Thems the Breaks
Hello again everybody to what could be my last post until July 25th. I?ll be ?off the grid? for a week, meaning no net access from Sunday Night ? Friday Night, where bad things could certainly happen. Or will they?
It?s strangely intriguing how I can think of my life as being so tied to a machine that when that tether is disconnected it may feel scary or enlightening. I?m just not sure yet.
However, I want to talk today about what I want to achieve with this blog, how blogging affects others, and some hilarious stuff for you to laugh at concerning these Web Logs that we devour.
Firstly, Brian is back and has trimmed his site quite a bit. It?s content, content, content from that guy now, with no amazon links, buttons, or stat trackers amongst them. He admits to falling into the stat-trap, as it were, where writers such as himself (and myself) will get overly concerned with traffic and numbers.
What?s worse? Even with two stat programs on this page, I still have no idea how many subscribers I have to this RSS feed (Thanks Blogger!). It could be a few hundred or a few thousand. I do know that the atom.xml file (that?s the RSS feed in these parts) got over 12,000 hits last month. Of course with newsreaders, services like bloglines, and search engines checking the feed, those garner ?artificial? hits, so I put my number of actual humans who read this blog somewhere in the 200+ people range. I don?t know if that?s good or bad for what I do, but I will happily admit I?m enthused and humbled by my readership.
Brian asks in his post, ?What is your motivation?? To be read. It?s as simple as that. Because to be read is to be heard, and sometimes that develops into conversations and sometimes it develops into friendships. Sometimes it develops into jobs, businesses, and more.
I mean, just the other day a local job recruiter emailed me about potential sys admin jobs in the area I might be qualified for. The only reason he found me was because I write this blog. Right out of the blue! I mean, flattering isn?t really the word. Astounding is the closest I can come up with.
It?s also strange happenstance that 43 Folders are analyzing their own traffic today, while the ever-hilarious and pseudo-inspirational Maddox just posted his I Hate Blogs manifesto. Be sure to check out the latter when not digesting fluids, or they just might take a quick exit through your nasal cavaties.
I?m thinking about blogging and its impact because I?m pushing my workplace into blogging, and there have been issues with this effort. Either they think it will reflect badly on the company, questions about negative comments, and even more questions about the work involved, the trepidation has gotten thick enough that even I?ve been second guessing myself a time or two.
To quote a naysayer on the idea of the company I work for blogging: ?Nothing good can come of it.? I, of course, beg to differ.
But to ask your employer, whose bread and butter usually relies on very personal relationships, to put your company, reputation, and ideas on the web in a blog is a tough sell. It always will be, regardless of how popular blogs may become. I mean, IBM isn?t blogging, but both Sun and Microsoft are enjoying great success in doing so. The difference in these companies is usually not the argument of ?Here?s why we should blog,? but ?Here is why we should not.?
And I got all the Should Nots I can stand. It?s the positives that seem so hard to find in situations like these.
But in the end, blogging is a great tool. I believe it has made me a better, more consistent, and studious writer. Keeping a 5?day writing schedule has forced me to put thoughts into words and to keep doing so day after day. This makes writing easier and more enjoyable. The benefits of this blog far outweigh the things that sometimes go wrong.
So in the immortal words of Maddox, let me leave you with a quote:
If minds had anuses, blogging would be what your mind would do when it had to take a dump.
No matter what your opinion of the guy, he sure as hell brings the funny. You guys take care, I?ll be back soon!
Of all these weird creatures who lock up their spirits
Drill holes in themselves and live for their secrets
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