I am a hobby blogger.
By this I mean that my purposes in maintaining this blog are exclusively connected to enjoyment, interest and personal imperatives; that I explicitly do not make money (or any of its derivatives) from this blog, and do not seek to; and that I do not adopt, or try to adopt, a professional approach to blogging.
By not-professional or amateur, I hasten to add, I don't mean not-ethical. I hold myself to the same ethical standards here as I do in every other area of my life, including my actual professional life. I am no more likely to write irresponsibly, dishonestly or libellously here than I am in a workplace document (which is to say, not at all, or so I hope). My name may be partial here and tied to a pseudonym (ZucchiniBikini), but it is my online identity and I would no sooner trash it than I would my full legal persona.
No, what I mean by non-professional is that, for me, blogging is an avocation, not a job. It holds the same place in my life that trainspotting does for my friend the rail enthusiast (by day, a senior public servant), or embroidery does for my friend the needleworker (who is, by day, a corporate lawyer). It means that I choose to what extent I concern myself with things like stats, SEO, and audience building (the answer is usually patchily, and sometimes not at all) based on little more than whimsy. It means that the ways in which blogging is important to me - because it brings me pleasure, because it satisfies a need to express views and thoughts, because it creates an enduring record of my family's life, because it lets me engage with communities of thought in many areas but especially about books - are not amenable to being constrained to rules of successful blogging as it's currently defined.
Sometimes it can be a bit strange, being a dedicated hobbyist in what is a professionalising sphere. Blog conferences and meet-ups are mostly about branding and brand relationships and building your blog and its readership; they are also about nuts and bolts stuff, writing, and telling stories, which are awesome things, but the underlying drive is about building numbers for possible monetisation, and that creates a certain ... I don't know ... tenor in the conversations. I see myself as a fish, not quite *out* of water, but gasping in a very shallow pool sometimes. I feel a little as I imagine that volunteers on archeological digs must feel - so enthused, even rhapsodical, about the story that underlies the bones, but confused and bewildered by the professional constructs of archeological discipline that go around it.
Because what I'm looking for, when I go to blog events, is only one thing really - connection. I'm not looking for PD for my microbusiness, and I'm not even really looking for ways to "improve" my blog or grow it. I want my blog to be what it is, and to grow and change as I do, but I don't want - I *actively* don't want - to systematise it, theme it, constrain its content or scheduling, or build networks with it. My blog isn't beautiful and it doesn't pop. Not caring to change these things makes me weird at the moment in the personal / parenting blogging arena (although not so much in the other blogging world I overlap - lots of book bloggers are avowedly non-professionalised).
It's not that I think that professionalising is bad (or good) - it is just not what I want to do, and I feel very sure about that. I think there's still a worthwhile place for hobbyists like me in the blogosphere - I think there are readers who want to read the amateur just as there are writers who choose to write that way. I also think hobbyists, particularly politically engaged ones (not me so much, although sometimes) can speak truth to power sometimes, and act as agents of disruption, in the subjects they choose and the ways they engage them. It's not that professional bloggers can't do these things - plenty of the great ones do - but hobbyists have the luxury of never having to think twice about the financial implications of posting unpopular or controversial things ... or even just boring things, frankly.
But it's true, at the same time, that I feel a bit like the odd one out these days, as a long-term hobbyist in a fast-professionalising sphere.
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I started out my blog as a hobby to support my business. Once it becomes about business it does change the dynamics a bit. Enjoy your hobby :)
ReplyDeleteI will, and thank you :-)
DeleteCompletely hear you. I think though sometimes writing takes you on a journey. I find it fascinating those that have morphed into monetizing their blog, those that are staunchly against and those that are open to it but haven't. I too go to those conferences and sometimes think none of this applies. I often wish I have a business that the blog could then piggy back off - as I think that it's a heck of a lot of work to do it the other way around. It's a fascinating sphere from a sociological perspective. Yes, it's brought me some incredible connections in real life, some pretty lovely mates. And for that I'm thankful.
ReplyDeleteThe connections are awesome, yeah. i have made several real friends via blogging and I treasure that aspect so much.
DeleteAnd I hear you about going to events and conferences and thinking "but none of this applies to me!" I've been to two blog confs and don't plan on going to more even though I really enjoyed them socially, for exactly this reason.
I've been blogging as a hobby for close to 4 years now and while I may do the odd giveaway here and there, only two in that 4 years haven't been bought and paid for by me and have been provided by a company. I don't have an interest in monetising, I have an interest in meeting people, reading about other people's lives and just generally enjoy having a place to blog about literally anything and everything that pops in to my head. I don't think there is any right or wrong way if you are always true to yourself in the end.
ReplyDelete#teamIBOT was here!
I mostly agree. I concur that there is no one right way - absolutely! - but I think there are a few "wrong" ways to blog - if you are deceptive, defamatory or unethical in your practices.
DeleteBut I could not agree more that the drive to share and connect is what underlies blogging. For me, it totally is.
There does seem to be a lot less "personal" bloggers left, compared to the 90s. It's not just "monetizing" that has done it; people are less naive now about the reach of the internet; plus social media has taken over much of the communication element of the earlier blogging platforms.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really useful though to delineate between "personal" and "business" blogs. It's a distinction that should be made more often. The mechanics operate differently for a start; as do the tax and legal obligations.
My blog's "personal only" so I have it set to "not indexed to search engines". This is the polar opposite of a micro-business blog that is chasing ad revenue. I also *never* check stats or feeds (I don't want stats influencing what I want to write about.) Again, the polar opposite of a "business blog."
I agree with you, I think the distinction needs to be clearer in ppl's heads - a blog is a microbusiness / professional as soon as you start aiming to make money or goods from it or accepting same, doesn't matter how little, doesn't matter how often. IMO, obvs.
DeleteI have a glance at stats a couple of times a year out of curiosity, I confess. Otherwise I am as you are!
Remember back in the day when they used to have "Blog Meets"? As in, meeting random strangers from the internet in a bar?
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone should organise a strictly social Blog Meet again!
Yes! I think Claire Hewitt was putting together a non sponsored just for fun bloggers weekend away soon (saw call outs on Twitter for it). I definitely think there is a hunger for social, casual, not brand or professional blogging meet ups that isn't being met much in Melbs atm. maybe a future project if I ever get the time.
DeleteI'm not on Twitter anymore! If it gets off the ground, can you give me a shout-out?!
DeleteYep will do :-)
DeleteI am more hobbyist than professional, don't get me wrong, I would happily monetise the blog but at the same time the best benefit I get is knowing at least a few people read what I write.
ReplyDeleteFairy wishes and butterfly kisses lovely
Same to you :-)
DeleteI have no interest in monetising my blog. Its purely for my family and for the boys in the future as a memory for them.
ReplyDeleteSo much of the time it is probably boring to alot of people, but I know that my extended family are getting alot from it.
Family memory keeper is a large part of my raison d'etre as well. I don't scrapbook, so it's my way of keeping it all! Like you, I hope my kids enjoy the blog one day as an insight into me as well as a history of us.
DeleteA great post - I have been forced out of my rss reader on my phone to comment! I've been blogging since 2002 and in the past few years have been feeling...I don't know...like I'm missing something. I see all these blingy blogs and witty women and all the comments they get and feel a bit inadequate. But upon reading your words I realise that I am just blogging for me...for a record of what I have done and where I have been. I find it so hard to find the time to write with two small kids that I should be happy to get in a few posts each month and stop wasting my time wondering why and how the rest of the online world seems to have more time than me. It would be nice if super-successful (meaning widely read) blogs remained personal, but I suppose the lure of earning money or benefits is hard to resist.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean - on each of your points!
DeleteI guess my blog is probably professional now, instead of a hobby, and I'm ok with that. In fact I love that. I would love to be a paid writer, and the fact that this opens up an opportunity for me to do so, is even better.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't change what I write though; I'm still me, unashamedly.
I think it's great to be a professional blogger, if that's what you want to be. I think it's great to be a hobby blogger too, if that's what's right for you (and it is for me).
DeleteI completely understand wanting to be paid for writing - I love the fact that I am paid to write (and research, and project manage) in my professional life as a technical writer.
At the end of the day, I reckon as long as you are clear about your boundaries it's all good.