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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 54
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"Blogging is graffiti with punctuation"
Contagion. I didn't know whether to laugh or kill myself!The question is, is there any truth in this?
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 102
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I have the same question. Thanks for asking it here.
Many author blogs that I've come across are just a waste of space. I get much more value from interacting with them on Twitter. I go to their website to find out more about them and which books they've written. But the blog - meh
That being said, I do follow several wonderful blogs. Most are a pool of people and guest bloggers with a clear focus, not just general musings on whatever.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 54
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Hi Marcie
That is true. Blogging can range from people musing, which does not provide any value and does not belong on the internet to actually valuable content whether its current events, information or a truly entertaining read.
The key is sifting the good for the waste of cyberspace 
Annabelle
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Joined: 5/1/2011
Posts: 3
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Hello Everyone,
A blog is all about how the person wants to express themselves. I think that's the beauty of blogging. You get to decide what you want to share with the world.
That being said, there are plenty of blogs I don't have the patience reading. I enjoy versatile blogs and those where the blogger interacts with readers.
When I go to a writer's blog and it's all about writing, I tend to lose interest and move along to the next one.
As a writer, I think blogs are wonderful tools to keep your writing skills going, build an audience and venture out with creativity.
Have a nice evening.
Denise Baer
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Reading a blog is like listening to someone talk. If they're interesting and if you care it can be worth doing. But it's not a discussion. You can't interact in real time to clarify, to judge based on their response how much they really know about their topic. I enjoy blogs that teach me about something I want to know. But most bloggers remind me of the NPC Deckard Cain in the video game, Diablo. He stands in the town square and tells passers by, "Stay awhile, and listen." They're addicted to their own pixel crack.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 21
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I don't want to seem the bad guy here, but most blogs are what Harry Truman used to refer to as "bovine excrement." And doubly so for blogs aimed at writers, which seem largely an exercise in the blind leading the blind. Tell me you are a published author who actually makes a living doing it, and I would love to hear what you have do say. Sadly, those folks don't populate the blogs. Blogs need to impart information or news that is of value to the reader. They need to be written by a person who has knowledge, as opposed to someone who merely has an opinion. As for the 140-character version of the blog, Twitter...well, let's just not go there.
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Dave! You know very well that most bloggers can tell us what they know in 140 characters or less
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 54
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Dave, can I quote you? You have nutshelled blogging beautifully
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Joined: 11/30/2011
Posts: 2
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I'm with the voice of the majority here, most blogs are merely someone's need to hear themselves pontificate. When I first published and then started my business helping others, I heard and read all about how in order to build a fanbase I had to blog. So, I did. For about two months I blogged and then I decided that I was right in the first place and not only was it self-indulgent but it was something I didn't want to waste my time doing. Fans come when they read and like our work. Hearing about my day can't possibly interest them.
And Tweeting? Who cares where most of us are at any given time or what we're doing. Don't we already have Facebook for our inane observations? Unless this is Seinfeld I doubt it's entertaining or anyone cares.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 54
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HK, thank you thank you thank you for that perspective. Some people LOVE to harp on about everything and anything, blogging and tweeting all day long. Others have stuff to do, like writing a book, selling a book etc. I am happy to spend some time in forums that relate to my subject matter, but blogging and tweeting just for the sake of getting attention? How can that increase book sales? Especially when everyone else who blogs and tweets is also peddling something, hence who is really, I mean really, listening to me?
Annabelle
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 244
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I'm going to pipe up in the minority here and say that blogging is credible. Twitter and other social media are equally credible. If you use them right.
And by right, I mean finding a niche that you can blog about or use to create a platform on which to base meaningful connections.
I started blogging as a way of chronicling my journey to publication. I'm still on that journey and along the way I've made invaluable friendships with writers who are on that journey as well. Some of those friends have traveled ahead of me on that path but they still look back and encourage and talk with me.
I blog not to sell a product or service but to share my experiences in hopes that I can help someone else along the way. Paying it forward, so to speak. I've received many blessings because of blogging and twittering and facebooking and all that.
So, yes, blogging is credible. I may not do it right all the time but I try and it's brought so much more into my life than I ever could have imagined.
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Joined: 8/21/2011
Posts: 394
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I think as with all types of web sites, blogs can either be very good or very bad. When I was evaluating scholarly web sites for a living, we had a fairly lively discussion on the value of blogs and whether or not we wanted to include any in our database. Ultimately, we decided to include them, but only those that met our rigorous evaluation criteria (reputable source/author, high-quality content, good writing, timeliness, and so on). Talk about panning for gold! We had to sift through an awful lot of mud and pebbles before we found a few nuggets! But what nuggets they were. The same is true for blogs on any topic, in any field - including writing.
And, I have to agree with Dave - don't get me started on Twitter.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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Twitter is a quick news notification service, only, imo.
So, the consensus is that writers blogs follow sturgeon's rule, 90 percent of everything is crap.
So, anyone want to share those nuggets of gold they found nestled in the mire?
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