Blogger down, blogger down
Aaron Peck over at Carp Dime is contemplating blogicide. I hope you'll swing by his latest post and talk him away from the delete key. He's been blogging inconsistently (haven't we all?) for nine years, so it's worth your 3 minutes to hammer out an encouragement comment.
Listen to the desperation in his plea:
Sure, Google Analytics tells me the number of people who view the blog every day. But for all I know, these people are clicking over, browsing the headline, then clicking away.
That being the case, I think I might quit. I've always said that the things I write here are more for me than anyone else. If that's true, why am I not just collecting my thoughts in a private Word document?
I did my part. Here's the comment I left:
Two things. 1. Don't stop. 2. Consider moving your blog to Wordpress.com. There is a much more interactive community there, and I believe it's better for connecting with others.
A few other thoughts:
I've felt as you do many times. I know I write good content. Not tooting my own horn. I just know it. I spend a lot of time trying to write well to inform, encourage, and equip. I also write for fun and to make people laugh. I want to build a community through my blog. Yet the feedback and comments are few and far between at times. It's discouraging to get 20+ comments on some stupid picture I post on Facebook and then get none on a theological post on my blog. So I feel your pain.
Yet, I'd encourage you to keep at it. And make sure you're linking to other blogs and leaving comments on other blogs as well. It's the old "you've got to be a friend to have a friend" in the blogosphere.
Finally, don't give up. Keep plugging away. You'll be glad you've documented life, thoughts and current events one day or week at a time. Sometimes I'm surprised by how my blog actually encourages me as I peruse an old article as a result of a search. "Haven't I written on that before?" is usually how it begins.
Hope this is encouraging.
The lack of feedback on a blog is indeed discouraging for most. With the advent of feed readers and email subscriptions, it's even harder to take the time to surf on over to the specific blog and leave a comment. I'm the world's best lurker but worst commenter.
It'd be a shame to allow Aaron to fade away with a whimper. Leave a comment. Add Carp Dime to your feed list. And maybe leave a comment here...
Similar Posts about Blog Commenting:
Commenting on blogs is important. For reasons that I've listed before, I prefer having interaction with readers and authors. There are only a couple of blogs that I read that disallow commenting. The authors' reasons for doing this (for the specific two I refer to) are to enable them to focus on quality content. My contention, however, is that content is augmented and enhanced by the comments of others. It also allows readers to feel more ownership and to feel like they're contributing to that particular blog's community.
BLOG LURKERS (check out the comments on this entry)