Blogging is Dead
Blogging is Dead
Of all these self-help feel-good posts about how to grow followers, [this essay](https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-gain-a-ridiculous-following-on-any-platform-including-medium-e4eedd449e38) on Medium explains exactly why blogging is dead. And it makes me wanna cry.
So what's the problem? Why so sad, dude?
Like the aforementioned article states, packaging is “key” You have to understand the format of the site you are using and copy what other people are doing if you want to succeed.
Being original is too hard for other people to understand.
According to the writer, the greatest mistakes are:
The picture beneath the headline isn’t a stock photo, there’s no use of headers or pull-quotes, and paragraphs ramble on past 4–5 lines to form massive content walls.
Long paragraphs and complex sentences filled with references to obscure literary allusions (hunh?) are a death knell for your blog.
WTF is a knell?
It's the sound of bells ringing when somebody dies, and your blog is dying because you are actually trying to say something.
This is the era of the tweet. Keep it short and space it out because otherwise your readers space out and then it's all over because they closed your tab and you're gone forever in the dustbin of history, or trash can as it were. A forgotten relic of a bygone era who never ..
SHUT UP already.
Blogging is dead because nobody cares about reading anything longer than some words on a photo of a cute cat so they can chuckle to themselves like oh yeah I'm so smart I get it ..
Self- affirmation is key. But not yours, stupid writer, your reader wants to feel special. So stop pretending you are smarter than they are because you are a loser with 113 followers.
Two key points to remember:
- Stroke the reader's ego
- Believe in the lowest common denominator, it is your friend.
I dont know what any of that means … lowest common dominator?
Okay same thing .. go google it
So will I start writing more blog entries like this one? Hell no. I believe in content which makes me an outsider, some hermit in a cave shouting at the wall. Andy Warhol said in the future we'll all be famous for 15 minutes, Momus flipped that and said we'll all be famous for 15 people. I think that sounds about right. You have to believe in the long tail and know your place in it. Not everyone has an audience of millions (we can't all be Jared Kushner, uh yeah), but if you have a core following in any field, half the battle has been won. Now keep them coming back for more.
I teach for people who want to learn, but many of my students who don’t want to learn want me to just shut up and tell them what’s going to be on the test (never mind I don’t give tests, but they wish I did). I coach for kids who want to be athletes and push themselves to their highest potential, but many of the kids that come out for the team act annoyed that I take my job seriously, and they wish I’d just let them be lazy and pretend to be athletes so they can put it on their college applications or write a stupid essay about how they learned so much about life by being a total *%#king waste of space. I write for people who want to read. I could give a crap about someone who thinks that I should care enough about a topic to devote time to writing about it, yet not care enough about it to do it justice.
On the other hand, I do have students who are thriving in their academic pursuits and we challenge each other daily, mutually benefiting from the exchange. I also have kids who commit themselves to showing up to practice everyday, not necessarily because they are talented, but because they appreciate what focus and hard work can accomplish. We inevitably end up celebrating their accomplishments together, celebrating what it means to be human on an existential level. I am here because I want to connect with other people about ideas and words and long, complex sentences, paragraphs and articles. To hell with anyone who isn’t here for that.
But alas, I can say these things because I’m not here for the money. Or am I. I am a teacher because I know that I don’t need to be rich, and I appreciate the predictability of a steady, modest income. I’m a coach because I appreciate being active and the pay is like a nice volunteer stipend that I put towards my retirement or vacation every year. Steemit provides some financial incentive that gives me an added push to write, and who knows, someday my account might be worth 5, 10, 20 times what it is today.
When we do things for money first, and enjoyment second, or money first, and lifestyle second, we compromise what brings us the most joy and satisfaction as humans. Life is too short to sacrifice that which is most enjoyable about being on this planet.
I totally agree. We should do things we like doing for their own sake, because life's too short. Then again, we are trapped in a life where we have to earn money and only a few lucky people have jobs they enjoy to the same degree that they enjoy their free time and/or doing whatever they want.
I think there is some truth to the fact that you need to "copy what other people are doing if you want to succeed". People are mimetic creatures and fashion and style are important . In an online world, that presents itself in presentation. If the look or topic of a post is too obscure, it drifts unseen. I wanted to write a satire about how superficial that is, but now this post looks the most "pro" of any of my posts so far ... well almost.
I'm also a teacher and the majority of students often dont want to be there or are lazy and thinking about personal problems or other topics apart from the class. There's a sort of entropy at work in the world of ideas, and as an old fogie, I think technology is making us all less engaged in the end. Sure we have the information and this great communications tool .. if I hated it so much, why would I be here blogging .. hmmm, interesting question .. but it's about short attention spans ultimately and the world of clicks and likes. We are brought down to a lowest common denominator and usually it's dictated by the needs of teenagers who dominate online. And retirees perhaps .. But as we see teens are rising up against the NRA, maybe they aren't all so bad .. maybe the flame of knowledge is still burning, the bar seems to be set lower and lower, but no, it's rising back up .. we have to believe in humanity because that's who we are. :)
I ended up turning my comment into a post! I mentioned you in it and wrote about your post as my inspiration. I also wonder about why I use this technology, but I am no doubt to keep using, and keep trying to use it to truly connect with people. I have already learned sooooo much since I became active here a mere three months ago. And I have, ^gasp^ actually made some real connections with people.
It figures you’re a teacher! :).
Teens are definitely not all bad. It’s a struggle, and I think more and more are just closed off to the joy of meaningful human interaction, but all the more reason to fight the race to the lowest common denominator.