Back in 2005 when I started blogging more consistently (there was a brief period in 2004 when I dipped my toes into this here thing, then there was a gap) (Also, good gosh, has it really been 6 years?), I tended to blog quite a bit about work. As many (most?) who blog about their workplaces do, I kept myself reasonably anonymous except to a tiny handful of family who I shared this link with. As time went on, the link got shared with more people, the blogging became considerably less about work and more about life in general, and blogging itself changed somewhat. And now I find myself connected on Facebook to friends that I made through this blog. Facebook, where I use my whole real name.
Readership of blogs in general and my blog in particular has dipped since Facebook took flight. I find this sad on a number of levels - but mostly because I just don't think a status update is nearly as lovely as a blog post. Nor do I think they're intended to be the same. That said, I find myself envying my friends who blog who post links to their posts on FB. Maybe it's only my imagination, but I suspect that they get more reads than I do. On the other hand, it doesn't look like many of those reads translate into comments, so there's that. And on the other-other hand, does it really matter?
I've always blogged for myself - not in hopes of making a living or becoming a blog-famous personality or anything like that. So I will say I find just about as much enjoyment blogging today as I did when I had three times as many people reading and at least a few people commenting each day. (On the other hand, maybe I posted more comment-worth material back in the day. That could be the problem right there.)
But the question flits through my mind more often these days - should I give up the pretense of partial-anonymity and link to my blog from social sites?
21 hours ago
I think about this as well, especially since my old blog has not been resurrected (and most likely will not be) since it was hacked a couple of months ago.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's a sad thing that FB has overtaken blogs. I like FB for what it is, but I think there's still a place for a good blog post.
This may or may not be helpful, but the response to the question I posted on Facebook - "Should I link to new blog posts here?" - was given a unanimous "yes" vote by those who bothered to respond. So, that's what I'll do.
ReplyDeleteI've been hesitant to cross-promote my blog via FB and Twitter, thinking that it might be viewed as crass and/or inconsiderate, but, apparently, it is or is becoming an accepted practice. So, if you can get around the anonymity issue, I say link away.
And, FWIW, I read all of your posts without ever visiting your site (generally) via my feed reader. I think that's also a big part of why comments are down. You're not the only blogger experiencing that phenomenon. Further, when I do link from FB, I get more comments about the post on FB than on the blog itself. As Pogo would say, it's a separate but equal answer.
definitely post links to your blog entries. i think people may comment on fb instead of at the blog, but at least its interactive :) there are several good programs out there that automatically post to facebook on your behalf. hopefully google will offer a function to post to google+ automatically
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