Blogging about blogging
Posted: April 16, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized 13 Comments »
I’ve read quite a few blog posts about blogging, and there is undoubtedly some irony behind this. Yet why does this happen? Why do bloggers like to blog about blogging?
And I'll blog about the bloggers blogging about blogging!
Well, there’s one easy answer and several not-so-easy ones.
- Filler posts.
Obviously, if you’ve nothing to blog about, blogging about blogging is a valid option. Yep. This is a filler post, by the way.
- Connecting with the readership.
A lot of a blogger’s readership is comprised of other bloggers, and since this is the case, other bloggers that visit one’s site can connect to one’s blogging experiences. Now, this isn’t to say that blogging about anime alienates the readership (on the contrary – more people can connect to something like an anime episode than to a post about blogging). But, this is deeper than the anime connection… it’s an anime blogging connection.
Bloggers can relate when a blogger comments on episodics vs. editorials (I’m not quite sure what an editorial is, come to think of it), visuals to accompany posts, or whatever dilemna, problem, or even success an aniblogger might face.
- To look smart.
Obviously, if you’re blogging about blogging, then it’s assumed that you know enough about blogging to make a decent post about it (unless, of course, the post turns out to be 20 words long). What looks even smarter is commenting on how blogging about blogging makes you look smart. (protip: that’s me, yo)
Obviously, there’s only really one of those three that makes any sense: the second one. The other two are just there to make my post longer.
"It's not like it really matters"
So what is a post blogging about blogging?
- Blogging in general – a post about shitty widgets, crappy designs, lolhtml. I usually don’t see much of this.
- Anime blogging – a post about things related to specifically aniblogging: things like episodics: y/n, summaries: y/n, team blogging: y/n, et cetera: y/n
- Other crap that I’m too stupid to put into a category – what to blog about?!, others
Y/N?
So is this a good technique to use?
I’d say maybe. Personally, I wouldn’t do it. [/sarcasm]
There are definite advantages to these blog-related posts. You can release some … er. something. You can release stuff (tension? I’m not really sure) if you blog about blogging. It’s like meeting an anime fan in real life: there’s so much you share in common with said fan as opposed to a person who thinks that an anime is a type of fruit. You get to see if you’re doing the right things – if your “holy shit, this post took me 2.5 hours” post was an anomaly or same as everybody else.
But then again, there are disadvantages. You ain’t blogging about anime on an anime blog? Screw you! It also alienates the non-blogging people who read anime blogs (you might actually lose some of your readership? lolwut). And if people can’t connect, then you’re doing something either 1) unique or 2) horribly wrong (though if it’s the former, you’d probably already know).
And just because I’ve not yet posted this .gif on here…
will read this more in depth when not fighting my bit torrent client. trying to get a pirated copy of xp corporate working. bleh.
Sorry, this post kind of fails. But I don’t think I’m the right person to respond to this in an intelligent and coherent manner. If anyone else decides to refute this, I’ll be more than happy to support them.
Honestly, I’d say it really fails. I don’t even remember why the hell I typed this junk up. This is going on my top five shittiest blog posts list.
Yay for motivation to post more to get this to page two!
Personally, I find meta-blogging fun. It keeps that community feel of anime blogging going, which is something I really enjoy.
It ultimately depends on what you want to do. Sure, if you’re trying to get as many visitors as possible and that is the primary goal of your anime blogging, then by all means posting about other blogs or blogging in general is not the way to go. However, most people don’t have that as their primary goal.
Posts about blogging also keep us thinking and sometimes could prove to be useful evaluators of our own writing or behaviors.
A crude example: Anime Nano-listed Blogger A goes on a blogging spree with twenty or more posts a day (that aren’t all worthwhile reads). Blogger B is annoyed and posts on his own blog about this. Blogger A sees this and realizes how annoying he has been, (maybe) apologizes, and decreases the number of posts he publishes.
Agreed.
I like to read posts on blogging, but I don’t like doing it myself. Evaluating myself isn’t something I usually do (or like to do, for that matter… maybe I’m too naive) – I usually just post without editing or looking over what I type.
Thus sometimes I get things like this post and my K-ON! 02 post that went down “way too nitpicky” lane, and sometimes I get things like the School Days post, which I personally consider to be awesome. Still, that ain’t something I should be bragging about… maybe I should try and metablog sporadically. D:
Also, argh. That‘s the word. “Metablogging.” It was at the tip of my tongue, and I just couldn’t remember it!
Meta-blogging, the officialish term for what you mentioned, is big business man!
The best example is Ani-nouto the “Sniper” Zaitcev, who has nothing but meta. Back when I was more active, I used to metablog quite a bit too. It’s cool actually cos you can make awesome jokes out of people who your readers know.
DS at Daijoubu is also quite the metamangakabloggerdango.
Oh dang, I never knew that!
I guess my age as an aniblogger is showing. D:
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Nice to see you blogging about blogging about blogging.
I enjoyed this, but I wish I knew what kind of weird ass animals/things are Sasuke and Sakura supposed to be in that .gif….freaky….
I for one, can never blog about blogging, or anything else for that matter, because I have an ISSS which I completely made up so that I wouldn’t have a blog.
If I could blog about blogging, I doubt that even that would make me look smart (after all, have you seen my top ten? I really can’t be taken seriously with shows like Death Note and Shakugan no Shana).
I really have not much to say here. I couldn’t tell this post really fails, but it’s definitely both senseless and rather not nice.
My post, which you so kind linked to (no sarcasm, I’m really thankful) was neither a filler post, nor an arrogant i-know-it-better post. It was an idea that came to my mind, which I thought might be worth blogging about – and look, how many comments and links it got!
And as last, I want to add that for metablogging experience with both sides, as the blogger and as the reader, is required. You must know what you would want to read ad how to write it.
@giothelegend: They’re kelets! Top tens don’t have to be obscure anime that nobody knows about…!
@Gargron: if I had to describe this post, I’d say that it’s a badly-done parody of a metablogging post. Plus I wasn’t insulting your post! D:
If anything above doesn’t make sense, point it out and I’ll respond on Monday @__@”
“Obviously, if you’ve nothing to blog about, blogging about blogging is a valid option.”
Haha! I have yet to reach this point.
But man… you blog A LOT. O.O
Hah! Personally, I’d say “I have no life!”