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May 24, 2006
My year as a blogger
I recently celebrated my first anniversary as a blogger by not posting an entry. Lazy me.
But this is my 149th entry since my first posting last May. I expected to do more, but life got in the way.
Here are five thoughts from a year of blogging.
1. It isn’t easy.
By nature a blog is quick writing. Readers don’t expect fine-tuning and polish. But as a journalist and writer, I cannot lower my standards too much. For one thing, my favorite high school English teacher reads my blog. To borrow a phrase from Robert Graves, she’s the reader over my shoulder.
The secret of writing well is to make it seem effortless. And that takes a lot of effort.
2. Reader response is gratifying.
I knew this from writing for the paper. But after a blog entry, it’s fun to hear from people I know and people I don’t, people from around Concord and people from any of the many and ever-shifting communities that frequent the internet.
Although fewer people write than I’d like, I’ve posted more than 200 responses during the year, so in sheer numbers readers were more productive than I was.
3. Readers like the personal stuff best.
I don’t have the emperical data to support this assertion. In fact, personal entries in the blog sometimes draw negative comments (“Save it for your diary!”) if they draw any at all. But when I hear about the blog from readers close to home, it is almost always after entries about a swim with loons, leaf-raking or my granddaughter Grace's first day of preschool.
4. Blogging is a good way to explain newsroom decision-making.
I’ve made entries here about suicide coverage, photo selection, front-page story choices and many other issues of news judgment. I like the two-way immediacy the blog provides: the ability to recount a decision almost as soon as it is made and the chance this gives readers to share their thoughts.
I wish there were more back-and-forth, but I thank the readers who have weighed in.
5. I’m still not sure what a blogger is.
I don’t read enough blogs to be an expert. Based on a year’s experience, I’d say my blog is a hybrid: an inside look at the Monitor, a little politics, some personal stuff, reflections on the news (and sports), mini-book and movie reviews.
In terms of writing the blog, several oughtas occur to me often. I oughta report more. Shoe leather is never to be underestimated. I oughta link to more other things on the web. I’m not sure any reader has ever clicked on any of the links I’ve provided, but linking seems like an important aspect of blogger world.
And, most of all, I oughta write more often.
Or maybe not, you’re thinking.
Posted by Mike Pride at May 24, 2006 09:25 AM
Comments
Congratulations on your first blogiversary!
Posted by: Nicole at May 25, 2006 09:14 PM
Congrats from a regular reader. By all means, keep at it. It's very well done, insightful, entertaining and informative.
Posted by: Terry Sheridan at June 2, 2006 08:14 AM