02/04/2007 
8 Comment(s)You dont care who I am
I think it is important for any blogger to understand his or her audience. Why do people read blogs? More importantly, why do people read your blog, or mine? Is it for entertainment, or education? Inspiration perhaps?
For 90% of bloggers there is one all important piece of information you should hold sacred; people do not care about you. They don't care whether you're rich or poor, fat or thin, look like Brad Pitt or resemble Michael Jackson. All they care about is what you can give them - just like all you care about here is what I can give you. For example, if this article was entitled "My great weekend" chances are you would not have read this far. I wrote this article some months back and my readership that week dropped like a lead balloon. It is important to find your place in the blogosphere. What defines you as a person? What can you offer people - make them want to read more?
Much of the problem with blogging is that people are so wrapped up in analyzing existing writing styles for inspiration that they loose their own. Some people believe the best bloggers are those who have been in the industry for years - who know their shit, so to speak. I don't. I think the best bloggers are those who don't do it for recognition, who don't do it in the hope of becoming a minor celebrity, but who write because they enjoy writing, and like making friends online. I'd like to think that was me, but I'm not so sure; the call of potential minor fame is a strong gravity for most people nowadays. Who am I? If you're interested then follow this link, because I'm not about to tell you here. Frankly, I don't think you give a shit.
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On 17th of July 2006 J Phill said:
I completely agree with you. For awhile I just managed my personal blog which was basically for my friends and family, therefore I choose not to ping sites and such when I write in it. I do it because my audience knows me and I love writing.
As far as my design blog, I do that also because I love reading and writing about design. And although I def. don't do it for the fame, I would like to have an audience for the sake of sparking discussion relevant to the post that I write. I choose to keep my personal life no where near my design blog because, not only do people not care, but everyone in the world doesn't need to know my business. If they want to know about me, then they will ask, and I'll tell, but otherwise, i'll stay on topic.
On 17th of July 2006 Elessar said:
For me, my blog [and future site] are for me. I have my own little place on the web and i like that. I can Write whatever i want, whenever i want, to whomever i want, just so long as the hosts server is up :P Im not designer...more of a porter or a modifying, but being able to customize what blog layout and design whenever i feel like it is probably the most satisfying part about this whole deal.
On 17th of July 2006 Owen Mc Gauley said:
Steve said: ... Frankly, I don't think you give a shit.
Of course we (I) do. Oddly enough, one of the first things I do when I visit a site that I like is go to the About section and find out a little more about the author. But I do agree with what you said above. I too prefer candid blogs where people are writing because they feel like it, not to try and grab attention. Pretentious swine ;)
On 18th of July 2006 J Phill said:
I agree with Owen, in the sense that if I get to a good site and read something I like, I want to know about the person behind the site. That's just me though. But I think it's safe to assume that your average person that goes to get information from a blog won't care who that person is, they want information about a topic.
On 18th of July 2006 P.J. Onori said:
Just like any other source of media, the audience wants to get something out of it. It could be entertainment or education, but they want something. This seems to be forgotten by many of us quite frequently.
Nice article once again.
On 18th of July 2006 Damien said:
I personally began blogging as an easy way to spread things I've done, things I've found and liked with friends or family. Really, I still feel as though it's just a bunch of friends, people from school, family, and the random Joe who reads my blog, and if they know who I am then I can write how I like. Unfortunately, if I found my blog was filled with a ton of people reading up on me whom I didn't know, I don't think I'd be so open or even write about things I like, but rather would write about anything to keep the crowd...
Does that make sense? :D
On 18th of July 2006 Stu said:
I genuinely do go straight to the 'About' page on a designer (or whoever!)'s site; the way it usually happens with me is if I find a site that seems interesting, is fairly regularly updated and has good articles, then I'll check it every day anyway and read about whatever the writer is up to, even if it is a load of personal stuff.
I think it does depend on the writing style as well; one of my favourite sites is Limmy.com; a site solely based on what the guy is up to. And I DO give a shit because it's funny. I don't know who the hell he is but still read every day.
I personally write if I want to (if I find time that is!), about what I want to... can't be arsed worrying about demographics, ha ha.
On 18th of July 2006 Steve Tucker said:
I usually go to the designer's about us page too, but only after ive become interested in the blog first. What I was trying to get at with this article is that it is a bad idea to thrust information about yourself into the faces of your readers. If people want information about you they will seek it from your about page themselves.