I’ve been at this blogging thing for a year now, starting at Fox in October of ’07. I blogged there for a few months until I decided to do my own thing in January.
I haven’t taken the blogosphere by storm but that was never my motivation. I’ve made a few bucks with my site but it’s chump change compared to the real job.
I never cared about the money and I never gave much thought to being an authority among sports bloggers.
I love the games, I have an opinion like everyone else and I write as well as I can, which usually isn’t very good but I put forth the effort.
In fact, I put forth a lot of effort. The real job consumes the majority of my time because I’m self-employed. After the day’s work is done I have some dinner, watch the tube for a while then head back to my home office to work on the site.
11:00 p.m., midnight, 1:00 a.m. – I’m writing. As I write I think of something Will Leitch said during an interview – blogging is the hardest job I’ve (he’s) ever had. I scoffed at that, and still do. Blogging is easy.
Know why?
Any idiot can post a video.
You see, I had this blogging thing all wrong. I thought blogging meant you decided upon a subject, researched it, verified your facts and then wrote what was sure to become a literary masterpiece.
That’s exactly the type of blogging I’ve done for the past year, at least for the most part.
I take the occasional detour, ranting on the politicians or posting the obligatory half-naked women – completely naked women too – I actually like them better to be honest.
But as I peruse a hundred blogs a day looking for posts to list in my link dump, I began to notice more sites posting nothing more than a video.
Not to suggest I’ve never used video to support my post, I just don’t use them much. But I can honestly say a video has never been the entirety of a post.
Look at me, I’m a blogger. I posted a video. I has a crayon too.
For a while there, I was insulted. Seriously. I looked at these blogs with disdain because in my mind, this wasn’t a blog, or a blogger at work.
This was someone’s way of providing himself and potential readers with an easy fix, with emphasis on the word easy.
Then it dawned on me. I was beginning to act like a professional journalist acts towards bloggers. We all know how they feel about us.
That made me sick to my stomach. To think that I had lowered myself to the mindset of a lowly professional journalist. Except Stephen A. Smith – he’s my absolute favorite.
Pondering these video-only posts some more, I had yet another light go off.
This guy is a genius!
He’s in bed by 11:00 or midnight and my dumb ass is researching and writing until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Brilliant!
So as I write this it’s 0147 Central time, that’s 1:47 a.m. for you civilians, and I’ve come to the conclusion the only thing I’ve learned about blogging is this: nothing.
It’s taught me nothing because it isn’t supposed to. That’s what the pros don’t get.
They think it’s bloggers that are causing a decline in subscriptions, when the real reason is because the Internet has become what it was meant to be – immediate access to information.
Blogging isn’t about anything because it’s about everything. See how I worked that? I’m a clever lad.
Interior decorating, photography, sports and even stupid videos are what makes you a blogger.
So you guys who only post a video every day, you keep doing that. You and me are cool.
As I close out this post I’m giving thought to my next.
I need to find a video.
There are some bloggers whose taste I trust so explicitly that I rely on them to find most of the video content that I watch, rather than having to trawl through youtube myself!
A lowly pro journalist here, who is a proud member of the AP & ESPN. the blogging thing for me, is just a fun way to put MY work out, as it goes out on the wire.
why might u ask, cuz that’s how i roll ~ ya dig !
HAPPY halloweenie!!
CK0712
Blogging is not a meritocracy, and people are lazy.
I’d say more, but I have to go look at titty now.
Moondog,
I feel ya. When I first started my site, I stayed away from videos as much as possible. But then it dawned that my interpretation of what a sports blog is isn’t what everyone else essentially thinks a sports blog is. Thats why its a blog…different authors have different spins. Now, I look at it the other way. Finding a clutch video allows us to give a vehicle to something that might not be seen by a certain audience. And if we’re still putting emphasis on substantial posts as well as videos, then why not?
All I do is post videos 95.99% of the time. That is what I do, and I have found a knack for finding the occasional gem. I also really love watching them.
Without writing a thesis paper in your comment section, I will try to keep my points concise.
What is the difference between Dan Patrick showing a highlight on ESPN while he tells a few timely jokes, and me posting a video on my blog with a few timely jokes?
That is my style and his. He is better, but that is how I see my readership getting to know me.
My blog is like a TV channel.
Good stuff. I would guess I post one video for every 10 or so posts I write. I’m more into thinking about a topic and developing a take. I suppose it’s just a difference between written blogs and video blogs.
I’m thinking some of you didn’t read the post. Read it again and perhaps you’ll have a different take.
Perhaps my writing sucks so bad I didn’t do a good job of explaining what this post is all about.
I’m not knocking people who post videos. I spend more time poking fun at myself and the professional media.
Anyway, thanks for dropping by.
Nice write up Moondog. I for one find it hard to post just a video because I feel I get my point across by giving my two cents. Though those two cents usually turn into four or five paragraphs.
I will post links to videos once in a while and have tried recently to add a video clip to a recent post.
Happy Halloween by the way
Ding. Fries are done.
You nailed it.
I definitely feel for you on the amount of time it takes to put together a good piece for a blog. That is why I am trying to do a mix of content. Some posts take hours, others just take a few minutes. The end result is the page gets updated often, with some content being completely original, and other things just being cool crap we found on the internet. However I think there does need to be some value added. You need to make some jokes, or collect multiple videos that relate to each other and put them together in a way that nobody has done before. Even for a story that has already been covered, there is a way to make it original. Siting multiple sources, pulling in a quote from one article, some photos from a few other sites, and a related video from another site and packaging them all together with some commentary is a way to make that story your own.
It sounded like you used to detest bloggers that just posted videos, but you now see that they have a place on the internet.
My post was a response to your original feelings and the other people that might have them. My post also further explains my thoughts that the best video posters are just as good if not better than any other blogger.
Phil – Excellent comment. Originality was the key component you mentioned.
Ethan – Detest is too strong. I didn’t detest anyone. I would disagree with you though about video posters being as good as bloggers that don’t utilize video.
You see, I never know what’s going through that person’s mind. What opinion does he have about the subject? How are we to get a real sense of the person when we never see anything beyond a video?
Just my $0.02
JM – Happy Halloween to you as well. Thanks for the reply.
Shooter – I feel you. More than you know.
Although I like this particular blog, try writing paragraphs as opposed to one sentence at a time, kinda annoying while reading it in my head. Not trying to be a penis, just givin some construcutive feedback.
I think you should have made a stronger distinction between people that just post a video, and people that post a video and write about it.
I am also gathering now that you feel there is a distinction. Am I correct?
As someone that has a very young blog, I’m always trying to find ways to grow it. (My blog that is.) If I used a lot of videos, I tend to believe that the chances of substantial growth would be slim to none. As mookie said, people have their authorities when it comes to video and Ethanator is one of them.
NY – Funny you made note of the layout. I used to write paragraphs. Then I had an editor for Fox Sports suggest I write short paragraphs for easier reading. It’s a matter of semantics I suppose.
Ethan – Yes. Look at Awful Announcing as an example. He posts videos then writes a brief story about the subject, then injects his personal thoughts.
That’s more enlightening than a video without a supporting story, at least in my view. I get to read his thoughts and get a sense of what he’s all about.
If you and I hadn’t spoken on countless occasions, I wouldn’t know who you are based solely on a video.
Swnole – I’m not one to offer much advice. Regardless of what you do, be it stories, images, videos or anything else, it doesn’t matter. Just be true to yourself, stick to your guns, write from the heart and back up what you write.
Swnole: thanks
Moondog: OK now we are getting to the meet of the matter. My blog is like sports Center. I do not add too much to the video. I try not to take too much away from the video. I give a joke and a small story. My readers know my sense of humor, they also know that I will post quality videos based on my sense of humor.
Awful Announcing is like a blog about the videos. He talks about the videos. He is the master, as I have said. If My blog is like Sports Center, his blog is like Pardon the Interruption. He gives his opinion a lot more than I do.
(by the way I know that my blog is not that good, I am just using common examples. )
I think your blog should reflect what your audience wants and expects. If I goto deadspin I expect one thing, when I’m at MoonDog’s my expectation changes. It’s the same as watching a nfl game or a college football game. Each produces a great product, but what I expect from each is different.
My audience for my blog is me, so I write what I like, which may explain why my audience is so small.
Ethan – Your blog is fine. That’s the primary point I was trying to get across. Regardless of what type of blogging someone does, it’s all good.
You know I often use a title to capture the readers attention. It works in most cases, especially on this post. If you give it a read, more often than not you’ll see I make valid point, or at least try to.
Essentially I wanted to convey how I’ve come to have a better understanding of the blogosphere in general. Maybe I didn’t get that across too well, but that was my motivation.
Patterson – That’s the beauty of the blogosphere. I don’t necessarily have expectations, but I recognize what each blog is geared to.
Losers with Socks is a great example. Trash talking to the Nth degree. I mix it up when I post comments on his site.
When you post a comment elsewhere, the tone of the site might be on the opposite end of the spectrum. As I mentioned in my reply to Ethan, that’s the point I was trying to make. Regardless of the blog, it’s all good.
I agree with your points, and now I’m off to find a video to support them.
The comments have cleared up the post for me, but everyone reads differently. Your title was perfect for attention, but it was broad. That is why people read the post lead by their feelings from the post title.
Have a great weekend Fred.
C’mon!! I want to see an all out Ethanator-MoonDog war!!
Mookie – LOL. Trouble maker. I’ve known Ethan too long. He “gets” me, in fact, I had him at hello.
Ethan – 10-4. You too.
Patterson – LOL. Get a good one. Naked chicks is always a popular way to go.
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