It has been a fascinating experience being a part of this online community of Blogging Tories. On one hand it is a symbiotic relationship in that we are all trying to influence the national narrative of political based opinion. And yet it is also a competitive environment where we compete for page views and story ideas. I read as many of your posts as I have the time for, but I am writing about 2000 words a day of content on top of a full time job. Sometimes I get an idea, and I am anxious to get home and post it before somebody else thinks of it.
I have become annoyed at those of my comrades who treat their blog as though it were Twitter and just post frequent headlines with little or no content. Listen, if you can't give me at least a paragraph of your own opinion on your headline, it is not worth posting! Jesus Christ, at least give me one complete sentence! If blogging is ever to become the evolution of journalism, some of you people had better start treating your sites with a little "journalistic integrity". This is not Twitter! Look, I review the data. Once a post drops off the first page of the Blogging Tory blog roll, view counts diminish substantially. Just frequently posting empty headlines with little to no content is an easy way to keep your name at the top of this list without having created any "opinion". I won't name names. Twitter; destroying writing one empty, asinine tweet at a time.
Here is another observation of mine, and I would like to hear from other bloggers who have had similar experiences. Have you ever written a piece and then saw a pundit in a newspaper essentially write the same thesis in new words shortly thereafter? I'm not talking about writing "Gadaffi is crazy", because a million different people can listen to Moomar speak and draw the same independent conclusion. I am talking about a very specific thesis statement, where you then cite a historical case study to support it, and then reach a specific conclusion. Then a few days later you read a newspaper and see that same "op-ed" thesis, historical citation, and conclusion written by someone else in new words? I doubt it is illegal because they will write their own version of your specific idea. This has happened to me a few times, to the point when I start to ask how many coincidences can you stack atop one another before it becomes a pattern?
That's all I have to say about that. Keep up the good work my comrades in words! Or as Bob Dylan wrote "come writers and critics who prophesize with your pens, keep your eyes wide the chance won't come again!"
Ice
ReplyDeleteIf the objective of the exercise is to educate then it stands to reason that any duplication or bastardization of your thoughts is a success.
No?
Syncro
Don't get me wrong, I feel a little bit of victory seeing an idea of mine hit the national stage, but at the same time, that person is being paid to write that and I get no clicks and no thanks. My Statcounter tells me who visits what and when from where. I am not going to disclose them, but I do have a growing list of "coincidences". My writing is not being plagarized, but my ideas are being "borrowed".
ReplyDeleteI want to educate, but eventually my goal is to be paid to have an opinion. In the meantime, I am creating as much content as I can while I am in a place where I can sit down and write 500 words on an issue in 20 minutes and get it out into the public record. Because once I say it, from that moment on if anyone else says it, I get to say that I said it first.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that what I just wrote made any sense, but it did in my brain. :)
Keep working at it...think Sysyphis.
ReplyDeleteSyncro
What about video? Do we need a video of a certain length to meet your requirements of what a legitimate blog entry is?
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I really enjoy what you write on your blog.
You know the top Canadian blog for four years running often has blog entries that are often only a couple sentences long, and sometimes its those entries that generate the greatest discussion.
Sometimes the point of one's blog isn't as ambitious as your own. Sometimes its just to draw attention to something that somebody saw elsewhere. I don't have a problem with short blog posts.
If some of my shorter entries took traffic away from your blog, I don't know what to tell you. Keep up the good work.
There are short statements that can say thought provoking things, but the bulk of that twittering crap is crap. Twitter has declared war on complete sentences.
ReplyDeleteIs there something wrong with somebody who writes thousands of words of opinion every week wanting to be paid to do so? My site is not monetized. I don't want to be paid per click, because I see how you can sellout the art of writing to maximize clicks. I would like to be paid to write. Ambition is a healthy component of capitalism. Karl Marx loathed ambition. I think Marx was also opposed to happiness...
And let's say, for example (and I won't name names) that someone has a blog with a link to their own site that is selling something of theirs. If they were to write something like "And Glenn Beck is the crazy one?" a dozen times in a day without ever writing any relevant content because it keeps their name at the top of the blog roll all day maximizing hit counts (because people in our particular domain are more likely to click on a post that includes the name Glenn Beck) to then go to their site where they are selling something, is that good for the Blogging Tory community?
ReplyDeleteI know what "headlines" get the clicks. I write a lot of different things and I view the hit totals. But if you don't back up a “headline” with at least some kind of tangible content, is that even writing? People who treat their blogs as tweets to maximize hits without producing relevant content should not have their names at the top of the blog roll.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but a lot of you out there have to agree with me, whether you would ever say so or not.
I am relatively new to reading blogs, and it didn't take me long to learn not to bother clicking on a few of the top listed blogs (like SDA and BLY for example) because they are generally just restating what blogs further down the list are posting, and even I, as a casual blog reader find that pretty annoying and I don't hold those bloggers in much esteem.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
SDA is the number one conservative blog in North America and you think those short "Twitter" entries are done on purpose just to keep her name at the top of the blog roll?
ReplyDeleteHilarious.
I enjoy reading your blog. I am sorry that you think the purpose of blogs is to get published. Personally I write my blog for myself, and if others enjoy reading it so much the better.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first made it to the front page of blogging tories, I too monitored the hit counter and who was reading my blog. I quickly realized the more posts you put up the higher the hits, but as a working person, I only blog once a day, late at night, except weekends when I have more time. It is not about the hits, it is about the issues. Each of us handles our blog in the manner that we are most comfortable with.
You write very interesting posts, and people will read them, why criticize other blogs? I enjoy each and every blog for the originality or just for pointing me to an article or video I might have missed reading.
Most often originality determines a blogs popularity. If you are blogging to get published, maybe you are blogging for the wrong reason, you should be blogging for yourself, and if you are lucky getting published will happen.
Keep up your great blog, but criticizing your fellow travelers gives you a hint of sour grapes. By the way, do you ever condescend to comment at any of the blogging tories blogs?
Iceman - I like your blog but I definitely do not like your criticism of other blogs. Have you taken a bitter pill this morning? All blogs are unique and we should appreciate them for their uniqueness and for their effort. Blogs could be just like the people blogging. Some of us are talkative, some can convey something important in just one line (like SDA), someone has a true and indepth concept of Canadian politics (like BLY), someone has a deep pride in being Jewish. Just acknowledge them and enjoy them. Do not expect everyone to come up to your level of "greatness". There is beauty in differences.
ReplyDeleteAnd, what's so great about blog hits? I have never understood this mania amongst bloggers.
Personally, I write as I would talk one on one. Before blogging, I used to write long emails ranting about this and that to MPs and the MSM. They must be so glad that I have found another outlet.
Also, I agree with Hunter in all she said.
MariaS (dodocanspell)
I am a former Blogging Tory (The Blonde Conservative) and hope to start blogging again, all I can say is that the best thing you can do to get recognition has nothing to do with having the most clicks, its about blogging with your own unique style. Do what you do best and believe me, you will get recognition... you'd be surprised just who reads your blog, I know that I was...
ReplyDeleteAlso, as to your Iggy poll about the song he should perform, I think "Get Back" by the Beatles would be the most appropriate.. he needs to get back to where he once belonged and get out of politics! ;-)
ReplyDelete