Comments on: What not to post

By: Andy Burkhardt

Andy Burkhardt — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:04:27 +0000

I agree Walt that good ideas don’t always arrive on some schedule. But I also think they arrive more often when you have a schedule. You write more and build your voice. Even though you don’t have a great idea fleshed out, once you start writing things become more clear. It’s a good way to work out things you’ve been thinking about and mulling over.

By: walt

walt — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:49:03 +0000

Sonia: Hard to argue with that–but then, I rarely read beyond the first sentence if a post isn’t of special interest! Thanks for the clarification.

By: Sonia

Sonia — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:33:27 +0000

Walt- I should have said “..I’m outta there unless the subject is of special interest to me”- which yours was. Thanks.

By: walt

walt — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:41:33 +0000

Interesting discussion…and I hope it continues.

But, Sonia, I have to wonder why you’re here at all, since my posts are rarely as short as three paragraphs. Personally, I think the mix of social media has changed so that essay-length posts may be one of the best uses of blogs–but that’s me.

By: Sonia

Sonia — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:02:49 +0000

Very good points. I’d like to add another- please try to be concise. If I see a post that’s more than, say three paragraphs, I’m outta there!

By: kittent

kittent — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:32:03 +0000

I’d just like to thank you, Walt, for that gentle nudge. I’m not a high profile blogger…I’m just an evening circulation supervisor and stacks manager but I committed to doing a library blog, and you have convinced me to get with it. (I actually just posted an “I’m back” message…yesterday, before I read your post today.)

By: John

John — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:21:29 +0000

… I’m talking about me, of course, when I set an end-date to my blog. Blogging causes more blogging.

By: John

John — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:19:56 +0000

Then there’s those of us who claim that they’re going to stop posting, and just can’t seem to find a way to quit …

By: walt

walt — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:18:36 +0000

Another poster child for the truism, “You can never tell which post will attract comments”!

effing: I’m not saying nobody cares. I am saying that, in most cases, if we wanted to monitor your well-being on a day-to-day basis, we’d be using Facebook or Friendfeed or, you know, email or the telephone or something like that.

The post was mostly just a true observation: That the “I haven’t been posting, but I’m starting up again” is, more often than not, the kiss of death for a blog. I think Seth may be on to something; too bad I’m not more of a sociologist. What I can say: Within the limited realm of liblogs, I believe this is a true observation.

Andy: Well…for people, as opposed to libraries, I’m no longer fond of the “x posts per week” idea. Either you have things to say or you don’t, and as I’ve found, those things don’t arrive like commuter trains. I suspect that really good readers can spot when someone’s committed to X posts per week and has (X-2) worthwhile things to say that week…

By: the.effing.librarian

the.effing.librarian — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:02:55 +0000

I think bloggers assume some reader cares, but you seem to be saying that no one cares, that only content matters.

I sometimes assume that someone out there cares why I haven’t posted, but apparently I’ve been wrong.

But I understand what you mean: the “sorry” message is just posted out of a guilty feeling, but is often the last message that blogger will ever post.