Why is it so hard for people that consider themselves so professional and godlike?
To keep the topics separate that is. If a blog is about technology or gadgets or something specific, the last thing I want to read about regularly in that blog is about the author's kids, attempts to conceive, or any gross personal health issues for that matter.
There are a few blogs that I quit reading for that matter.
That made me analyze why I have quit reading blogs that I like, and the conclusions would be more or less as below.
1. The topic or topics blogged don't interest me any more. Maybe I was reading searching about something specific of for work or other reason my interest has expired. I found out what I needed to find out about a particular subject, so it is done now. I no longer care about a certain brand mobile phone details, Apple rumors, body hacks, transgender issues, or cooking. The topics have been replaced by something that interests me now.
2. The bloggercentric, godlike view of everything. I know everything, look, here are my professional views about everything. And after that know it all entry about how to improve ssh the god know it all blogger posts about his kids or what he ate. Did I already mention blogs about anything professional and kids don't mix?
3. Professional blogs that mix content of private life, such as their kids or reproductional status.
4. Blogs that don't have content. In this category there are a bunch of the digg whorers. Look what I found in the Internet, here is this cool link about this and that, here digg it, and here youtube. Umh, no. I tend to prefer the sources, so if I find the source, I may follow the source for a while, if there are no other interesting stories there I'll ignore that source, but most likely, the copy paste of 'look what I found in the internet' isn't going to keep me for a while if it's only purpose is getting dugg.
5. Blogs that I am supposed to like. Just because boingboing or tuaw authors, Bruce Schneier, or Guy Kawasaki or someone else regularly brings contents of a blog that they like does not me make any more interested in every topic they blog about. Just because it's about macs, it does not make it any more special than the 20,000 other blogs about macs out there.
6. Blogs of which the authors are not teens but blog teenager style. Includes examples of people who complain openly in the internet that they are in US illegally and try to get theur bride over .. needless to say, unless those blogs are very bad, they don't normally even get a second visit. If they are very bad, then it's a different story again, it may even become more entertaining than these too serious blogs. This would in some cases include those that have a really ugly layout or colors, but normally that deficit is bypassable using an RSS reader.
7. Blogs that repeat all the same buzzwords of the day and week they read. The US blogger that refused to give his video materials to police and got in trouble about that, the Jesus appearing in the cheese sandwich on ebay, all the special children doing their star wars kid dances in youtube and so on.
8. No sense of humor. I may take my job seriously, but there is no reason why I would take my private life without humor. Unfunny things don't generally interest me.
9. Over repeating the political, religious, or any ideological points of view about everything and all the time.
10. Blogs that update too often or too rarely. Updating the personal blog 20 times a day can be worse than when you update your personal blog once a month.
What does that leave?
Blogs that have fun content and no heavy material.
Blogs that are of the people who write on a way that I like.
Blogs of my friends - how was your day, what pissed you off today, what got you excited recently and how is your love life. It's way more likely to matter than your 'professional' views about everything and all the time.
Blogs that are of a specific matter, including kids. The blogs about kids and family life should be kept separate about the rest of the blogging topics - so I don't mind seeing every now and then how is little Lucy doing out there, as long as the Lucy posts are not in the middle of your technogodrambling.
Blogs that have information that matters to me. How to get something done that I don't bother to waste more time than every now and then read a post or two.
Blogs that contain good quality rants often enough.
This is a rare entry where I don't feel it to be appropriate to give examples of URLs of the offenders.
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8 comments:
Don't know whether my last comment went through. Just wanted to say I found your blog through MyBlogLog. I enjoyed your honesty on this post and subscribed to your blog. We linked to your post on our blog.
http://tinyurl.com/yas269
Coolness. =)
hm... this is interesting ^^
wonder what category is mine is ? ;P
I'm going to have to quit reading my blog. I'm going to read yours though. You write better. I'll never be that good (sniffle), mines boring stuff with tidbits about my daily life. I've broken all the rules now no one will like me
(stomp stomp) wahhhh....(stomps stomp, sniffle sniffle, cry)
I somewhat disagree on the non-sequitors. A couple of my favorite authors bring in their private life, but it's usually to extend a point they are trying to make.
Peter King who writes for Sports Illustrated comes to mind. For years he'd have a little write up about his daughters' sports stuff in the NFL column, but it worked as he always showed some kind of endearing quality, that's missing from a lot of sports players today.
I'm not saying it works all the time, and you are definitely walking a tightrope with it, but I think it's possible to show a little human side in the professional area. It breaks up the seriousness, which I think is a good thing.
I created a blog recently. Your ideas are similar to mine, as in I also got bored of reading the "same kind of stories" every day. I wanted to read something unique, which catches your eye, something that fascinates you or something that makes you laugh. It could be technology, it could be some clip from Conan, it could be a fascinating picture, anything.
Through my blog, I am experimenting those factors, which hit or miss. I try to post variety of topics in my blog which seem interesting to me at some point. But it doesn't mean that they might be interesting to the other readers.
But any ways. Check out my blog and feel free to comment about what you think and what you feel, needs to be changed.
Spencer and lazy .. it's not always the personal stuff = the boring stuff. Look at all everything readable in lievjournal or myspace etc ... those who go at all cost "professional" there are the ones that are boring there. The ones who have personal stuff there are usually the nicer ones to read. When you can see a bit of their world with their eyes ...
Just not the "oh I am a professional journalist and while I mainly talk about cars, computers, or cameras, everyone must want to see my new kiddo photos..."
A couple of my favorite authors bring in their private life, but it's usually to extend a point they are trying to make.
Oh!! this picture have a very fun funny pics
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