Blogging as Goal Fulfillment
I
happened to watch, for no particular reason, Julie & Julia this weekend on Showtime, and I found it to be rather representative of the new
ingredient for writing success - blogging.
I admire how Julie Powell set a goal for herself and kept it. She vowed to cook each one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking within a year's time. One thing the film does considerably well is revealing the frustration behind the commitment.
A blog cannot be sustained with frivolous writing. The modern blogger is basically competing against the world for readership, and readership comes from a devotion to quality time and content. It's sort of like being in a relationship. This puts a bit of pressure on the person behind the blog.
For curiosity's sake, in preparation for this entry, I did a quick Google search of "blogging is hard." How many results do you think I got from my web query? About 119,000,000.
Consensus says blogging equates degrees of stress for the serious/professional (blogger) types. To me, the main issue seems to be this: There is always something else to be doing, besides blogging. Skimming over blogger's complaints, juggling blogging with other priorities tops most lists. So and so apologizes for not having posted in such and such period of time because certain "real life" tasks demanded being taken care of (as was the case for Julie in the movie).
But blogging has become a near necessity for writers. It is even, in many cases, a major marketing strategy used to build an "author platform" (a publishing term for reaching or influencing a potential audience). In other words, it's about networking, and, ultimately, reaching some level of notoriety. I can think of a few instructors at SHU, writers themselves, who maintain an online presence, I imagine, in part, for this purpose.
Blogging has its pains and its perks.
As to the movie, it got me thinking about if, and how, I might pursue blogging outside of academia later on down the road. I would love to set forth a reasonable objective and blog about the process of achieving it. I think it could be a lot of fun. Not a yearlong endeavor, but maybe a summer length ambition.
On a more delectable note, all the focus on food in the movie has me now counting the days until Thanksgiving. Seventeen days to go.
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BethAnneSwartzwelder on Blogging as Goal Fulfillment: I guess that was the point tha
April M. Minerd on Blogging as Goal Fulfillment: You're right, Kayla. There ar
BethAnneSwartzwelder on Blogging as Goal Fulfillment: I think it also depends on wha
Kayla Lesko on Blogging as Goal Fulfillment: "The modern blogger is basical
"The modern blogger is basically competing against the world for readership" Ouch, that's like the equivalent of a smack in the face. I'm not saying this as a bad thing, it's just that it's so TRUE. I always try and post links to Creative Writing sites on my Twitter and most of them are blogs of some sort. When you realize just how many bloggers there are, you can't help but go "What?"
I think it also depends on what you want out of it. Yes, frivolous writing may not attract many comments or readers. Sometimes though, I just need to get something out or complain about something. I think there are times where I write for other people to see it, but there are also times where I write for myself. I think both reasons are right in their own time and place.
You're right, Kayla. There are soooo many bloggers out there. I think its important to note that some of those bloggers provided you with helpful information. That's what I was trying to get at when I said "frivolous" writing just won't cut it. When you blog for a purpose, you're blogging for an audience. And an audience has expectations.
I think its possible to vent while providing quality content and giving readers what they want. What do yo think, Beth Anne? I mean there is a definitely an audience out there that appreciates a good rant now and again, right?
I guess that was the point that I was trying to get at. That maybe those rants serve a purpose, therefore making them quality pieces.
I agree with you guys on the idea of a rant. People get entertainment out of passion. Passion is shown and truly demonstrated through a rant about a particular thought or idea. I think that, if it is appropriately and accurately portrayed, it can show a little ethos in a piece to give it some depth. After all, blogging is supposed to be about connecting to people and sharing thoughts, right?