What Is Blogging?

I know what my blog is, kinda. It’s pretty similar to your blog. But if I look on the internet for ways to improve my blog, there’s very little pertinent results. It seems more about marketing and profit and increasing sales and the number of hits. A lot are political. like the writer just wants to be a news source. When I look for ways to improve my blog, I’m just talking about being a better writer and posting posts that are more enjoyable for my readers.

The way I see it, you and I are part of a team, you read my blog, I read yours, we comment on each others posts, we’re just regular people, and our blogs of a kind of (for lack of a better word, forgive me,) hobby. But are we the minority? When I search for more blogs to follow, all I get are professional blogs, like corporate blogs. Not just somebody blogging like you and me. The ONLY good way I’ve found to find fellow bloggers like us is by what I call bloghopping.

Bloghopping…

If you go back to my blog archives, and look at comments from say, 10 years ago, you’ll find that almost none of them are still blogging. Unfortunately, bloggers seem to come and go. Periodically I have to replenish my ‘follow’ list on my reader, find new blogs. Finding blogs like ours is difficult.

Try it! If you use the WordPress App, go to the reader, and select anything exept “Followed Sites”. When I do that, looking for new blogs, I don’t find any I want to follow, to me they’re they’re all corporate, professional industrial blogs, even the good sounding ones, once I go look at them. Try the same thing on Feedly, or any reader you may be using. It’s even worse if you search using the web browser.

So what is blogging? I can’t imagine being able to use this blog to make money, or having a thousand followers. I’d like to, if I didn’t have to change everything, turn it into a sterile personality-less blog.

I like my blog, I don’t want to change a thing, except keep it going and make it better. If I get a good idea, I might act on it, but pretty much, I think I lack imagination and creativity. which is possibly why I’m happy with things now.

What do you think? I get the feeling that this is a somewhat incoherent post, too rambly. I hope not.

Have a great day!

19 thoughts on “What Is Blogging?

  1. Well this is going to be a long comment.
    On my blog ” MY BLOG LIST” Is the best way to find other bloggers that are still blogging. Don’t forget to click the show all button at the bottom of the list. You can see how recent they have posted. But another way, on blogger, is to go to “View my complete profile”. On there you will find all the blogs I have “followed”. Some are not active anymore but most are. Then click on one that peaks your interest. Then check their “View my complete profile”. See who they are following. If you run across someone that follows pages and pages of other blogs they are probably trying to make money. PIck someone else. You would be surprised how ‘far away’ from your blog you can get. And then all of a sudden you will run across, in someone else’s list, a blog that you already know about. You can spend a LOT of time doing this.

    Or you can participate in things like “Battle of the Bands” at http://www.cherdoontheflipside.com/. Go to her site where is it all explained.

    The I’m not sure how many comments you have to leave to get one back. It varies from blogger to blogger.

    • Sounds very similar to my definition of “Bloghopping’.
      Back in the day, Google reader was best. Nothing has been able to replace it.

  2. Part 3 – And if you reply to comment as you do, you’ll pick up a few more people. I used to reply to everyone. But over the years I lost followers because some ‘didn’t get’ my sense of humor. And politics can drive followers away. Especially in today’s climate.

    I think I’m done.

    • I agree, I’ve considered un-following some blogs that turned out to be political, but I’ve never done it. Pretty sure I’ve neen un-followed though.

  3. I agree—there aren’t nearly as many personal blogs as there was when we first started blogging. And really good ones are hard to come by.

    I hope to have more interesting content in the next year, when all the munchkins are out of the house and in college.

    I would really like to get back to posting every day, too.

    One thing there’s more of, though, is trolls. Trolls that seek to destroy your reputation and ruin your life.

    Being a front runner in a national treasure hunt can really bring in some haters!

    Thankfully, I think the cease and desists I’ve been forced to issue through my attorney worked, and the hate has finally abated. Took over two years though!

    • Fortunately I haven’t had that problem. My Askimet spamguard is the best!
      I think there’s a lot of personal blogs, but they’re hard to find.

    • I’m not sure I’d like it if two people ended up having a personal conversation over here in the comments section. Probably wouldn’t delete it, but wouldn’t like it.

  4. I tried to leave a comment on your blog but I think google+ won’t take it. (You know google+ is going away don’t you?) Anyway, I was trying to leave the following comment on myeverwonderland.blogspot.com/2018/10/asperger-outtake.html.

    Have you ever taken the Wired Magazine geek test?
    wired.com/2001/12/aqtest/

    • I like Mindy, we have been blog friends for many years. I feel like I know her probably better than I really do, but I feel protective of her. Not sure she’d appreciate the link. It does not lead to a happy, funny geek test. Your other messages with links didn’t make it through the spamguard, and I rekkon I’ll just leave it that way.

      • Did you take the test Mark? I got a 41 on it. Aspergers all the way. That’s why I told Mindy to take it.

        And I think my comment problem on her site has something to do with google plus. Because the first time I tried to leave a comment there wasn’t a link in it. But as I said, I read google plus is going away so that should fix a few things. Just like I don’t get comment email notifications from Bilbo because he uses google plus.

        And even though I click the box for follow up email comment notifications here, I never get them.

  5. I’ve been approached since I started blogging by people willing to pay to advertise on the blog, but declined because I wouldn’t want to be obligated to anyone. When your blog is entirely your own you can blog without restriction. I love reading blogs from around the world, you learn something new everyday, which is always a good thing ☺

    • I was emailed several times by a girl who wanted me to post a post about plastic pollution in the ocean. We had a short email conversation, and I posted it. Then she disappeared.
      I get commments and emails about making money with the blog, but consider them spam.

  6. Where to start? I too have ‘lost’ many blogs I read over the years as they gave up, or migrated to Facebook. So many did go to Facebook! I love my little blog. I will NEVER try to make money off it .. or put links on it or anything like that. It’s my little online diary of sorts. I love when you and others comment, and I always try to get around to leaving you and them comments too (if they have a blog). I no longer ‘bloghop’ as I simply don’t have the time. Yes, I’m a kept woman (don’t work outside the home), but I’m still busy! I’ve been approached many , many times and been asked to feature someone else’s content on my blog, or to monetise it… as you said… SPAM. Or someone out to use me. Never gunna happen. Let’s just keep doing what we are doing, as long as we enjoy it! I know I enjoy your blog.

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