Christopher Althouse, who tried blogging but has decided to quit, in a comment on the site of Richard Lawrence Cohen, his father, who's decided to slow down (confirming my impression that the blogosphere in general is shaking out and slowing down):
If writing is your escape from dying, blogging is the last format you should use. Every blog post "dies" after a handful of recent posts push it to the bottom--off the page entirely. Yes, it's in the archives, but that's a graveyard of words to the blog readers who have thousands of sites to choose from.
Incestuous hat tip: Althouse.
Writing, like talking, helps us organize our thoughts. Trying to explain our private thoughts to others results in clearer and better defended ideas.
We can find blogs on any subject. Who cares if our words scroll off the screen? The improved organization of our mind -- and the new brain cells we might have grown -- will not scroll away.
Posted by: realpc | June 27, 2006 at 03:37 PM
Well said, RealPC.
A blogger should know why he blogs as well. Are you driving for audience size? Just getting your thoughts organized? Writing for a small audience? Writing for yourself? Writing to kill time?
It seems that Richard Cohen has reached an end-state for his original purpose. Christopher Althouse Cohen just seems to have simply found it to be unsatisfying. (John Althouse Cohen had enough personal insight to realize he didn't want to do it in the first place.)
But for some it has clearly been perfect. Ann Althouse seems to have found a perfect vehicle for her personal tastes: blogging as performance art, longstyle. Glenn Reynolds now has a forum in which he can say "Hey, look at this!" while trying to equal Asimov's word-count, one "Heh" at a time. A host of political junkies have found a way in which to participate more fully in the political debate without having to give up their day jobs. (And others have managed to MAKE it their day job.)
And then there are those of us who have simply found blogging to be the best possible forum in which to bitch about the officiating in our sports of choice. For us, blogging is a release valve, allowing us to get over it and get on with our lives - get busy blogging so we can get busy living. No reason for the 'or' in every case....
Posted by: Icepick | June 27, 2006 at 04:34 PM
BTW, I hope your return voyage was uneventful.
Posted by: Icepick | June 27, 2006 at 04:48 PM
Icepick has a valid point. I'm of the frame of mind that why you blog is as important as what you blog about. Both say something about who you are.
I blog to organize my thoughts, so that only the willing have to listen to me kvetch, to see what will happen, to inform, and maybe just maybe change a mind or two. (So far I've changed one mind in six months)
In a world where blogs are a penny a dozen anyone blogging with motives any larger than those are setting themselves up for potential dissapointment.
Now having said that odds are the "blogosphere" has reached the apex of its bell curve. But thats not really a bad thing IMO because in the end those that are passionate, consistent, persistant, quality oriented, and those that read them will be the real beneficiaries.
Maybe the Cohens need to take some time to analyze their motives, passion, and commitment and see where that leads them.
Posted by: Dyre42 | June 28, 2006 at 04:06 AM