Comments on: Blogging for Fun and Emotional Profit

By: When Blogging becomes an Addiction | Dipping into the Blogpond

When Blogging becomes an Addiction | Dipping into the Blogpond — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:17:57 +0000

[...] important to remember why we started blogging in the first place. Kelley wrote about Blogging for Fun and Emotional Profit: But sometimes blogging can become a chore. A monkey on your back. Something you HAVE to do to get [...]

By: louise

louise — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:12:26 +0000

spot on Kelley! It’s easy to get sidetracked and feel we have to do it all, and then forget why we started blogging in the first place. I had a bit of this myself a not long ago.

I get really sick of all the obvious ‘linkey love’ roundup ‘posts and a few months ago I got heaps of spammy crap comments from people wanting PR4 backlinks… I obviously annoyed someone who reported my blog as a spam blog and got it shut down for a few days when I disagreed with them.

Just before Christmas I thought about stopping blogging and then I realised I was blogging for ME. I don’t want to censor myself to keep a readeship, I just want to say whatever I think, and I don’t want blog promotion to overtake the fun of blogging.

By: Guera

Guera — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:59:02 +0000

Well put, Kelley! We all need to have a reality check every now and then so that ratings beast doesn’t suck as in.
I don’t mind all the entrecard and stumbling etc…to a point. Its a good way to meet new bloggers and expand your readership, BUT only so far as it doesn’t overtake the actual blogging.

I’ve recently jumped on all those things and have found they do increase hits, but more important has been getting involved with things like Ausse Bloggers that increased readers. I’ve found that having more readers has increased the pleasure of blogging because there is more conversation now – not just for me on my blog, but for me on other people’s blogs.

I can see though that there’s a tipping point – the point at which all the other stuff detracts from the blogging and we all just have to find that balance.

By: Bettina

Bettina — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 14:57:50 +0000

Hey Kim, you leave a post on in the right thread over at the forum to get your link put on the blogroll here.

Great post Kelley. I’m not worry about all the entrecard/stumble/etc stuff. The extra comments are nice and all, but this is more about me having fun and letting off some steam than knowing that bucketloads of people read my pearls of wisdom every day.

By: Babyamore (Trish)

Babyamore (Trish) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:17:58 +0000

Brilliant post.I agree 110% –
I would be sad if I didn’t get one comment but if 1 person is commenting that’s okay .
I love my hobby and my cyber friends

By: Lulu

Lulu — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:24:27 +0000

Excellent post. Exactly how I feel about blogging….I love the community feel about it but if nobody read my blog I would probably still write it (even if it is only my mum reading) I started to keep in contact with friends and family back home but in the end most of my readers seem to be other foreigners living in Japan, in similar situations to me!

I had never heard of stumbleupon until I joined aussie bloggers forum!

Looking forward to other posts by you Kelley!

By: Marita

Marita — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:50:47 +0000

Great post. Good reminder about why we blog in the first place.

By: frog ponds rock

frog ponds rock — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:23:26 +0000

Great post Kelley.. I never stress about that stuff. I blog for me… there is a little button on my sidebar saying I blog guiltfree.. next time you come over to my blog click it..

There is one thing I am stressing about though.. How do I get my name on the blog roll over here??? hehehehe cheers Kim
(or don’t Tasmanians count as proper Aussies *snort*)

By: Ameel

Ameel — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:41:26 +0000

Excellent post — I couldn’t agree with you more, even though my situation is a little different. I’ve been blogging for only a few months now and, so far, haven’t really told anyone but my friends and family about my blog. In doing so I’ve discovered that readership numbers just aren’t important to me. I have about four or five regular readers and, in some ways, my blog has become a substitute for e-mailing those people (all friends or family) with updates on my life. The few others who drop in every now and again are, like you said, icing. Instead, I’ve found that what I really enjoy is the writing, the story-telling, and the venting.

Who knows, though, there might come a time when I start to obsess and worry about readership numbers like you did. When that happens, I’ll be sure to refer back to this posting for a much-needed reality check. So, thank you in advance!

By: Karen (miscmum)

Karen (miscmum) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:39:05 +0000

Nice one, hon.