Tuesday, May 16, 2006

the pressure is on

The only other blog I have ever followed is Matt's, "Saving the World". Occasionally I go to another blog he has linked for a quick look, but I have basically been in this committed, monogamous relationship with Matt's blog. Now it feels a bit weird doing it all by myself.

My lack of blog exposure means that I don't know the unwritten rules of blogging; those things which are seen as annoying, old-school or just plain rude. Based on my knowledge of one blog, I will list some of my observations so far.

THE SECRET CLUB BLOGGER

1. Being linked to someone's blog is a rite of passage to be celebrated and publicly announced.

2. Bestowing this link upon someone else is a knighting, a "you're one of us" affirmation.

THE LAZY BLOGGER

3. If you don't have time to write your own blog, you can just quote someone else's blog and then link to it. Then your quota for the day can be neatly filled.

4. If you are going away or have a concert to go to and don't have time to write your blog, you can just say that and then tempt your readers with the promise of a good story when you are back.

5. If you are going away for a long time, you just get other people to write your blog for you.

6. If you don't want to write a lot that day, fill up the space with LOTS of photos.

THE POLITICAL BLOGGER

6. You can read the paper and then just blog about what you have read. To make it better, you can go off on a tangent and rant and put in a bunch of strong opinions.

7. If you want people to respect your opinion, it's best to throw in a bunch of quotes from philosophers that you read as an undergraduate. This will confuse people and make them feel stupid, thereby ensuring they respect you for what you allegedly know.

THE CLONE BLOGGER

8. Make outrageous, particularly funny or insulting statements, anything to illicit comments. Once you get comments, respond to them in a way that makes the person who wrote them write more. This gets people who don't write blogs a little taste of the blog and makes them want more.

9. Suggest to said people that they may enjoy a blog of their own, but present it like it will be too difficult for them and they won't be able to handle it. This will make them want to rise to the challenge.

10. Give them advice about how to write a blog, things like "write everyday for two weeks and see how it goes" and "read other blogs you like to get a feel for how it is done".

I have already committed several violations of the above in just this one entry alone. And I've violated some new ones, too. I should write down the one about "blogging about blogging".

I've decided to take Matt's advice and blog everyday for two weeks, but I'm not going to read any other blogs yet.

Quota for second day: completed

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oi! I have been a blog-sitter, therefore technically you have read some of my blogging too. Don't let Matt be your compass by any means - forge your own path my friend. You have at least one reader.

Matt_c said...

Snide comments aside your second day of blogging has been thus far succesful. Wait til you start getting spam selling viagra and you need to put verification on... Then you know you'll have made it big.

Anonymous said...

I seem to identify with point 8..

Matt_c said...

:D Awwwww Rachel! If it hadn't have been for me mouthing off about Titty Bang Bang (and I still stand by every word) we'd never had met. Just think. No Saving the World. No Fisking Central. No Hollywood Hotties. You'd still be there thinking TBB was funny too... :)

Anonymous said...

You know I'm not bitter. Hey, and no Yamanamanu either! ;-) Ian good luck with your blog, and I agree with Lisa, about compasses. Dump all compasses.

Matt_c said...

Alright - my blog is shit. I know! You don't need to rub it in...

Anonymous said...

No no, Matt, duck, it just means Ian shouldn't worry about how other people do blogs, it is up to him. Freedom of creative expression etc. Anyway, I've got another blog and it's more shit than yours. I wrote some stuff about reincarnation, and gave up after three posts. Lisa out of interest have you got one?

Matt_c said...

Anyway, I've got another blog and it's more shit than yours.

I'm going to start a testimonials page, Rachel, and that'll be at the top. :)

I'm just being an idiot. Two bitchy comments in two posts (that 100%!) has got me paranoid. But it's Ian. He's a bitch. If you hang around you'll see it. He's great and I love him, but he's a bitch.

Aren't you Ian? :D

Matt
x

Anonymous said...

And so we expand to another blog...onwards and upwards I say. Ta for the query Rachel, I haven't got a blog of my own *yet*. There is some talk of starting one with my housemates when we move to London shortly. Obviously it will kick the ass of Saving the World. You can put that in your testimonials as well Matt. In addition, I am so glad that Ian has a blog now - trust me, it's going to be a bumpy ride! And well worth it too. L x

Lisa Rullsenberg said...

I'm here courtesy of Matt_c and I winced and giggled at your list of blogging habits/rules etc.

Welcome anyway!

Ian Thomas Ash said...

I am glad for all of your comments and to see that you are playing together nicely. I'm sure I'll get used to this whole blogging thing in time, but I still feel like a white guy on a packed rush hour train in Tokyo.

I don't look like Beckam, really. But thanks for looking at me like I do.