Dumb Question that almost BEGS for Abuse: Should I bother Starting a Blog?

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...and if I did, would anyone actually read it?

Seriously, it seems like it would be both fun and a way to showcase my intensely arguable writing ability.

Should I bother? Am I too late to the table? Are there already too many idiotic blogs taking up space on ye olde internet by now? Would it just be yet another let down?

Your thoughts, please. Coax me into jumping off the dock or stop me before I make a terrible mistake.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, but can it all be bitching about Beyonce and not kissing industrial-goth-metal ass?

I'd read it then.

― Felix Leiter (nordicskilla), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't see why not.

― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― 33, Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:37 (twenty-one years ago)

As long as the Chazzer gets her own column.

― Je4nne ƒur¥ (Je4nne Fury), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, but can it all be bitching about Beyonce and not kissing industrial-goth-metal ass?

There would be equal measures.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Do it, Alex, as long as you're then open to our comments and suggestions :)

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Dude, don't start a blog. Make a movie.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, do it. Even if no one reads it*, it's a good way to sort out your thoughts and/or do something creative.

*I'm sure you'll have plenty of readers...

Only speaking for myself here: if you write really long articles, I will not read them; I have a short attention span when it comes to reading things that may end up being pointless. But I'll read all kinds of pointless shit if it's a few sentences at a time. ILX, case in point.

― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Design a building!

― Felix Leiter (nordicskilla), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Write a novel!

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:43 (twenty-one years ago)

festeringpiehole.blogspot.com still available!

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Build a wooden boat with period-correct tools!

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I was all set to respond with "I think there's enough blogs out there already, thank you."

And then I saw who started the thread and immediately changed my mind.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex if you start a blog I'll start a blog.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm fuckin' serious.

I been thinking about this and talking about it for months.

Does anybody else have something insightful to say about Typepad vs. Blogspot?

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Also name suggestions because I dunno if I'm really willing to do the seth godin bruce schneier joel spolsky thing.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Call it Dickboat.

― Allyzay knows a little German (allyzay), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:50 (twenty-one years ago)

No more blogs please. Go outside and pick up litter or something.

― andy --, Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

How about "Project for the Nude American Century"

― M. White (Miguelito), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Tombot and Alex should both start blogs! I'd read both of them.

― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Thursday, 14 July 2005 16:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Fast-forward to Oct. '06, when a google search on the word "pabulum" brings up FATUOUSCHEESEMONKEY.BLOGSPOT.COM first out of maybe ten entries.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Build a wooden boat with period-correct tools!

http://www.woodlandyurts.co.uk/Yurt_Facts/ger.html

― Jon, remind me again why you haven't drowned in your own vomit (ex machina), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

yes, you should bother. i dont read other peoples blogs, but sometimes post to mine privately as a way to keep a journal because i hate physically writing in a notebook, and the internet is everywhere.

go foritdude.

― AaronK (AaronK), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:05 (twenty-one years ago)

why not?

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Do it, Alex, as long as you're then open to our comments and suggestions :)

Open to them? I'd be RELYING on them.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Alex if you start a blog I'll start a blog.

Let's do it. Dueling blogs (cue banjo music).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Typepad is cool, you have to pay, but it's nifty and speedy and probably the better choice. I tried to use Blogspot and it was painfully slow and taxed my patience v. fast. I don't have a blog, I just wanted to know how the software worked. I've thought of starting one, I had the idea of writing up short versions of all the ridiculous paranoid xenophobic stories I overhear from certain relatives etc., i.e. "OMG this Iranian I know is leaving the country and getting married to this other Iranian in Iran, and their whole family of Iranians is meeting up with all these other Iranians over there, I think something weird is going on." Just the amazing, amazing number of suspicious anecdotes I hear about all sorts of people which kind of trail off into.. "Well, I don't know, but I think something weird is going on." Something weird is always going on!

So Tom, start a blog, use Ally's title. Alex in NYC should also start a blog. Yeah, there are too many blogs, so what, there are too many movies and records and books and everything else, that doesn't mean there isn't room for good ones.

― daria g (daria g), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Shy of setting up your own server (or shared server account), I'd with Typepad. Fast, clean, attractive.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

If Alex starts a blog, I'll stop mine. That way there won't be an addition to the surplus of blogs, and his will probably be better than mine anyhow.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I like your blog, Nick.

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

It'd be nice if someone made an ILX user blog aggregator / meta-feed....

― Jon, remind me again why you haven't drowned in your own vomit (ex machina), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Would people like that?

― Jon, remind me again why you haven't drowned in your own vomit (ex machina), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I would! Do it!

― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Here's a good report that helps shed some light on the too many blogs issue:
http://www.perseus.com/blogsurvey/thebloggingiceberg.html

some excerpts:

66.0% of surveyed blogs had not been updated in two months, representing 2.72 million blogs that have been either permanently or temporarily abandoned

1.09 million blogs were one-day wonders, with no postings on subsequent days

average duration of the remaining 1.63 million abandoned blogs was 126 days

132,000 blogs were abandoned after being maintained a year or more

46.4% of abandoned blogs created by males, as compared to 40.7% of active blogs being created by males. Abandonment rates did not vary based on age.

Pitas, BlogSpot and Diaryland had above average abandonment rates; Xanga had an average abandonment rate; LiveJournal had the lowest abandonment rate

the typical blog is written by a teenage girl who uses it twice a month to update her friends and classmates on happenings in her life.

― TOMBOT, Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

66.0% of surveyed blogs had not been updated in two months, representing 2.72 million blogs that have been either permanently or temporarily abandoned

And I'm responsible for 33.0% of those.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 14 July 2005 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

hahahahahahahaha LiveJournal

― Allyzay knows a little German (allyzay), Thursday, 14 July 2005 19:03 (twenty-one years ago)

i am the only person in the galaxy that has not abandoned pitas

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 July 2005 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Is typepad the new wordpress?

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Thursday, 14 July 2005 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

And I'm responsible for 33.0% of those.

I'm the other 33%

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 14 July 2005 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't even consider livejournal or xanga a fucking blog. They are sites for teenage girls to masturbate their ego.... OH AND MOMUS TOO.

― http://www.livejournal.com/users/hormones/ (ex machina), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

"real" internet bloggers in hating teenage girls shockah

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Thursday, 14 July 2005 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

So, Typepad seems to be the way to go. I see Friendster offers a blog option too....no good?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 July 2005 23:17 (twenty-one years ago)

i would totally put you on my friends list dood

― http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=planetofpat (-rainbow bum-), Thursday, 14 July 2005 23:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't do it Alex! It will take up valuable time you could be blogging right here, for isn't this really an interactive blog? And

66.0% of surveyed blogs had not been updated in two months, representing 2.72 million blogs that have been either permanently or temporarily abandoned

Imagine the guilt you'd feel if you didn't stay updated, I used to feel that same guilt about not writing in my diary.

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Friday, 15 July 2005 00:21 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.livejournal.com/users/trebaker/

Coming up on my year anniversary of abandonment! W00T!

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 15 July 2005 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

GOOD LORD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!

Well, kids, the dye is cast: http://vassifer.blogs.com/

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 July 2005 05:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the black and grey design motif. Bright, multicoloured blogs are for wimps.

― 30 Bangin' Tunes That You've Already Got ... IN A DIFFERENT ORDER! (Barry Brune, Friday, 15 July 2005 06:10 (twenty-one years ago)

oh ha.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 July 2005 06:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I must say that since I stopped blogging I've pretty well stopped reading other people's blogs as well except for the usual half-dozen or so suspects - but good for you Alex, hope you enjoy writing it.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 15 July 2005 06:59 (twenty-one years ago)

oh fuck yes I will be reading this

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:14 (twenty-one years ago)

i had a blog for a week and then i realized that i was incredibly bored. however i might start one again, focusing exclusively on jazz, sergio leone, and potato pancakes.

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:29 (twenty-one years ago)

what's a potato pancake? i guess you could start the blog now if you don't want to answer.

― gem (trisk), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:30 (twenty-one years ago)

http://pancakejazz.blogspot.com/

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:39 (twenty-one years ago)

you're a classic gear. i would have posted a blog-comment but no anonymous comments allowed. so here is my immediate reaction... can i just say... what a marvellous blog topic! although i must say i'm quite hopeful that future posts will pontificate in greater depth on the nature and characteristics of potato pancakes ('spudcakes'?) in particular. but of course i'm also looking forward to observing how you will decorate pancakejazz.com with graphics depicting the combination of jazz, sergio leone and potato pancakes with adequate synthesis. but in all, well done you!

― gem (trisk), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I have a web page, coudn't be arsed updating it with 'news' as it seemed a bit trivial to boldly post to the world that Amber won two swimming certificates yesterday but ILX just seems the right place to say such things.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:47 (twenty-one years ago)

(xpost)

As long, of course, as the potato pancakes are melodic :)

― Comstock Carabineri (nostudium), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:48 (twenty-one years ago)

gem you may now comment!

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:59 (twenty-one years ago)

"It's just a ride, it's just a ride..."

― wrong gem (mark grout), Friday, 15 July 2005 09:04 (twenty-one years ago)

gem I have answered your question!

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 15 July 2005 10:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha I remember teaching Alex the bold tag years ago on this board, if he has no trouble setting that up with typepad then I'm set.

I gots to show! Can I wait until the second week of august, after the group projects and term papers and bermuda boat trip have all been put away?

― TOMBOT, Friday, 15 July 2005 13:25 (twenty-one years ago)

this way you can aggregate all the ways that various musicians / songs make you want to harm or kill yourself!

― teh Nü and Impröved john n chicago (frankE), Friday, 15 July 2005 13:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Gear and Alex, your blogs have been BOOKMARKED.

I didn't even know I had a Sergio Leone/latkes/jazz-blog shaped hole in my heart until today.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 15 July 2005 13:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha I remember teaching Alex the bold tag years ago on this board, if he has no trouble setting that up with typepad then I'm set.

You must be proud....like watching me take my first steps. :::sniff::::

C'mon, Tombot! YER TURN!!!!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 July 2005 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't even know I had a Sergio Leone/latkes/jazz-blog shaped hole in my heart until today.

Me neither.

― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Friday, 15 July 2005 14:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha I remember teaching Alex the bold tag years ago on this board,

Thanks, TOMBOT. Did you also teach Jesse James how to rob banks?

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 15 July 2005 16:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Yay! Start one if you like to. Even if you stop after a month, so what? I'd opt for Blogger. Not livejournal (*blergh* hate that layout).

― nathalie's body's designed for two (stevie nixed), Friday, 15 July 2005 18:04 (twenty-one years ago)

six years pass...

I know many of you do this (& I even regularly read some of your work!), so I figured ilx would be a good place to posit such a query: Though I read them, I am not typically a proactive blogger, commentator, etc. (tbh, ilx sort of takes up the time, attention & energy I would otherwise commit to such things anyway) - so I am starting from scratch with this. Recently, however, I have taken on the task of setting up a blog in honor of a recently deceased friend. I have already been scanning & editing archives of old photos for a digital slide presentation at his memorial service, so it would be relatively easy for me to set up a blog while I am at it.

I am looking for a template w/ an adaptable layout/format, so that I can customize graphics to a reasonable extent (though preferably w/o having to do anything too technically involved - like editing code & what not). Obviously I will be posting a lot of photos, but would also like to have the option to post messages (& for others to be able to comment on any given thing), and YouTube clips.

Would Tumblr be good for this? Any other suggestions?

― now they know how many holes it takes to fill buffandmaxsmom (Pillbox), Wednesday, 26 October 2011 21:44 (fifteen years ago)

i think tumblr is p easy, yes. i can't think what you'd want to do with images that you couldn't w/tumblr but could w/something else.

― the contemporary jazz guitar gettin mad liberated (schlump), Thursday, 27 October 2011 13:38 (fifteen years ago)

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