The Great Blogger Experiment
"If you build it, they will come ..."
Maybe ... but maybe not ...
To be honest, I'm no longer sure where the world of blogging is going. It's possible that the excitement and the thrill of writing daily blogs is a thing of the past. Shame, really.
These days, some people seem to want a "quickie," something like what you get on Facebook or Twitter. Just a word or two, and very little more. If you can add a little drama to your note, all the better. Some people like drama. It excites them. It spins their head around and makes them go OMG. Some people like the OMG of life.
Way back in Yahoo! 360 days, there was a phrase called the "blue-eyed skim." That little notion defined people who didn't really read a blog. They skimmed over it just enough to get the jist of the blog so that they could write a comment. Usually, that comment missed the point of the blog and was fairly predictable. The comment, "Thanks for sharing," comes to mind. Those people were not on Yahoo! 360 to write. They were there for the social interplay, a perfectly legitimate motive, because we all need friends, whether they be real-life friends or online friends.
It's fairly obvious that people who populated the pages of Multiply are going to miss all the ways that they could connect to other people in a social network sort of way. The scramble to find something like Multiply goes on. Some have gone to blogster.com and some have migrated to xanga.com, both much more a kind of social network than Blogger is or probably ever will be.
Xanga is an especially busy place. Lots of interaction, with pages for photos, audio, video, notes, and so on. I was on Xanga for a couple of weeks, but quit when I read some unfavourable reviews about the "safety" of the site.
I haven't tried Blogster, but I see that many of the old Multiply crew and refugees have gone there. Maybe I should give it a whirl. Not sure ... To be honest, I have long wanted something different from the Multiply experience, which became more of a chat room than a site for interesting and thoughtful writing and discussion.
Clearly, Blogger is not friendly to those who want some kind of instant give-and-take between online acquaintances. There's no quickie Inbox, no Twitter-like "Notes" to update the minutiae of your day, as if someone out there actually cared.
From what I can tell, Blogger is for people who enjoy writing and who write maybe just for the sake of writing. Still, you can post a video, put up some photos, start a group on a separate page ...
You can do almost anything here, and still Blogger seems remote and unfriendly to many people. The best advice that I can offer is that it takes time to get used to new things. If it's important for you to have the instant attention of dozens of "friends," then you may find yourself in for a disappointment on Blogger. Yes, I have seen sites on Blogger with hundreds of friends, but I'm not sure how gratifying that can be if only a few of those contacts actually participate by reading and maybe commenting on the blogs.
Hang in there, and give it some time.
"If you build it, they will come ..."
Maybe ... but maybe not ...
To be honest, I'm no longer sure where the world of blogging is going. It's possible that the excitement and the thrill of writing daily blogs is a thing of the past. Shame, really.
These days, some people seem to want a "quickie," something like what you get on Facebook or Twitter. Just a word or two, and very little more. If you can add a little drama to your note, all the better. Some people like drama. It excites them. It spins their head around and makes them go OMG. Some people like the OMG of life.
Way back in Yahoo! 360 days, there was a phrase called the "blue-eyed skim." That little notion defined people who didn't really read a blog. They skimmed over it just enough to get the jist of the blog so that they could write a comment. Usually, that comment missed the point of the blog and was fairly predictable. The comment, "Thanks for sharing," comes to mind. Those people were not on Yahoo! 360 to write. They were there for the social interplay, a perfectly legitimate motive, because we all need friends, whether they be real-life friends or online friends.
It's fairly obvious that people who populated the pages of Multiply are going to miss all the ways that they could connect to other people in a social network sort of way. The scramble to find something like Multiply goes on. Some have gone to blogster.com and some have migrated to xanga.com, both much more a kind of social network than Blogger is or probably ever will be.
Xanga is an especially busy place. Lots of interaction, with pages for photos, audio, video, notes, and so on. I was on Xanga for a couple of weeks, but quit when I read some unfavourable reviews about the "safety" of the site.
I haven't tried Blogster, but I see that many of the old Multiply crew and refugees have gone there. Maybe I should give it a whirl. Not sure ... To be honest, I have long wanted something different from the Multiply experience, which became more of a chat room than a site for interesting and thoughtful writing and discussion.
Clearly, Blogger is not friendly to those who want some kind of instant give-and-take between online acquaintances. There's no quickie Inbox, no Twitter-like "Notes" to update the minutiae of your day, as if someone out there actually cared.
From what I can tell, Blogger is for people who enjoy writing and who write maybe just for the sake of writing. Still, you can post a video, put up some photos, start a group on a separate page ...
You can do almost anything here, and still Blogger seems remote and unfriendly to many people. The best advice that I can offer is that it takes time to get used to new things. If it's important for you to have the instant attention of dozens of "friends," then you may find yourself in for a disappointment on Blogger. Yes, I have seen sites on Blogger with hundreds of friends, but I'm not sure how gratifying that can be if only a few of those contacts actually participate by reading and maybe commenting on the blogs.
Hang in there, and give it some time.
You've expressed a lot of the dissatisfaction that I have been feeling about alternate blog sites, Kennedy. At your suggestion, I browsed Xanga. It does look a lot like Multiply, but I'm leery of all the pop-up ads on the bottom. I do have a subscription to Wordpress but have not yet thought of anything substantial for a blog, there. I noticed that they even have creative writing suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for Xanga's pop-ups either. I also had to do a great deal of editing for me to get the right "feel" for the template.
Deletei am quite liking blogger kennedy...its ...balanced i feel...it doesn't get you addicted to your inbox...thus impinging on your everyday life ...and yet the pleasure of reading and writing stays intact...
ReplyDeletesure i'll also probably be on xanga...jus cuz my gang of chums is there...:))
"i am quite liking blogger kennedy...its ...balanced i feel...it doesn't get you addicted to your inbox...thus impinging on your everyday life ...and yet the pleasure of reading and writing stays intact..."
DeleteExactly ...
Blogger is a pretty site, and it's writer-friendly. However, navigating Blogger isn't the easiest thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI opened an account on Blogster (which you cannot delete once opened). It's a more user-friendly site with features you don't' find on Blogger. The downside is that the world can see if you are online, who visits your blogs, and who is new to the site. I'm not sure I like those features very much.
Like you, I tried Xanga and couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Life goes on ...
I've been meaning to try Blogster, but like I wrote in my piece, I would really like something different from the Multiply experience, which became pretty much a world of cliques.
Deleteyes yes yes
ReplyDeletewe are on the same page
I have said more than once, the serious bloggers have come to blogger and the more social chit chatters have migrated to xanga
it is interesting to note after trying out so many new site my computer could no longer connect to the internet...there is a virus out there that does that...I have a new computer and will stay right here on blogger
once multiply is totally dead, this place will come alive a little more
glad you have chosen blogger :)
"it is interesting to note after trying out so many new site my computer could no longer connect to the internet...there is a virus out there that does that...I have a new computer and will stay right here on blogger"
DeleteWhen I deleted myself from one of the aforementioned sites, my computer also picked up a virus. Coincidental, I suppose, but weird ...
So, Blogger is home now ...
It does seem to be a different deal here..but I will give it a try. I prefer a small group of close friends than a bevy of acquaintances.. and I'm very picky about what I read..which is why I stick with you Mr James ;)
Delete~99
And for that, I am forever grateful ... :o}
Deletesarcasm? :(
DeleteNo, not at all ...
DeleteWow look at how time flies. Over a year later and I'm still here, reading your cleverly crafted words. However, you haven't come to read me in all that time like you do your other contacts, and I have wondered why now and then. It finally strikes me that you're just not interested. Yes, blogger does seem remote and unfriendly indeed.
DeleteI've found blogspot hard to navigate , but it does have a phone app. Blogster I just started and really like the set up. I didn't find a phone app for it tho. I agree that it takes time. Everyone will settle in once multiply is gone ....
ReplyDelete"Blogster I just started and really like the set up."
DeleteWell, I must check out Blogster today ...