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Why I still blog after 15 years

jonashietala.se

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Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#91

Post by genezeta »

blackbrokkoli wrote: post #64
JohnMakin wrote: post #36

> "I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is now to me the "old school" internet creator attitude (that I still possess). I don't blog as much any more but do create content elsewhere - a lot of it is for my own enjoyment and creative outlet, to blow off steam, whatever - the fact that other people may want to watch it is secondary. I do try to do things people want, but only if I…

Genuine question: If you write only for yourself, what motivates you to actually finish, and more importantly, polish a post? I write for myself all the time, in private: I have a journal, a paper notebook, thousands of notes in Obsidian. Yet doing a blog post feels like a massive undertaking every single time, especially the later writing and editing: explaining stuff that is obvious to me and no one else, replacing…

Not the person above, but...

> I write for myself all the time, in private

The approach can be similar. I mean, I write for myself; nobody reads my blog. They can, sure, but nobody does because I almost never give out the URL to anyone.

So the result is I don't feel the need to care too much about explaining, etc. except when I want.

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#92

Post by aksss »

blackbrokkoli wrote: post #64
JohnMakin wrote: post #36

> "I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is now to me the "old school" internet creator attitude (that I still possess). I don't blog as much any more but do create content elsewhere - a lot of it is for my own enjoyment and creative outlet, to blow off steam, whatever - the fact that other people may want to watch it is secondary. I do try to do things people want, but only if I…

Genuine question: If you write only for yourself, what motivates you to actually finish, and more importantly, polish a post? I write for myself all the time, in private: I have a journal, a paper notebook, thousands of notes in Obsidian. Yet doing a blog post feels like a massive undertaking every single time, especially the later writing and editing: explaining stuff that is obvious to me and no one else, replacing…

Not op, but..

Writing for my future self (I know from coding) is like writing for another person. So making it readable, sources cited, etc. is being kind to future me.

Also, it’s like that old saw about teaching - if you can’t explain something to another, you probably don’t really know the topic. The exercise of writing about something with another person in mind helps me organize the information and understand it at a deeper level.

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#93

Post by cookiengineer »

JohnMakin wrote: post #36

> "I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is now to me the "old school" internet creator attitude (that I still possess). I don't blog as much any more but do create content elsewhere - a lot of it is for my own enjoyment and creative outlet, to blow off steam, whatever - the fact that other people may want to watch it is secondary. I do try to do things people want, but only if I…

Quality content gets punished.

Investigative journalism went down the drain for the same reasons. Clickbait content is so much cheaper to produce and has the same effect, because you can produce hundreds of clickbait articles in the same time.

Soon every video has to have Mr.Beast's ADHD inducing video cutstyle because otherwise the algorithms will punish you for producing too slow content.

I miss the old days where I could just watch a Carmack interview for 4 hours straight and listen to their insights without getting a burnout after 15 minutes of video time.

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#94

Post by DowagerDave »

JohnMakin wrote: post #78
blackbrokkoli wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question: If you write only for yourself, what motivates you to actually finish, and more importantly, polish a post? I write for myself all the time, in private: I have a journal, a paper notebook, thousands of notes in Obsidian. Yet doing a blog post feels like a massive undertaking every single time, especially the later writing and editing: explaining stuff that is obvious to me and no one else, replacing…

I don’t write too much anymore, one of my blogs got a lot more exposure and attention than I was comfortable with and people online in general are weirdo freaks and annoying to deal with. I guess I didn’t fuss too much with that stuff, the quality was likely poorer than it could have been. Same with my video stuff, I just don’t care that much if it’s polished. Audience feedback sometimes helps but isn’t that motivati…

>> and people online in general are weirdo freaks and annoying to deal with.

This is definitely the current internet and not the typical experience back when blogging was very popular. It's too easy to access and produce low-quality contributions today, which (ironically?) is something that blogs countered and also probably led to their decline.

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#95

Post by bityard »

jl6 wrote: post #62
ReleaseCandidat wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> content creation I seriously hate the term "content" used for "creative output". It is a terrible, derogatory word, that makes me sad. Content is only there to have something to sell, to fill the blank space around ads, the actual content of the content doesn't matter. That people refer to themselves as "content creators" is a sign that they see the value of their creative output only to make money.

Nobody ever thought to themselves: I sure could go for some content right now.

I can't explain why, but I always cringe a little when I hear someone say that they "consume content."

Maybe its because I can't tell if brings up animalistic connotations (a pack of feral hipsters picking at the remains of an endangered podcast on the Serengeti), or if they are intentionally being elitist ("It would be a waste of time to simply read Chomsky's work, an educated person would make the effort consume it.")

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#96

Post by JohnMakin »

cookiengineer wrote: post #93
JohnMakin wrote: post #36

> "I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is now to me the "old school" internet creator attitude (that I still possess). I don't blog as much any more but do create content elsewhere - a lot of it is for my own enjoyment and creative outlet, to blow off steam, whatever - the fact that other people may want to watch it is secondary. I do try to do things people want, but only if I…

Quality content gets punished. Investigative journalism went down the drain for the same reasons. Clickbait content is so much cheaper to produce and has the same effect, because you can produce hundreds of clickbait articles in the same time. Soon every video has to have Mr.Beast's ADHD inducing video cutstyle because otherwise the algorithms will punish you for producing too slow content. I miss the old days where…

It always seems to me there’s room for a platform like the “old” youtube that doesn’t behave this way? Or maybe youtube just has too much critical mass for that ever to work.

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#97

Post by DowagerDave »

ALittleLight wrote: post #79
ReleaseCandidat wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> content creation I seriously hate the term "content" used for "creative output". It is a terrible, derogatory word, that makes me sad. Content is only there to have something to sell, to fill the blank space around ads, the actual content of the content doesn't matter. That people refer to themselves as "content creators" is a sign that they see the value of their creative output only to make money.

This seems unnecessarily negative and pessimistic. "Content" is the stuff or substance that people want to consume as opposed to all the associated stuff (branding, SEO, "hooks", whatever). "Content creator" recognizes that there is similarity between long form video essays and shorts and blogs and live streams - and that people who do one often do others.

I don't agree. The emphasis on content implies it's the output that is most important, and that you can split it out from all the nonsense you differentiate above. Many of the people in this thread counter that the act of creation is the most important part. Just stop with "Creator" (or builder or writer).

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#98

Post by tdeck »

JohnMakin wrote: post #36

> "I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read." This is now to me the "old school" internet creator attitude (that I still possess). I don't blog as much any more but do create content elsewhere - a lot of it is for my own enjoyment and creative outlet, to blow off steam, whatever - the fact that other people may want to watch it is secondary. I do try to do things people want, but only if I…

I really feel this with podcasts; everyone seems like they need to make a buck now. Before about 2015 there were so many great podcasts that people did for fun or because they wanted to get a message out. Slowly, one by one, they started adding sponsorships for Blue Apron and NatureBox and SquareSpace (these were the VPMs of 2015). Now even the most niche podcast has algorithmic ads. I frequently hear creators say that these ads make very little money but I guess the creators think they're losing out by not including them.

I remember listening to The Skeptics Guide to the Universe back then and thinking "everyone else is adding ads but I bet this one never will, they've been doing it ad-free for like a decade". Then a year later they had ads. It's just sad to think of what we've lost.

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#99

Post by DowagerDave »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #87
Kye wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the flip side of every other employment possibility having such poor prospects. Do you spend 4 years getting a degree no one will hire for so you can bag groceries to pay off debt, or do you bag groceries to live while trying to break through as a creator? For most people, there aren't many options available. All the best opportunities are in cities no one can afford to live in anymore.

I always struggle to understand this sentiment. There seems to be a huge labor shortage, particularly for physical and skilled labor. Auto mechanics change 120/hr for labor, someone recently quoted me 40k to spend a week landscaping my residential back yard, and an arborist wanted 3k for a single day of chainsaw work pruning a big tree.

none of those things are accessible to someone who has say, a 4-yr fine arts degree. They're also extremes and not typical, unless your car is at the dealer, your backyard is on a make-over show, or that tree is hanging over your house & powerlines

Re: Why I still blog after 15 years

#100

Post by soulofmischief »

JohnMakin wrote: post #82
soulofmischief wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watched her podcast and some interviews, and it's clear that, while not the most educated person, she exudes charisma and has a relatable sense of humor. She seems like a natural entertainer. As for education, she's from the south and her mom is an absent drug addict so I give her a pass (I have the same background and it is extraordinarily difficult) I think she's a special case, and she'll prove that over time. I…

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with what she did or that she does not have talent. It’s more crazy to me that this is seen as a natural progression of someone’s online career.

I don't know, I feel it's hard to know what a natural progression in one's online career looks like, given the relative nascence of the medium. Film underwent similar phase transitions over time before settling on the star system, which we are now seeing begin to fail as well.

It's certainly not sustainable to give a podcast to every person who says something that goes viral on TikTok, so I wonder how things will look in another 30 years.

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