Monday 30 April 2012

it's scary out there

You know, I think the whole reason why I lost the will to blog is due to the fact that the Internet is now filled with SuperMegaBloggers. Bloggers who have books. Bestselling books. Hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers. Thousands of comments on each post. Bloggers who are sponsored and have dozens of flashy ads in their sidebars. Bloggers who have things for sale on Cafe Press. Slick design and squeaky clean templates. Photos taken with SLR cameras way out of my price range.

Which isn't to say that this is something I want for myself. I can't handle the pressure or the trolls*. It's just that it makes blogging for us little people a little more harrowing. How do you get read these days? Back in the olden days, people linked to you and you linked to other people and so on until everyone on the Internet knew each other and got together for gatherings in pubs. This little blog is lost in a sea of SuperMegaBloggers. No one knows who you are unless you become Big.

On the flipside, the other reason why I stopped blogging was because I was getting a lot readers. The pressure of trying to think of hilarious and interesting things to say was wearing. I kept having children. I got more tired by the day. My brain ran out of ideas.

So now that I'm getting a little more sleep and trying to get into the habit of writing regularly, I can do it without anyone really noticing. Maybe one day the readers will come back (how?), but I'm actually pretty much okay with wittering away to myself for the time being.

*(That would be Internet trolls, or people who are deliberately nasty to gain attention. Not trolls of the Harry Potter variety, because they're not real. Sorry.)

6 comments:

Suburban Mum said...

I'm still here :) And I feel exactly the same about the supermegabloggers. I miss old skool blogging!

Mrs Dee said...

Woohoo! *waves*

LisaS said...

You are almost making me think I should come back, too. I miss old-style blogging. I promise no sponsorship deals though :)

Mrs Dee said...

Lisa, you should! Blog like no one's watching! (Sponsoring?) xx

Wheelybin sniffer said...

Supermegga bloggers are everywhere, it is down to their connections, nothing more.
One such posts on twitter, a local forum with blogs about the wonderful world of "growing your own" and supporting/advocating "local" everything, from shopping to community.
The owners/writers have connections within the local council, perhaps some grants/funding?
Whilst the town centre is being demolished, the supermarket across the street is totally dominant and are running a competition for funding a "local" concern via their community marketing fund.

This wonderful blog/forum are posting that people should recommend them when they shop at the supermarket, so they can win their funding.
I was willing to discuss it in public so others could read, the owners did not and conducted it in private, in the end not replying because they could not answer a simple question.

The point of this rambling nonsense, is that 99% of all blogs forums etc, I have found to have a vested interest, sponsorship, funding, etc, what's posted isn't anything that they want to say, to all intents and purposes, they are employed to do so.
Nothing makes me close a web browser faster.
You keep blogging like no one's watching, it is the best way!

Mrs Dee said...

Cheers, Deano! I agree, old school blogging needs to make a comeback. I guess it's part of our celebrity culture, as well. I do really enjoy some of the "famous" bloggers because fundamentally, their writing is still brilliant (like The Bloggess and Douce) but it's nice when bloggers are just real people who respond to comments.