I've been considered a 'blogger' since 2011 and I have come to love and hate blogging at the same time. If you don't know already, I write three different blogs, The Eternity Journal which is my personal blog, It's Technologic which is my technology blog, and The Life of A Zobot which is a Wordpress blog where I post a collection of my own quotes. I write because I love to write and I know I have a lot to share, but blogging is a bit different for me and the blogosphere that I have become a part of is both a good and bad thing. I love many things about the blogosphere, but I hate some things too.
What I Love About the Blogosphere:
- A Place of Your Own - When you start a blog of any sorts that you share your thoughts and personality on, you establish a place of your own where others can find you. Since it is your place on the Internet, you make the decisions, you make the rules, and you have the freedom to share your interests and thoughts your own way. This is my favorite part, I do so much work on the Internet, I actually need a place of my own where I can show people who I am and why I do what I do.
- The People - While your blog is live, no matter what topic it's about, you'll meet like-minded people and even make some friends. Most bloggers find it easier to make friends with bloggers from the same niche and others like to be diverse and follow bloggers of different topics. No matter what you choose, you'll find people in the blogosphere every where!
- The Publicity - When I tell people I have a blog normally they would be amazed as if I'm the most interesting person they have met. Although they aren't wrong, I like to be humble about it. Blogging gives me a little sense of fame both online and offline. There's always some positive comments said about someone being a blogger. One nice compliment is enough to make me happy and pretend that I'm famous for a day.
- The Ongoing Blog Hops & Linky Parties - I like the fact that bloggers get all their blog and social media links out there by participating in a fellow bloggers' blog hop or linky party. The concept & procedure is pretty simple. In most blog hops and linky parties all you have to do is follow your hosts and co-hosts then add your links to the list and wait for someone to find you. It's great the bloggers decide to host this on their blogs and help promote each other. However, I also find it to be a waste. I have linked up twice in my blogging years. I gained maybe one or two followers and received a few comments, but that was all. The thing with these virtual events is that you aren't guaranteed anything. You are basically placing your blog amongst hundreds of other blogs hoping to get noticed, but if you aren't a host or co-host chances are you won't be.
- Overpriced Sponsoring - I understand some bloggers get thousands of page views and have very active fans, but charging $300 for an AD space on a blog or website is ridiculous! As a blogger if you want to make money, charge a company $300 for ads and a regular person $15. For Gods sake, it's just a digital photo representing a blogger on a web page, it shouldn't cost more than an $20. Even if my blog receives thousands of page views, I'd charge in the $2-$20 range. Anything more than that is crazy!
- Social Ladder - Let's face it even in the world of blogging, there's a line between the most popular blogs and the least popular blogs. Mine being one of the least. See, I started this blog to recreate a collection of memories while accomplishing all my endeavors. I thought that everyone who sees some my projects would want to get to know me and this blog is where they will end up. I was wrong. No one cares about me. Well, not yet anyway. It's a bit disappointing, yes, but it's okay because I love being able to say I'm a blogger, writing, and the blog itself.
xoxo,