifestreaming in a leisurely fashion because nobody was covering it, so I took my time doing so.

Now that Lifestreaming has gained momentum and is covered by all the major blogs I watch stories and news fly by and in many cases I don't write about stuff that is covered well elsewhere. I'm not a big fan of rehashing what's already been said. So now I have to pick and choose what I cover a little more carefully and as such my output has shrunk quite a bit.

I started the blog because I saw this great new concept taking off without much news or info and I was passionate about it and wanted to inform others. I have a day job and I'm not a pro blogger. So as I watched the big boys and others cover the space I got on the treadmill for a little and felt pressured to be the primary source but then realized it was a losing battle.

I still have bouts where I get bummed I missed something or didn't do a better job of coverage, but the fact is blogging in the tech field can be difficult if you try to measure yourself against others. So I'll continue to bring my unique voice, knowledge and experience to my niche in a measured way and hopefully the readers will follow.

Rahsheen · 1 year ago

I have kept a schedule (not on purpose) for the most part, but haven't posted in a while. I was starting to get that anxious feeling, like when I miss a workout. I realize that I don't expect something new every day from my favorite blogs. I like the quality, not the quantity.

This is just what I needed to see today, Louis. Thanks. :)

awilensky · 1 year ago

I think the one piece of good advice I got from listening to the Gilmore gang was that the beauty of RSS was that it lets folks know that you have something to say, when you are ready to say it.

Katew · 1 year ago

Very good point.

Amber S · 1 year ago

Sometimes we all just need to be reminded of things like this.

Jesse Stay · 1 year ago

Great post Louis - unless you're getting paid to post, most bloggers I think would admit they can't make money being a blogger. It's a way to give back, but when we don't have something to give back and hit a slump it gets frustrating. Also, I think too often we get too focused on our blogs and forget that there are other things we need to focus on out there to actually make a livelihood and earn a living. I prefer it when bloggers take time and only post when they have something enlightening and interesting to offer. If they don't have anything, IMO it detracts from their blog.

Nils Geylen · 1 year ago

Sorry, but I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here. It's perfectly clear that some people are closer to the inner circle than others in the current online media and tech business (it's like that with all media, with every profession even) and that sometimes people are chasing an illusion thinking they're part of that.

But the great thing about the internet and esp. the social networks is that everyone can in fact participate and voice their opinion. So what of it when someone works admin all day, but is still in the know and wants to blog about it?

Aren't you being a tad protectionist here, or are you really sharing some TLC saying: "Come come, hush hush, I know you can't keep up but it's okay, it wasn't for you in the first place"?

Sorry if this sounds harsh or anything, it's an honest question as to what your motivation here is, or perhaps: what happened or what you witnessed that prompted this?

Cheers

Louis Gray · 1 year ago

I wouldn't call this protectionist at all. What I have seen is that multiple folks I respect are feeling burnt-out, or otherwise unhappy with their output or focus. My feeling is that they should in fact be just fine with their output, and not get frustrated by meeting unrealistic expectations. Too many people right now are caught up in an unmeasurable rat race or trying to match the pros post for post when they could go back to their roots and focus on making great content or sharing ideas.

My motivation is to step back and reassure folks they have nothing to worry about. As for what prompted it, see the three included links at the top of the story.

Nils Geylen · 1 year ago

Cool, that works for me ;)

No one should *feel* they need to perform beyond their capacity or goals; that is true.

Actually, perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye: the navel-gazing of the industry, the hooray atmosphere, the rat race, indeed. Have the social networks, in that respect, failed? Instead of enhancing conversation (about art, politics, news) they have mercilessly focused on themselves (twittering about Twitter and all that) and anyone not in the loop is having a very hard time getting heard.

I often wonder (and am toying around with doing a poll or some investigation) whether there are alternative Twitter or Friendfeed networks; people discussing other subjects that we never get to see (fashion, undertakers united, doggie wranglers, whatever). It would involve spending some time on Twittervision, I guess, and analyzing the conversation about alternative subjects...

What do you think?

colinwalker · 1 year ago

Nils,

Your navel gazing point is exactly where I was looking but the desire to expand beyond navel gazing can be self defeating at times. We have to achieve a balance with the things we, as individuals, discuss and the people we follow - just saying "I want to follow more people talking about different things" doesn't work as you end up with a stream full of stuff you don't care about. We have to manage the signal to noise ratio but it is very hard to actually find the right blend.

As the number of users increases the ratio grows ever in favour of 'noise' which is of course relative to our own interests but, also, the level of banality increases. If anyone is guilty of being protectionist about anything then it's about keeping healthy disussion rather than filling social networks with rubbish.

My previous experiement on Friendfeed with a new account showed that people are posting far wider reaching things than just the social web but not much of it is actually getting discussed - it is more of an aggregation thing than a medium for conversation but this will continue to change over time as people see the value.

The concept behind social media is great but we must avoid looking at it as some kind of Utopian system - current services are over-hyped and will come and go. Everyone has their own agenda and requirements so there will never be a 'one size fits all' paradise and the sooner we wake up to this the better rather than thinking everyone should use service X in a certain way just because others do.

Social networks haven't failed - maybe our initial perception is what is at fault.

gregorylent · 1 year ago

in the high school lunchroom, conversation always died down after everyone got done with the he said, she said session. it was time to go back to class

Benedikt Köhler · 1 year ago

Somehow this feeling to meet the quota is a built-in feature of blogs. Think of the calendar that highlights and links the days where you have posted an entry, think of the reverse chronological order of blogs - if you're pausing, the topmost content will start to age -, think of all those measurement systems that we use and finally, think of all your lifestreams that are not updated for a while. All those things make it hard to persuade oneself that nobody's keeping score. Part of what causes this feeling is in the code.

Nils Geylen · 1 year ago

That's a good point. And that, as I noted earlier (elsewhere, I forget) is in how we present our content. We should rethink that as well probably. More tags, relationships, subject themes? Less dates and streams?

Jemm · 1 year ago

"The only person keeping score is you."

Well said! +10 points! ;)

robdiana · 1 year ago

Totally agree with the quota idea. Post what you want, when you want and blogging is much more fun. I did not start blogging to get popular, I wanted to get my opinion on paper instead of just talking to a coworker. The one thing I will disagree with is the "nobody is keeping score" concept. There is too much evidence to the contrary, and I even complained on my blog about do we need rankings for everything. Remember, there are subscriber numbers, technorati rank, google reader shares, and any other little counter widget that so many people have on their blogs. More importantly, if you do not care about the score, ingore it and have fun blogging. Of course, I am a complete failure at ignoring the rankings :)

Deanna McNeil · 1 year ago

I am but a humble reader of tech blogs and I unsubscribe from blogs that don't typically offer gravitas on the subject matter that drew me there. You know, even Dooce doesn't blog every day per se!

Steve Woodruff · 1 year ago

I have to admit that I do wrestle, at times, with my "output." The fact is, blogging is a very part-time endeavor for me, and it's very easy to envy the big guns. Thanks for this shot in the arm!

tacanderson · 1 year ago

Great post as usual Louis, and thanks for the mention. You're absolutely right. No one's keeping score. I think part of the problem is that we're all used to being the early adopter of our networks. We're used to being the ones that people come to. And now that all the connectors are connected a lot of us have this natural desire to "stay ahead of the pack" when in reality, outside our fishbowl, we're now light years ahead of most everyone else.

James Joyner · 1 year ago

I think it depends on your niche. If you're doing essay posts, especially in the How To genre, then you're dead-on. If, however, you're doing a newsy site -- commentary on politics, sports, or pop culture -- then weekdaily posts, generally numerous weekdaily posts, is all but essential to building a large readership.

jim · 1 year ago

I post to my blog http://www.mobflix.com at least once a week. Sometimes more. But as a blog about the Organized Crime movies, there is only so much content. I have 190 movies listed and am trying to do 1 review a week and possibly mix it up with other content like vote for your favorite hitman.

But the blog is really a tool for me for my ultimate goal which is to have an Organized Crime movie festival.

But given the content of my blog, it would be too hard to post daily.

newmediamike · 1 year ago

Great post Louis. I just started blogging regularly again. At best my previous efforts were hit and miss, but now I'm offering Daily SEO Tips so I feel it is important not to miss a day.

I decided to do the Daily SEO Tips to do exactly what you say NOT to do, push myself to pump out content on a regular basis. But I'm going to take your advice and I'll re-brand the tips, "newmediaMike's SEO Tips".

Valeria Maltoni · 1 year ago

A couple of thoughts, if I may.

I'd be curious to define "pro" in blog parlance. Is that the bloggers who blog about blogging? Are we talking just tech bloggers? Wouldn't a marketer with a track record of results be defined a pro? Is it only those who make money blogging?

In the world of business perseverance, grace under pressure and speed win. Speed is not to be confused with multitasking or lack of focus. I am talking about determination with an eye firmly fixed on the goal or destination. It's good to have a strategy and then to stay flexible on how to get there. If something you're trying does not seem to work for you, try something else. That might be a cure for burn-out.

Change the game. When everyone is zigging, go ahead and zag. You touched upon it. It works. Take a piece of news. What analysis can you do that nobody else can? Is it part of a trend? Can you expand it within a larger context? How about looking at it in economics terms? Etc.

I would beg to differ on keeping score. Sports teams are not as diligent as the whole 'sphere in keeping score.

Jeff · 1 year ago

Although I agree with you that you should not stress about posting and posting just to post is ridiculous and goes against why anyone would start a blog in the first place, I also feel that now that I'm up and running, I don't want to lose the "fan-base" I've worked hard and ENJOYED growing... So I realize that in order to keep and increase that enjoyment both for me and my readers, I need to dedicate time to keeping my blog interesting and by providing new content....

That being said, I will quit when it's no longer fun, and once a week (if not twice) is a posting frequency level that suits me.

e. · 1 year ago

god i needed to read this. thanks!

EricFriedman · 1 year ago

True - but your own participation can affect your readership.