In blogs, I think we see various forms of motivation among the respective bloggers. I suppose that many initiate a blog to share something with others… or tell people something. It is an outlet… an opportunity to share opinions and/or information, and to express self. The blog can serve as a canvas, upon which the blogger can create a piece of art that is reflective of his/her perceptions… of something.
Yet, at what point can the outlet for expression turn into a stage for a performance? At what point does the writer/the blogger… lose track of self, and the reasons for which he/she began blogging in the first place? Now, I appreciate the fact that people change, and therefore, personal motivations for blogging may change. At what point, however, does the blogger change as the result of the readers? Consider this…
There was once a hypothesis held by a college student, that a professor’s movement within the classroom, as a lecturer, was dependent on the level of attention he was getting. To test this hypothesis, the student was able to recruit his classmates. As the professor moved in a certain direction in the classroom, the students would focus on writing, moving attention away from the professor. As the professor moved in another direction, students would show more interest, and raise their eyes from their notebooks, being much more attentive to the professor. In time, student’s realized the professor was, apparently, subconsciously rewarded for a particular behavior (moving in the particular direction that drew the attention of the students). As the professor was walking on a somewhat raised platform at the front of the class, this test proved a bit of a hazard, and eventually, the professor, paying more attention to the “rewarding” behavior of the students, lost attention of his physical space, and stumbled off the platform.
I think we can see parallels between this story and blogging. Sure, a group of people can conspire to regularly engage a blogger, with the intent of changing his/her presentations, perhaps even his/her position (and that might be fun, albeit it perhaps a little cruel), but that’s not the only reason for change at the hands of the readers. It can be self-induced. Some bloggers become fixed on the number of visits (while others might become fixed on the number of comments AND/OR number of visits) they receive. If they become too involved in monitoring numbers… and even to the point of tracking successful posts against those that appear to have flopped… there can be problems. At what point will a blogger change to write more in tune with the posts that have seen success? At which point, therefore, does the writer’s reaction to the reader change the writer?
Blogging is an entirely different animal than writing for print. Write an article for print, then try to monitor your numbers and assess the impact (perhaps even the effectiveness) of what you write (most especially, as discretely as what can be done in blogging). It’s hard to compare with blogging… so what are (can be) the consequences of moving from print to the Web, especially as one trained to write for print? I’m not saying that blogging is a bad thing. It’s just not print. It can require more of the writer… perhaps more self-diligence, more self-awareness, more self-discipline…
Who or what is driving your blog? Is it you… or is it your reactions to readers, and/or numbers, and/or drive for popularity?
Cenantua's Blog 
Richard McCormick
October 30, 2010
Fascinating post and one I will have to read and ponder again. I have blogged for almost a year and a half and I have to admit it does feel good when I see someone comment on a post or that the number of hits is bigger than it was before.
I do not think I have consciously allowed that to affect my style or goal in my blog, but you raise a good question about what happens subconsciously? Would I even recognize any such change in my writing? I don’t know. I realize that in the last few months my writing has tended to be more of re-publishing stories, news, etc from old newspapers and books and less original thought, so maybe your entry explains why that has happened.
I blog because I like the challenge of trying to find something interesting about the Civil War and sharing it. I also like having a place to try to express my thoughts in writing and see how creative I can be, but in a public sphere instead of my own private journal. I know other people can see what I blog about so I have to put some kind of effort into it to make my entries at least look presentable and intelligible, and not just random notes.
On the other hand, I still have control over what I write and how I write it, and do not need a professor to make assignments or give me grades. I really like the sense of control, and of it being “my” blog.
I admit I do look at the number of visitors from time to time, and I am human enough to have an ego that likes seeing bigger numbers. I cannot deny that. Whether or not that has affected my blogging is something that I will have to think about a lot more.
Thanks for posting this – food for thought on as I read this on a Saturday morning.
Robert Moore
October 30, 2010
Richard,
Thanks for your comment. I think we should, from time to time, revisit why we began blogging, and then reevaluate our reasons for continuing. The thing is to continue enjoy doing what we do. Since this is more a labor of love than anything else, when it is no longer fun, why would we continue? I too like to present information that I think isn’t commonly known. Also, for as long as I’ve been publishing, my objective has been to fill gaps where there was no or little information… as if I were looking for a book on a subject and could not find it. To me, that’s fun.
Glad you enjoyed the post!
captainrlm
October 30, 2010
civilwarobsession.blogspot.com Somehow, the blogspot portion was not in the hyperlink. My bad.
Robert Moore
October 30, 2010
Oh, Richard, I forgot to ask… what is your blog? I tried the hyperlink attached to your name, but it took me to a non-existent page.
Ron Baumgarten
October 30, 2010
Funny you should post this topic, as I was having a discussion with my wife about the very same thing this morning!
I am relatively new to blogging. I began “All Not So Quiet Along the Potomac” back in May, with the aim of kicking my Civil War hobby up a notch or two. I also wanted to get experience writing history, rather than the legal arguments I did at work. I wasn’t sure what direction it would take, but given my research interests and curiosity about Fairfax County and the McLean, VA area during the War, I started to focus on topcis related to the Civil War history around my home.
One of my secondary goals has been to make available a wide array of writings on a subject that is relatively obscure compared to the big battles. I am happy if a few people in this area of the Commonwealth discover something about their local history as they go about their busy daily lives. In fact, a student used one of my stories on Chain Bridge in doing a school project. I also like to share and exhange ideas and information with fellow Civil War enthusiasts, and the blog lets me do that. It’s satisfying if even a proven Civil War buff can learn something from my blog.
Of course, technology and blogging is a double-edged sword. Stat counters allow us to see who looks, and when. I can’t deny to having been interested in the numbers. But when they take over, it becomes less the pursuit of a passion, and more of a businesss, complete with the ability to develop “marketing strategies.”
I have been tempted to increase readership by delving into more controversial or popular topics, like black Confederates or the Governor’s proclamation. However, I wouldn’t be true to myself. I also don’t want the blog to take on political overtones. I deal enough with politics in my daily life in government that I don’t need to use my blog as an outlet for refelcting my political ideology through historical interpretation.
When it become a numbers game, then the fun goes away. This is when we have to remind ourselves of why we are blogging in the first place; hopefully it’s not to “get the numbers up.” Very few people become famous writing history, let alone Civil War books. Even fewer become famous blogging about it. Just do it to learn, and to spread knowledge. That is a recipe for a happy blogger.
Robert Moore
October 30, 2010
Ron,
I too like to look at the numbers and the different places where readers are from. I also enjoy watching numbers increase… but, as I mentioned in my response to Richard McCormick’s comment, I think we need to keep ourselves in check, and, from time to time, reevaluate the reasons why we blog and what brought us to blogging in the first place.
Now, every once in a while, I have something that ties into current events… such as in the case of the recent “Black Confederates” flap (my recent post about Charles M. Brown), or in the case of the recent decision of Virginia’s governor… or even in the case where I find historical problems (the image of the South equaling the Confederacy, etc., etc.) in the way Confederate History Month is being recognized. I think it’s fine to post on such things, as long as one has something of value to add. Yet, when the motivation for posts is centered on drawing attention from blog surfers who are following recent events… then that becomes a problem. Actually, I find it interesting that I didn’t attract other Web surfers over the recent flap with… ummm… someone running for office who claimed that she dabbled in witchcraft. After all, I have been writing about witches and witchcraft in the Blue Ridge and have been using “witch” and “witchcraft” in keywords, but I don’t think it made a difference. Not that I was writing to see a difference, but rather, was writing because it’s that time of year. Still, some people write specifically to draw an audience, thinking that they can feed off things such as this.
Personally, I like reading a blog post where someone leaves me walking away thinking either 1) I didn’t know that, or 2) that makes me think more… and it may lead me to write something in my blog. It’s almost like a carry-over from my History grad school days… almost like an active classroom… at least in the case where some good solid exchanges (discussion in comments) can be had.
Craig Swain
October 30, 2010
Well first we must note the difference between “using a blog formatted web page” and “being a blogger.”
In the former case, a person or organization is just using the medium (which is rather flexible in this regard) to convey a message which the writer has more or less has already scoped. Those are “blogs” in the technical sense. But they are not “logs” in the true sense of the word. More so these are outlets for information supporting a specific, and defined, message.
“Being a blogger,” which would be more in line with the original intent of a blog, is less about the scope or direction of the message, and more about chronicling the evolution of the writer’s understanding of the subject. We often forget that “blog” was a contraction of “web log.” As such the really good blogs are those which allow us readers to follow along as the writer relates his/her discoveries, dead ends, and overall evolution of the message.
Some of my best blog posts were regarding the Edwards Ferry crossings. I feel that, as they were honestly “blogs.” When I sat down to write the first time, I poured out all I knew at the time about the crossings. The more I wrote, the more questions I had. The more questions I chased down answers for, the more I wrote. Several months later and a couple dozen posts, I was amazed at the interaction. People stepped forward with more leads. So the quest for a more accurate description of the operation continues. There were many fine points (and a few major ones) that I had to clarify and re-examine through the process (particularly the movement of the 2nd Vermont Brigade which was practically undocumented).
Posting frequency on the subject has dropped off now, but I still compile information and prepare posts as I continue to explore the topic. (In fact I visited the site again today in order to consider a perspective offered by another comment from a few weeks back!)
Robert Moore
October 30, 2010
Yes, and as you know, I use the blog in both ways… for information delivery (the blog formatted Web posts AND pages… though the pages aren’t necessarily formatted in the same way) and as a Web log. After writing this post, I was wondering if opinion pieces and/or thinking out loud pieces might be more subject to compromise than the info delivery pieces. Of course, as you demonstrate, thinking out loud also relates to information delivery. So, which of the two (opinion or info delivery/info “mulling”) do you think might be more subject to compromise… or are they equally as vulnerable? Of course, I suppose it depends on the person blogging. In the end, no matter what a blogger writes… if there are no reactions whatsoever and/or limited visitors (or the blogger feels either OR both of these is not at a level that is satisfying to him/her), anyone may get to a point where they want to change direction ( just like a trolling vessel moving to another fishing spot) or quit the blog altogether.
Craig Swain
October 30, 2010
Yes indeed one can layer pages and posts to achieve better delivery. What I was referring to was outside the technical delivery, and more to the style of writing/tone of writing. I’ve seen a few Civil War bloggers who are for all intents simply stepping forward on a theme they’ve already mapped out well in their printed works.
Or in other cases, some bloggers will offer posts along a particular theme/subject which they have long established stances to defend. For what it is worth, the writer may well be well versed in the topic, but their approach is simply to offer additional analysis to the existing body of knowledge. Often to pull in a recent event for use as validation. In either case, the end state is “known” although the path used by the writer may be interesting to read. Again, nothing wrong with that. It is a “blog” technically speaking.
But a “blog” in the sense of the original definition would indeed drift over a topic much like the trolling vessel you mention. Under that style (which I would argue was the original intent of the blog format), readers should sense the evolution of the subject. Indeed, one almost expects to see those “ah-ha!” posts where the writer discovers a new way of looking over the subject; or comes across information that transforms the writer’s opinions.
In that mode, a blogger would never be afraid to say, “I thought this was the truth of the matter, but upon further exploration, I’ve had to revise or rethink that way of looking at things….”
That’s hard to do in the field of history, of course, as you open oneself up to cross-examination. But when you think about it, from the perspective of the reader, those are just the types of revisions you want to see from the writer. It actually validates the position the writer presents!
brooksdsimpson
December 7, 2010
As someone who’s had the chance to rethink these things and decide to strike out on my own, I’m not so much interested in intentions than I am in results. My reasons for blogging vary by subject matter and the moment. I view blogging as part of a greater output and as a different means of expression/communication.
Robert Moore
December 7, 2010
Brooks, I can appreciate the “subject and moment” approach… and I take it that you mean sometimes reactions, but not necessarily all the time (?). Also, I agree that blogging is a different means of expression/communication, but you mention “results”. How do you plan on measuring your “results”? By numbers of visitors and comments… or in another way?
brooksdsimpson
December 8, 2010
I don’t mean “results” in terms of “impact,” however measured, because even objective criteria can be subjectively interpreted (number of page views, for example). By “results” I mean what appears in the blog … the product, if you will. I assess blogs by their content, not the motivation of the blogger, which is not always clear to me, anyway. In my case, the blog is an additional means of communicating a message, discussing a topic, raising a question, or thinking out loud … functions not nearly so easily met in other ways. I’d hate for my blog to repeat itself or to verify my findings. However, some themes do dominate, and I would suspect the handling of the sesquicentennial will be among them.
Robert Moore
December 8, 2010
That thinking out loud part is something that I think some folks don’t quite understand. What I mean by this is that when some of us write posts (when they are written as thinking out loud), they can be “fluid” pieces. Making the distinction between the “fluid” and the “static” in a blog post challenges most of us (and I do mean as both a reader and a writer) because we have been “raised” to read the “static” (for print). When you say “functions not nearly so easily met in other ways”, I’m curious about what you mean… digital vs. print… digital interaction vs. in-person interaction… larger and more random audience vs. control groups? I think all are relevant, but would like to know your views on this.
You raise a number of points that I think merit lengthy discussion. I see great potential for a post that would facilitate a discussion about digital literacy.