I used to blog a lot. But now I do most of my writing on Facebook. There, I make semi-regular posts. I jokingly started referring to them as my "Morning Coffee Rambling" because I'd post them as I drank my...you get the idea. I actually stole said idea from my friend, Russell Madden, who usually posts long daily missives filled with common-sense and wisdom. To differentiate myself, I formalized, titled and dated my posts. And as goofy as the name is, it stuck. I do post other crap on Facebook during the day, but my serious ruminations are generally reserved for my "column."
I try to keep my Facebook posts short, but at four paragraphs in length (or longer), they can be challenging for the typically impatient short-attention-span social-media reader. Even close friends admit that they do not read my posts. They sigh, roll their eyes and go, "Too long." I understand. Facebook is usually not a long-form medium.
I don't spend a lot of time on "analytics." In fact, I never really researched the actual numbers until starting to write this post. It turns out that I have 155 Facebook "Friends," and another 150 or so "followers." I don't automatically approve every Friend Request, although my profile information is public. So my posts are searchable and "shareable." And sometimes (rarely) they are. Theoretically, 300 people or so could see my posts...*if* they show up in their Newsfeeds. But I doubt that 300 people view my crap, given the small number of "Likes" each post gets. Facebook's algorithm is weird in the way it selects what you see each day. And Facebook doesn't let us see how many "hits" our individual posts get.
But there are tracking programs for blogs that allow you to see who has visited your site and where they are. By comparison, each post on this here blog gets very, very few views. The sad reality is that I don't reach a large number of people through this blog, but I reach way more people on Facebook.
So is the blog format dead? Oh no! At least, I hope not. I do like the blog. Facebook posts are very temporary; they evaporate quickly in the daily clutter of everyone's Newsfeed. On the other hand, blogposts stay up as a permanent record. For me, they become a running commentary on what's going on in my life at any given time...a diary as it were.
I started this blog way back in 2006 when I went to work for a guy who was trying to restart the production line of an old helicopter from the 1970s. (Unfortunately, we were ultimately unsuccessful.) Back then, I used to lead an interesting life, or so I thought. Now, fifteen years later, things have kind of calmed down. I don't fly much anymore...and I may not ever fly for a living again, in fact. The pandemic cancelled the motorcycle trips I had planned for 2020, and I'm not even riding as much as I'd like here in 2021. So my life - like yours, probably - is kind of on hold. There has been little personal crap to write about. Maybe that will change!
Maybe the coronavirus pandemic will fade and our lives will return to some sense of normalcy. And now that I'm retired and don't spend so much time up in Washington State, I can start doing some fun stuff here in Florida. If I do, I'll certainly blog about here...whether anybody reads it or not.
4 comments:
I have to admit that sometimes during a long absence of posting on blogger, I cruise onto your Facebook page and read a few rambles just to make sure you are still out there.
I struggle with Facebook. My writing style just doesn't translate well, I guess like apparently yours.
Posting on FB is tough, man! It's soooooo easy to, um, ramble on and on, but you risk losing your audience because nobody really wants to read long-ass Facebook posts. And so I have to diligently edit myself and delete extraneous phrases and passages. In that respect, it's a good thing because it helps my writing in general - helps me be more economical. Here on this blog, I don't have that limitation...obviously, and I can "stretch out" more.
To trick my Facebook readers, what I've started doing is making a four-paragraph main post, and then add paragraphs five and six (and maybe seven) in the Comments section. I'm not sure it fools anyone though.
I think about the old writers...like Hemingway and Hunter Thompson...guys who did their writing on friggin' TYPEWRITERS! They had no ability to go back and re-do a sentence or a paragraph because they thought of a better way of saying something...not without re-typing the whole damn page. My first magazine submissions were done on a typewriter. Ugh. I'll tell ya, the invention of the word processor was such a game changer.
I appreciate all of the loyal readers of this blog! But I wonder if, going forward, blogs - and the written word - will even continue to be a thing.
As long as writers write, I will read. And I'm not picky whether it's digital or on real paper.
Same as Kelly, and yours has long been one of my favorite blogs. Since I stubbornly stay away from social media, I’ll always be checking things out here.
Post a Comment