Cogito Ergo Sum - I blog, therefore I am

It is the generation of the lazy, the people who need their 11am cuppa coffee to even register that they are alive, and the generation of the creatively competent, the ones who are up all night writing about their fantasy alternate worlds. Is blogging dead then?

Writing isn’t easy, and Blogging is even tougher. Keeping up with the self acquired deadline of creating something readable on a regular basis is quite a task, especially when the only proceeds are the comments and a readership. Blogs that began as a drunken epiphany have a short shelf life, and even the ones that were born out of a meticulously thought out ideology are tough to keep up with. So what do you do when you want to prove that blogging is your calling, especially in this micro-blogging obsessed world that gets jaded if you write more than 140 characters? Do we need to force-fit blogs into snack-sized containers?

Re-think Great Expectations

If you thought you’d be an instant hit and a blogger’s award will be named after you, then you need to get real and know that you are no dude. Don’t let the few number of readers dampen your spirits; most good blogs start with less, and gain momentum. You might not make pots of money with the advertising revenue right at the beginning, but with time and continued quality writing you will get there. In the meantime, don’t feel shy to take tips from other fellow bloggers on how they get their posts read by so many people and earn so much.

Always, Scan

Always scan the market before you sell your product. Do a little survey of what is popular (in other words – what sells) in the blog world, and, in your field, what works. Note the trends, the famous blogs, the readers, their opinions, and then start a blog. Your readership will ultimately define your virtual existence, so take a lesson from Bokardo.

Move with Time

If it is a technical, science, informatory blog, then you must be absolutely sure your knowledge is up-to-date. Read a lot before you start giving gyaan. Make sure you know everything there is to know before you start writing, not just in your area, but in the art of writing too. Sometimes blogs with good information are not read because their language is coarse and presentation is poor. Hence, the next important thing is how you present your blog. Add templates, fonts, themes and colors that reflect the personality of your blog. The blog is an extension of you; so do justice to it and your own self too.

Break the Block

Everybody and their uncles go through a writer’s block. You don’t have to be like Amitabh Bachchan (who blogs every night, and microblogs every two hours), maintain your own pace. Irregularity is acceptable; it is the disappearing act that is a killer. Write a short note on your blog that you will be back after a break with stuff that is worth writing and reading. Good bloggers are always happy to cross promote, and you can always get help with your blog by working with a new writer.

Know when to Pack the Bags

Always know when to quit. Carrying on with something that has outlived its shelf life is not the sign of a good blogger. Even J.K. Rowling stopped at the seventh Harry Potter book. You are allowed to get busy with life, family, business, other duties, and move on. The blog is not the only important thing. Just make sure you bid farewell to your fellow bloggers and readers who have shared the journey with you and thank them for everything they read. It is when you simply disappear without a word that you lose credibility and the readers feel cheated.

In the fickle and ever changing world of internet, it is unwise to ignore changing trends. When people’s attention spans are decreasing, it is important that bloggers re-work their art and tell the story in a way that will change readers’ tastes. We live in the antithetical world where Facebook and Twitter are replacing Blogs, and also where the newspaper has yet not been replaced by television and 24 hour reporting. Hope does persist!