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A Terrible Way To Make A Living: Blogging Is For Idiots

Blogging is for idiots.

There are two ways to blog.  You can write with your most authentic voice. It might be raw and it could abuse the English language, or you can write a stylized corporate blog.

A stylized corporate blog is dull, and you, the writer, are totally replaceable. It’s without risk, and I’m unclear on the reward. I know that I’m not interested in reading it.

I want to read raw stories, so I write that way. I live this way too. I talk and then I think, sometimes I write and then I think. More often I write and never think at all.

Social media (blogging in particular) can be an echo chamber of “oh you’re wonderful” and “I love what you said about ___”. Only your friends tell you when you have salad in your teeth. I got called out today, and though there isn’t a bit of malice in what I did, it hurt someone. I own that. It doesn’t matter how you feel, it only matters how you behave. This is my mantra, and I’ve behaved poorly.

Blogging lends itself to that. Twitter and Facebook and Whrrl celebrate and connect us all and we really understand each other. Until we don’t. We (in the new media space) poke fun at one another, and we hope that other folks spell our names right. I forgot the number one rule of all of this, I can’t joke about you, unless you own the giggle.

So I find myself very fallible, very wrong, contrite, nauseous and very sad.

Every blogger has moments of wanting to delete it all, right? If I was smart, I probably would. But I’m a blogger, and we’re a little bit off. So I’m going to keep marching forward even though I know it’s beyond stupid. I’ll have to learn to think things through a little lot better.

17 thoughts on “A Terrible Way To Make A Living: Blogging Is For Idiots”

  1. After five years of blogging I am quite capable of coming up with some pithy statement but I think that I’ll skip it.

    My favorite blogs are almost always those who have authors that just write from the heart. It is far more interesting to me that way.

  2. Ohhh, is he/she kidding? hemmm… I can’t resist but to comment, well, whatever it is – I will still keep on bursting my thoughts through blogging.. hehehe.. I guess this is some kind of negative thought of the one that right this, right? Have fun blogging! God bless and have a pleasant day! muahhhugs

  3. We’re all human, yes indeed. And it can be hard to communicate through the internet, so distant and yet immediate too. I like your voice, and I’m glad I found your blog.

  4. Like Esti, I’m curious to know what happened?

    I enjoy the from-the-heart blogs too. You can always tell when someone has been gobbled up by an advertiser. Their blog gets that sell-y feel to it. I always move on.

  5. I write my own blog, with an authentic and original voice, and I also write on a corporate blog where a team of bloggers speaks with the voice/personality of the organization that we work for. It takes a lot more editing and isn’t as interesting, but it does serve a purpose for that organization.

  6. Blogging is so new of a way to communicate, that it’s impossible to know what’s “right” or “wrong”. And words themselves are so powerful, especially not given anything else to perceive someone through… and definitely words have limitations. I love it when any writer says anything that is true.. much rarer than not. I enjoy your blog and I must admit I’m curious to hear the whole story :)

  7. I offend people on my blog on a fairly regular basis. (I have an entire category dedicated to “Dear Asshole”) Those that I love know when to kick my ass & when to roll their eyes and I adore them for their skill at understanding the difference.

  8. So when will the corporate blogging world realize they need to pay us to write their blogs because people want that authentic voice and less than perfect writing?

  9. @punditmom when people stop being flattered by the attention and realize that their words have more value than a pat on the head.

    I can say no, but some jackass next to me will say yes.

    check the SMCLA video out, Cisco “loves” their 1200-1400 free workers.

    It made me want to vomit.

  10. Jessica, You got me at first with the title, which goes to show you about “titles that grab” you! Good job!

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