If you follow my Twitter account (@AnibalInvic) you may have followed a recent thread I posted with some considerations about the role of blogs in a rapidly changing social media landscape. I feel that Podcasts, Youtube, FaceBook and Twitter or Instagram is increasingly calling the shots specially among the younger generations, whose attention spam is brief to say the least or prefer easier audio or video consumption products.
Blogs are difficult to manage, posts require a lot of effort and time, and frankly speaking, much longer attention spam from the reader than what actually I think he/she is likely to put. So what is the point of maintaining the blog alive, specially with a shrinking audience?
To my surprise, my Twitter message received quick and, if not massive, a decent amount of responses from lot of people, some of them well-known gamers, podcasters and rules designers whose opinion I respect a lot.
The comment that really pulled a cord in me is that Twitter et alt is ephemeral, while the blog is here to stay and have a long shelf-value. What one posts is not for immediate consumption and then to the bin, but a reference that you can use in the future. It could be a nice battlefield walk around, a scenario report, a review of a book or some wargames rules or even the guide or the inspiration (using your photos of the painted models) for someone considering undertaking a project that one may have taken sometime ago.
This already persuaded me that it made no sense to shut down the blog and to lose 8 years of dedicated work and effort.
Now, but how to maintain a regular flow of posts? How to regain the mojo lost? Richard Clarke of ToofatLardies came to inspire:
Do it "as and when". That's what I
do.
Of course, silly me, why the pressure? I'm doing this basically for pleasure, not for business! If I have something worth of communicating, I'll do; but shouldn’t be worried about keeping a timetables or posting regularly
Well, this is it for the moment. I got lost but thanks to the Twitter-sphere I have found a new way home.
As for next in the pipeline, we have Curt's Annual Painting Challenge that should begin by 21st December. I have already chosen my project for this edition (the ninth): a 2WW British Airborne platoon and supports for Chain of Command. Looking forward to receive Curt's news pretty soon.
And on the personal front, I have been diagnosed with an herniated disc after suffering a (stupid) accident doing some gardening late last summer. Apparently there is no other solution but to undertake a surgery (late in November). Not sure how long it will take me to recover from this, but it will interfere with my work and hobbies until Christmas at least.
Hope to see you all around here more often in the near future.
Great, welcome back.
ReplyDeleteI too have noticed the growth of other media, particularly Facebook, but I am glad to see you have arrived at the conclusion I settled on, namely that other media platforms may be more immediate and concise but rather like 'fast food', unsatisfying and potentially not good for you health if consumed to excess.
You are spot on to conclude that a good blog is permanent and can be a resource to others long after the posts were originally written, so unlike fast food a much more satisfying delight and certainly better for the health of the hobby.
In the end I write my blog as much as for me as for those that enjoy reading it and it serves as a sort of diary or journal to record things that appeal to me and maybe for others to.
I tend to watch the blogs I include on my own and had noticed yours falling into my delete category as time went by so I am really pleased you have come to this decision as I enjoy reading your posts and am looking forward to trying out that Corunna campaign for SPII with the battle sites arranged for a visit to Spain next year.
Keep it up and write for you as much as anyone else.
Cheers
JJ
Completely agree with all your points.
ReplyDeleteI find with the majority of games before flash in the pan skirmish games that use 'official' figures, facebook has been a much more inspirational place recently as a game might be fashionable for 6 months and that's not too bad a backlog to go back over.
However, for historical gaming, blogs are always going to be useful, if I want to see how someone played a Napoleonics game or an ancients game, that post will appear on google and will be as relevant in 10 years time as it is today and be a darn sight easier to find.
Do your blog at your own pace, in your own time when you have something to say.
A good read and a reminder that I need to revisit my own blog.
ReplyDeleteSome of the older blogs do seem to be dying off, im very glad that yours isn't one of them after all.
ReplyDeleteI had back surgery for a herniated disc about 6 years ago. I was off work for about 4 weeks on the doctors recommendation but was quite mobile after the first week and effectively back to normal after that first week. Good Luck with the op! I was so glad to get rid of the pain.
ReplyDeleteOn blogging, I am with the Twitter comments - blog when you feel like it and blog because the contents are not ephemeral.
I'm glad to hear that you will be keeping the blog as it is a useful resource.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly shouldn't feel pressurised to publish posts to a schedule, just post as and when you feel like it. It's a hobby after all and not meant to be stressful.
I do hope that your back is recovered in time for AHPC9 :)
Yes, the curation is the valuable part of blogging. Facebook and twitter have also been 'tweaking' the order of posts you see which means it's not even a chronological history either. Hard to find things to want, let alone can't quite remember. My resolution this year (2018) was to comment on more of the blog posts I read rather than lurk....hoping to help support/boost the blog community.
ReplyDeleteA common tendency these times, I think (the closing of a blog, I mean). I have had the same question about my own blog. I don´t receive comments, so I think there is no interest in it, so I´m going to close it... Then, I think the blog is for my own pleasure, in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWell written post explaining the pros and cons of social media. It may be an age thing for blogging, but ultimately it is what the author of post/"tweets" chooses. Best wishes in any case.
ReplyDelete