A Minor Musing About Blogging

Perhaps I should have titled this post "A Minor Musing About Everything I Do Wrong When Blogging."

It springs from Scott Ehrisman's decision to shut down his South DaCola blog and The Dakota Free Press's coverage of that decision.

I have been writing, albeit irregularly, since 2007. Obviously, one thing that any successful online endeavor requires is a regular publishing schedule. That said, here are a few other observations.

First, blogs have entered their zombie stage; they likely will never die out, but blogging will never regain the clout it had in the halcyon days when Andrew Sullivan and others demanded attention multiple times per day.

Second, Cory may lament that old folks are the only ones who seem to be writing blogs, but they may also be the largest audience regularly reading blogs. The politically active young'uns I know are using Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram stories to spread their message. They are consuming podcasts or YouTube, but few seem to reference blogs. (I realize that anecdotal evidence may not be the best source of information.)

Third, blogs need a laser focus. South Dakota War College could easily rename itself South Dakota Republicans R Us (The demise of Toys R Us renders this suggestion an example of a bad marketing strategy.) At Dakota Free Press Cory follows a simple mission: be South Dakota's true liberal media. The blog is a consistent counterpoint to the views espoused by the state's Republican hegemony. 

In short, the successful bloggers don't chase shiny objects. One of my blogging failures is that comic books, folding knives, fountain pens, or Greek myth retellings all seem as interesting as South Dakota politics. The area where those interests intersect in a way to prompt regular blogging or create an audience is minuscule. 

Fourth, successful blogging requires a sense of mission, a belief that one's words can make a difference. That sense of mission comes from an ideology rooted firmly in either the right, left, or populist camps. In a sane political universe, I'm a centrist. In the current climate, I'm too far to the left for Republicans, too far to the right for Democrats, and too elitist for populists of either stripe.

Fifth, regular blogging seems to demand adherence to Marie Kondo's spark joy philosophy. Ehrisman alludes to  the lack of joy in his post.  I seem to exist in mental space that views work as work and play as work. Combine that personality quirk with the aforementioned shiny object syndrome and one has created the perfect storm for irregular blogging.

Sixth, style matters. Dr. Newquist  consistently writes like an academic. Cory's style reflects his passion. I use terms like "young'uns" and quote people like Marilynne Robinson. Once again, the audiences that appreciate these contrasts don't overlap.

Finally, successful blogging requires an ability to accept vagaries. A random post tossed out as an afterthought may well generate far more views than a post that demanded hours of research.

These observations create neither a resignation nor a resurrection post. I'll keep pushing out random musings or rants erratically. Serving as a bad example is something I usually do well.