A Thanksgiving week away from the office was enough to break my early morning research and writing regime...and to wonder if all of this time blogging is worth the effort. Then, out of the blue comes an email or a comment or a referral to an old post that re-kindles the interest and makes me want to do more.
Several years ago, I was part of a business venture that enjoyed a few years of success but then failed. My research in business focused on how to get a business started and keep it going...I somehow missed the chapter on "When things go terribly wrong and you are forced to close your doors". I reflect on that experience a lot more than I should, but I believe that some of us take blogging far too seriously and don't know how or when to bow out gracefully. Fellow (semi-retired) blogger, Bill Hobbs, related a story to me recently explaining that some high traffic and income producing blogs ponder the same 'is it worth it' question and can answer: that the money makes an impact on their decision to continue. But for those of us in the majority, thoughts of making significant amounts of cash via a blog are more dillusion than reality...so, there must be something else that drives us. Looking across my blogroll, I see humor, passion for causes, community building, ranting, thought provoking commentary, and generally a lot of niche voices that would not be heard without the tools and platform that a blog provides.
- There are a couple of blogger, characteristic patterns that I see developing (but not yet researched) within the blogosphere:
- There are bloggers who are driven by rankings and traffic who will do just about anything to draw attention to themselves/their blogs...(ego trumps substance)
- There are bloggers whose passion for their topic drives them to do great research, link to sources, and persistently engage their readers...rankings result more organically and substantively
- There are bloggers who post only when the urge, opportunity, or inspiration strikes - and they seemingly could care less about how many people read, comment on their posts, or what their rankings may be...just an opportunity to speak, and possibly be heard is enough.
- There are bloggers whose high quality posts are some combination of great writing, personal revelation, humor, inspiration, and entertainment that they gain a following and momentum from their readership's encouragement/comments - these have found the perfect outlet for their expression and that matches with the needs of their readers (a marketer's dream)
Ultimately, I believe the blogger makes a decision, consciously or subconsciously, as to what kind of blogger they will be or what will motivate them to blog. Oddly enough, I doubt that most bloggers enter into the frey with a realistic concept of how their writing will be received or ranked. On the reflection side, when the 'is this worth it' thought comes around, an honest assessment of personal motivation may mean that it is time to look into the 'How to bail out of the blogosphere gracefully' chapter. For now, I am still in the hunt... but I am digging a little deeper into 'why'.