Some people, like WebSavvyEditor, don’t have a blog which they link to in their Twitter profile. I think these are interesting people. First of all, they don’t spend a lot of time fussing around with a blog that needs a template, possibly ads and analytics and other assorted gadgets and gizmos. They have time to read. They have time to comment on things. They have time to keep up with others on Twitter. A lovely set up when you think about it. They pull themselves out of the rat race for blog ads, networks and all those other things like comment spam.
So why still have a blog at all? I don’t know. When I begin thinking about the advantages to just posting to Twitter the rest gets cloudy. One reason I’d still prefer a blog is the word count on Twitter. I’m a bit wordy, more than a bit in love with words and I really do like typing them out and seeing them magically appear on the screen as if I’m just that great a thinker.
Still, I can take the ideas from Twitter microbloggers into my own atmosphere. I can get rid of my sidebar. I don’t know if I will, but I can/ could. I’d love to get rid of it for the clutter it brings. Also, the way it adds colours and shapes to the design of my blog which I really don’t like. The sidebar has long annoyed me when I look at my blog. But so much of it seems necessary. Probably a lot of it isn’t really. I’ve just brainwashed myself.
If I were to live like a Twitter blogger I’d have no sidebar other than a small section to write an About blurb. Right now my Twitter profile is mainly a link back here. What if there were no here? Does it throw you when you find someone on Twitter who doesn’t have a link to a blog or site or any kind? Does it make you wonder? Does it make you suspicious or jealous? I admit it makes me a bit jealous. To think of all the clutter they avoid while I seem to be mired in it up to my eyeballs.
If I were a Twitter blogger I’d have to investigate a new theory of promoting my blog and getting my blog found. (Not that I’m famous as things are, but… I know the ground I’m standing on). How do you find microblogs which are only on Twitter? I think you have to already know who you are looking for or find them through someone else on Twitter. Not so easy. It’s been months since I’ve looked into who has followed me on Twitter. So a lot of people are not going to be found just by following someone else. You have to do more than that. The Twitter bloggers need to have their own group/ social network of some kind. I couldn’t find one.
Word Grrls is my mad science experiment, my adventures with fame and world domination (politely). This is where I inspire people to create: invent mutations, cause change, bring colour into your world. Web writer since 1998. Find me on StumbleUpon , and Tumblr.
Interesting thoughts on blogging. As a writer, I blog for a couple–well, several reasons actually come to mind: First, I love keeping a “journal” of my writing life and my life in general. I then “publish” the blog through Blog2Print. They produce a great-looking glossy hardcover book instantly from your blog. I’ll be able to enjoy looking back at it in my old age and I’ll hand it down to my grandchildren. Next, as a writer, it gives my readers access to the parts of my private life that I’m willing to share. Readers are interested in how writers live–and it might sell a few books. Third: I love to write and blogging is great practice in spontaneously spinning words into some sort of meaningful fabric. I just changed the format of my blog and I like it despite the sidebars and the advertising that I sometimes question.
WordPress.com has a couple of great free microblog templates. They allow short, off-site entries without a lot of crap on the page, and no word limit.
@ Bil. I already have Tumblr as a microblog. I use it as a place to stash things I want to have time to look at later.
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