Last night when a friend stopped by for a cup of coffee, he mentioned to me that he was reading my blog.
I was a bit surprised by that, since I don't assume anyone reads my blog except for other bloggers who I know online, most of them with names that are a bit clever- or funny. I'm always surprised when someone who doesn't blog mentions they read my blog.
"And," he said, staring at his coffee cup, "I think you need to change what you write about."
Wow. Every blogger's nightmare, huh? A reader in 3D right in front of you. Not as easy as dealing with a comment, is it?
"Tell me," I said.
He looked so uncomfortable. "Well," he said, hesitating. "It's just that when you write about sports - you write too much about women's sports. I'd like to see more on regular sports."
"Women's sports is regular sports," I said.
"Yeah but then - you wrote about the Olympics and didn't even mention Bret Favre."
You see this is the problem with being a Jack of all trades - or a blogger of too many topics. There's this never ending supply of material. You have to pick and choose. I write about sports, but only intermittently.
"I thought of a post about Favre," I admitted. "I was going to do a humorous post saying he's writing a book called 101 Ways to Disrupt Training Camp."
He laughed.
"Would have been a good post," I said.
"Better than the Olympic one."
I nodded. "Anything else you want to say?"
"Nope. I feel better now."
And there you have it. I learned a valuable lesson in sports writing. Sometimes you have to write two posts in an area. Football season is coming and if you blog about sports, you better take that into account or else someone might show up at your door.
I did suggest to him that he start his own blog, which he could write the way he wanted, but he said no, he wasn't the blogging type.
"But," he added, "I read lots of blogs."
So I guess there are readers besides other bloggers. Wow. Armchair bloggers.
13 comments:
I'm an armchair blogger too. I'd like to see more stories about personal experiences like the one this morning. Thanks.
LOL, anonymous! There's far more to write about than there is time. There's a lot I'd like to write about that I haven't but that it would be logical for me to write about given my interests or other pieces. I lament that I don't cover most issues with enough depth, but that's the nature of painful conditions and a hobby and children who need more attention than my blog does.
Anonymous: Definitely stay tuned- I'll be writing about personal experiences.
Frida- Yes I agree - there's sooo much material and sometimes I just don't have the time to cover some issues in depth - or at all. I'm glad there are more bloggers these days for that reason. :)
Isn't it weird when real-life human beings talk about your blog in person? I always find it sort of uncomfortable. (Even though no one's told me I should write about Brett Favre!)
My best friend's husband did make the comment awhile back that he's got to be careful about what he says or it may end up on my blog! And he's right. I love to record real life conversations. I've got a post brewing about one right now, as a matter of fact.
Great post, Ruth! I look forward to your posts, no matter what the subject matter.
aww thanks BG. I really like reading the "real life conversation" posts myself.
Wow. Armchair bloggers.
LOL :)
Mike- thanks for your comment. :)
I would like to request that all bloggers please write about subjects that are important to me.
Thank you.
Over from BG's: Too much women's sport.
Don't even get AG fired up on the misogyny in that little gem and the status quo of it all.
Ruth, you blog about anything and everything you want. AG will have your back on that!!!
rotten mcdonald: and I think that blogger's comment should be framed :) LMAO!
AG: oh yeah the women's sport thing! I used to work with a woman in an EEOC office who helped pass Title IX and have followed progress over the years since then.
as for having my back, very cool. thanks for your comment :)
You always have to pick and choose. That's why blogs are eclectic sometimes, cause they arguably don't have to stick to one thing. It's good to know that people read them though even if they don't write. I had an ex who simply couldn't understand why anyone would care what someone had to say on their blogs. I don't think she understood that blogs vary widely.
Sirbarrett- I've had that conversation with some friends who don't understand why folks read blogs or how blogs could be interesting. Maybe they read a few blogs they found boring or didn't try reading any. It's a completely different medium of expression and I find it very interesting to watch how bloggers use their blogs, graphics, audio, etc.
Thanks for your comment!
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