About Blogging
I spent the weekend thinking about blogging.
Okay, that’s not true. Technically I spent the weekend preparing for a dinner party, eating duck, writing in a café, and spending too much on food. But while I was doing all that, I was thinking about blogging.
Mostly I was thinking about what kind of blog I wanted this site to be. I mean, obviously it’s where I rant or talk about Race, Gender, Politics, etc. There are plenty of these types of blogs on the Internet, yes, and I can only hope that I bring an interesting voice to the crowd. Many of the bloggers on my blogroll talk about the same stuff, and all of them are sharp, amazing people. They are usually more timely than I am. And I’ve been thinking about that.
You see, I do listen to radio news every day. I do not read the paper or watch TV news (don’t have a TV…). I hear about 20 different news items in a day that make me angry. I cannot blog about them all. I don’t have the time. This is not a dig at bloggers who do have the time. I really appreciate those who make it their business to keep up with the things going on in the world that interest or anger them. Many times, I get my news from blogs, too. I’ve just been worrying that my readers expect to get their news from me, too.
Not because anyone is making demands on me. Just because I have reported some news stuff in the past and made a real effort to be timely. But the more I do this kind of blogging, the more I feel like I’m best when I’ve given things time to marinate in my brain. Also, given the crazy changing nature of ‘news’ these days, the story you hear about an incident or action the day it happens may end up being vastly different a week, a month, or a year later. And, let me tell you, I hate being reactionary because I hate it when other people are.
I’m working hard at not being a hypocrite.
So, what does it all mean? It simply means that I don’t plan to jump up and blog every time something happens in the world relating to Race, Gender, Politics, etc. I will have something to say about many of these things, but maybe not right away and maybe not individually. I also like looking at the news as tapestry – how this thing over here relates to that thing over there. It also means I’m going to attempt to engage my readers more in discussion and debate. I love those kinds of posts and I hope you all do, too.
It further means that I’ll probably only post once a day, twice at most. I think this gives people a chance to take part in a discussion for longer. And you guys don’t have to check the site every hour to make sure you don’t miss anything. It also means I’ll probably be bad for procrastination. Blogging on weekends will be light and most likely made up of Link Roundups.
Hopefully this will not drive readers away. (I kind of doubt it, but you never know.) If you’re looking for a news fix or for blogs updated a lot, click around in my blogroll. There is a lot of good stuff to find there.
So, see you all tomorrow?
No it won’t drive readers away!
first of all, propz on blogging thoughtfully and consciously. i know just what you mean…feeling that you “should” be blogging on everything. i reject that impulse, as well. or rather, sometimes i give in! but i, too, like to remind myself i am not bound by that. WHATCHAMEEEEN you didn’t blog on madonna’s obvious flicking of her wrist at the latino busboy??? so just to say, right on. i love blogs where the writer thinks about what they write and writes from the heart. of course, i want regular content! but who doesn’t? and there’s lots of blogs to round things out and keep the daily reading list complete. anyway, sometimes silence is very sweet. if only to anticipate the next badass beat.
I’ll stay tuned.
Same Bat time.
Same Bat station.
Sign of a conscientious thinker: critical review and analysis of one’s work.
You have the same issues that publishers have had since the invention of mass media: who you are, what you represent, and how you will represent it.
And just as important, a consideration of what you are not … namely, a wire service or gossip rag.
All of this thought, coupled with your style, elevates your blog from the noise.
Good onya. I like blogs that take the “let it marinate” approach.
My Awstats brought me here, and even though a word or two pisses me off, I seem to be spending quite a bit of time here ;) Being different, is never a bad thing. If folks want a daily newsy blog, I betchya they can find.. lots.
I have several blogs, because what I’m ‘into’ seems to change by the moment, or rather I’m just fickel. It’s not the news I’m fairly sure that people visit for, it’s the way it’s presented, the opinion and thought behind it. The attitude, the opportunity to relate, and to argue, I’m sure your readers, including myself, will return ;)
Good luck, and enjoy what you do, that’s all that really matters right.