Viva La Blog!
I have been blogging for quite a while now and I absolutely
love doing it – even though I am sometimes pushed for time. It’s a busy busy
world, I fear…
I have relished reading many folks’ blogs (although actually
wished I hadn’t visited with just a few) and I love the chit chat with
commenting and reciprocating. I feel as if I have made many new friends, whom I
will probably never meet, but I feel I know them reasonably well anyway. Their
lives, I have learnt are just as full on as my own and I realise I am not the
only one who sometimes struggles to keep all the balls in the air. Linking to
other people’s blogs and joining in blog hops, tours etc. is also great fun.
One of the other great things about blogging, I have found,
is that it sharpens my writing up and gets me to practise being brief and
concise without losing any of the essence of what I am trying to say. In fact, I would say I am probably a better
writer because of blogging. I am constantly stimulated and enriched by reading
other blogs – I never realised there were so many interesting and innovative
bloggers out there. .. Fine fodder for inspiration and good story ideas!!
I used to worry about
the time it takes up but nowadays I am much more chilled out about it as I
realise it is actually helping me become a better writer. It is teaching me something else too –
perseverance! When I started I had no followers or readers and rarely did
anyone say anything useful to me. Now I get so much from my comments and loads
of advice and tips about writing generally, that I sometimes feel a little swamped.
But it all comes directly from blogs. Viva La Blog!!!
BUT I do have one or two small gripes… (Please bear with me
as I’m sure other people might agree with me.)
Why do people use the captcha? I know it is supposedly more
secure but it makes me want to scream. I
have sometimes spent more of my precious time trying to get it right than I did
reading and writing a comment! I refuse to do it anymore. If I cannot get it
right the first time now I am inclined to leave it! Which is a shame when I
have read a post and have something to say… It also makes me wonder if those
bloggers really want comments when they are making their readers jump through
hoops. The reader should always come
first in our thoughts and plans – I say!
The second gripe is about the length of some blog posts! I
do not have time to scroll and read through great long excerpts or ‘all around
the garden’ opinions. Please, please be brief-ish! I for one will be much more
likely to return and read future posts.
There! Gripe done! I feel so much better…
I must say, I agree with everything you've said. Viva la blog! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you will take the time to read mine as it is a bit longer than I normally write, but like you I enjoy short and to the point blogs best. Though, if I do find it interesting enough I'll read the longer one too.
ReplyDeleteThose captcha deals are a pain. And if a post is really long I either skim or skip, depending on my time and inclination.
ReplyDeleteI always start reading long posts, but I do sometimes fade out and comment I what I read so far. The problem with doing that is my comment might end up being completely inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteI also find I never read all the posts if the blogger posts daily - I follow so many people I have to spread my time around rather than focus on the same 20. I wish I had time for everyone, whatever length, but I have to write and work too.
Hi, Pat! I certainly agree about the captcha. I even mentioned to a blogging friend that maybe she ought to get rid of it, and she responded that she needed it because someone had previously harassed her via the blog. But I don't know why captcha would stop that. You can monitor the comments and not post anything you don't want.
ReplyDeleteI also agree about the uber long posts. I just can't stay around to read those, unfortunately.
Nice to meet you, btw!
I agree with you on both the positives and negatives of blogging. All in all though, I thoroughly enjoy meeting new people and learning new things. The other issues are minor in comparison
ReplyDeleteI agree with you too! But I love blogging because it keeps me in touch with what's going on in the writing and book world.
ReplyDeleteHah hah I know I feel badly about the long posts I used to write. I try to keep them brief now or at least arrange the info so that people don't have to read all of it if they choose not to. With so many blogs to visit, you're right, brevity is key!
ReplyDeleteWonderful, wonderful post! I agree I've met some interesting people but I know I will NEVER be able to meet them in person. You all are so nice online that it seems like I'm chatting with you in person when I'm actually not.
ReplyDeleteI agree I dislike those word verification thingies. They're so annoying that I might as well not leave a comment but I do. I love commenting on blogs...it's the best thing that the Blogosphere has to offer.
Very, very eye-opening post! Thanks! :)