Blog What Interests You
As a new blogger, I find myself viewing each post with a certain degree of apprehension. In fact, as stated earlier, I have started blogging and stopped blogging many times over the years simply because I have this critical voice inside my head that can shut down my writing...especially for a blog.
In Forget 'Readership', Blog What Interests You, Rick Brannen offers some good advice for bloggers. Brannen states,
Simply blog what you want to. Blog what is interesting to you. Don't write posts to impress people, write posts that reflect what you're thinking and learning. For me, that's the best reason to blog. Not to sound erudite, or to compete with other bloggers for attention share. If you're genuine in your writing, then the folks that you really want to read your stuff will find it, and bookmark you, and aggregate you, and link to you.
Like all things American, the blogosphere has become an entrepreneurial mega-mall. There are thousands of bloggers trying to follow the path of some of the superstar bloggers making big money with their blogs. Why have a few dozen readers, they argue, when you can have tens of thousands? And if you have tens of thousands, think of all the money you can make!
In fact, as you search for advice on how to improve your blog, many of the sites end up pointing you in the direction of trying to make money with your blog. Forget it! Don't do it! If you follow that path, then something that started out as an enjoyable hobby will become a task. It will become work.
I want to blog what interests me. If you read my blog, you will get a picture of what I am thinking about and what I am reading and researching. I appreciate Rick's advice: "Simply blog what you want to. Blog what is interesting to you."
The Empire Strikes Barack
For those of you ready for a little humor in the battle between Barack and the Clintons, this is "must see TV."
Blogging - Starting Again!
Starting to blog on a regular basis has been on my "To Do" list for a long time. In fact, my first attempt at blogging started during the summer of 2004. Presidential politics were on my mind, and I can remember blogging about the race between George W. Bush and John Kerry.
While I consider myself a writer, finding my "blogging voice" has been difficult. Journaling is very natural, but there is a perfectionist bug in my system that prohibits me from diving in to blogging with the same passion I have for blogging. So, dear readers, please endure me for a few entries as I get started. At the same time, I hope my early trials prove to be an encouragement to other would be bloggers who can't seem to find their voice. Here's to perseverance.