People often disparage blogs by saying “any fool can put his name on a blog and write whatever he wants to.” Well, that’s true. Any fool can — and they often do. So why bother? Does anyone pay attention? Does it matter whether anyone pays attention?
I started writing on the web (other than on forums and discussion groups) a little over a year ago. I first signed up for a site that offered points for writing and participating in the site, and rewards for those points. The rewards were nice, but I left that site several months ago because I disliked many other aspects of it.
Shortly after leaving that site, I started writing for Associated Content. AC pays cash for what I write for them, although usually very small amounts. For some articles, I receive a small upfront payment, and for all articles I accumulate bonus money (paid monthly) based on how many page views they get. Again, it’s not much, but on my income, every bit helps, and it’s also good experience and a way to get publishing credits.
Now I’m on WordPress. WordPress doesn’t reward me directly in any way. I can’t even put ads on my blog here (aside from the occasional unobtrusive Amazon link). So why bother?
Well, I started a blog here originally because I sometimes have things I want to write about that aren’t really appropriate for AC, but that I would like to share with others. It’s also a way of promoting my AC articles (see sidebar and click, please) so that I can get more page views and more page view bonus. Mercenary, I know. I hope no one feels cheated.
It’s also just fun, though. Many of my internet friends have migrated to WordPress, so we interact here and have a great time.
It’s fun knowing that I’m being read, too. On the other site, I would obsessively watch my points grow until I had enough for a reward, but I think I was also watching them just know that people were reading my work. On WordPress, I’ve been obsessively checking my blog stats, even though there is no point value or cash value attached to them.
Does anyone pay attention? According to the stats, at least a few people do. Does it matter whether anyone pays attention? Well, clearly, to me it does. I like to know that someone is out there reading. I’m here for a number of reasons, but I think that’s the big one — just to know that someone is out there reading my stuff.
13 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 29, 2007 at 11:59 am
Wanda Rizzuto
I’m an attention whore, nothing wrong with that.
I don’t seem to be on your blogroll. Don’t you love me anymore?
November 29, 2007 at 12:42 pm
kmcdade
What? No? I’ll be sure to correct that.
November 29, 2007 at 1:38 pm
pandemonic
Obviously I’m not in it for the money, or I wouldn’t be here or committing suicide at the other joint. Sometimes your muse has to come out freely, without the carrot of a payment.
By the way, do you ever submit to AC for no payment, just the page view payment? I sometimes do…
November 29, 2007 at 2:02 pm
thirdculturemom
You can tell why I’m here from when I finally turned up.
November 29, 2007 at 2:36 pm
thelittlefluffycat
I think all these places are like the different disks in a workout set. You know–“beginner workout”, “ab workout”,
“legs and glutes workout”, “cardio workout”—they all have their place, but it’s definitely more fun to workout with friends in “a clean, well-lighted place.” đŸ™‚
November 29, 2007 at 4:02 pm
kmcdade
Pan, yes, I do both. My page view payments have really been going up recently, which is nice.
Mom — yes, I can.
Cat — excellent analogy.
November 29, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Suzy
Hi, Migratory Internet Friend!
Like Wanda, I’m just an attention whore.
November 29, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Suzy
You know what else? This is all like being in a classroom. I look at what I wrote a little over a year ago when I first started this on line stuff and I shudder. My style has advanced, my technique’s improved and all of that grammar and punctuation crap are things for which I can now be proud. (Almost dangled a participle there. Caught myself.)
Why would I want to be in class all this time? It feels good.
November 29, 2007 at 10:19 pm
kmcdade
Suzy — shall I call you MIF? It just seemed to be calling out for an acronym. And yes, I think that all of this has been an excellent classroom for many of us.
November 29, 2007 at 10:45 pm
neoauteur
Well, blogging has become very addictive for me. It’s a good hobby, nevertheless.
November 30, 2007 at 5:12 am
Bobby Goat GRUFF!
I like that: I’m migratory.
I experimented with the amazon links a while back and it paid nothing. Then again, I advertised books nobody want to read.
December 1, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Corina
Blogging makes me feel like I am having a conversation. In my RL, I don’t talk to anyone outside of the house. The only ones inside my house right now are my two daughters who spend most of their at home time online or on their cell phones. Therefore, I really speak to no one. Blogging is my contact with the outside world.
December 2, 2007 at 2:31 pm
TheOtherIvy
It is a good practice and I enjoy the connectedness. I have noticed a difference in the time involved in writing pieces since I started putting things online which has really been beneficial. People’s comments inspire me to push a line of thought further or in a different way, reading others’ blogs spark new ideas. I really like the revising after publishing aspect. I have published poems in print journals that I would very very much like to go back and revise.