Friday, October 02, 2009

When to stop blogging?

  1. When you realize you are putting way too much time into it and getting little in return.
  2. When the amount of your site traffic indicates you should be getting more comments than you are.
  3. When you realize other people get paid to do pretty much the same thing.
  4. When friends and family think you have no other focus in life than the subject matter of your blog.
  5. When you know you have some readers; but when you also see your blog isn’t reaching many people who are interested in the subject matter you write about.
  6. When you go to bed every night stressed out, and, even worse, when you wake up stressed out.
I saw this list on another site and it made me think about my blog.
Point one doesn't apply to me.
Point 2 didn't seem relevant.
Point 3, well yeah! Somebody should pay me...
Point 4, probably true, maybe not.
Point 5, definitely me.
Point 6, no not me.



I've recently found a couple of very good blogs that might interest others.

Here's one about cats http://hbmike2000.blogspot.com

And here's one about anything and everything http://letshaveacocktail.blogspot.com

17 comments:

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

The thing I like about blogging is that it doesn't come with an instruction manual. I scoff at "how to blog" bloggers.

I've had some incarnation of my blog going for 5 years now. I'd be hard pressed to tell you why. If my blog begins to have a "higher purpose" than personal amusement, kill me.

Lexcen said...

beamish, a blog without any comments is to me pointless. I'll keep going as long as I keep getting a response, any response. That's why comments are more important to me than just stats showing how many hits my blog gets.

Mattexian said...

As someone who blogs but doesn't get many comments, I'll say that I blog to get the ideas out of my head, making room for new ones. While it's nice to get comments to gauge how my ideas sound to others, for now it's nice to actually have readers! (I can tell this from my SiteMeter stats.) It's interesting to me to have folks from all over reading my blog, even if they're primarily there from a link about one subject, of which I don't claim to be any type of expert, but merely sharing my rant about it and trying to inform what few "regular" readers I have on the topic. "When to stop blogging?" Hopefully not when you're in jail because of it, but because it's no longer necessary as a means to get stuff off your chest. That kind of contentment looks to be a long ways off to me, for all of us.

Lexcen said...

Thanks Mattexian. I'll link you and try to get more readers for you, including myself.

Anonymous said...

I prefer to comment on other people's blogs than actually blog myself. Some topics resonate, others, not so much. I get desperate at times and Google blog topics... usually specific philosophers like Nietzsche, and then I annoy the blog authors to the point that they tell me to get lost. What can I say, I'm an annoying, and unusually pedantic PITA (pain in the *ss). Even trolls run from me.

btw - thanks for not telling me to get lost... yet. ;-)

Lexcen said...

FJ, I'd never tell you to get lost.
I value your opinion too much.

Jeannie said...

Why would someone stress about their blog? Other than the trepidation that comes with the first few posts into the blogosphere. Perhaps some people take themselves and their thoughts far too seriously.

I don't read any paid for blogging blogs. I find them a bit ridiculous as they are generally no more experts on whatever they prattle about than I am (techy kinda stuff aside). I find I lose interest even in the non-paid but exceedingly popular blogs.

I like real people with few enough followers that my comments aren't lost in the melee of worshipers. Especially if they can stand to be civilly disagreed with.

Lexcen said...

Jeannie, I never comment when there are fifty or so comments already on a post.

RightKlik said...

Don't give up. It takes a while to build a following.

Anonymous said...

I like not having a sitemeter.
This post, by the way, is thought provoking. I often wonder why I blog. I probably delete more posts than I publish. Terrible thing, exposure anxiety.

I enjoy your blog, Lex. Oh, and thanks for the link to the NYC photoblog!

Lexcen said...

RightKlik, until now I didn't think you had a blog, since I can't connect to you via the Followers icon.
Jen, you have a great blog.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Lex. I think it's mostly bullshit and sarcasm. But that may just be the real me, in which case, it's authentic.

Scarlet said...

For me blogging is like an interactive journal/scrapbook. It's entertaining and freeing...a place where you can document your life, connect with people from all over the world and share your thoughts/ideas. I love it!

Mariana Soffer said...

Very interesting post, I like it, I was thinking about this lately.
One comment in case number 5 there is no need to stop blogging, you can close you current blog and start another one, where you should try to catch an audience with your same interests.

I think I will stop blogging when I get bored of it, when I have nothing to say to other people or when I feel that everything I write is stuppid.

Thanks dude for making me think

nanc said...

lex - believe me, for every person leaving a comment, there are two or three others JUST reading and NOT commenting, or so i'm told by others who send me emails telling me how their great aunt on their father's side just loved such and such post of mine. the important thing is just being able to have a ventlet (my word for venting outlet).

Anonymous said...

Uh oh. Lex? Have you stopped blogging? :P

Lexcen said...

Jen, I've been very busy this week and probably had no time to think about issues. As you know, my blog isn't so much about my day to day activities as it is about following a train of thought. Thanks for asking Jen.

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