I have been thinking lately about how blogging can create community, and how, in some ways, Say the Trees Have Ears has failed while my other blog, A Penchant for Paper, has succeeded.
A Penchant for Paper is primarily about pens, journals, and notebooks. It has not been around as long as this blog (I began it about 8 months after I began this one), and it has over twice as many followers as this one. New followers regularly join. Readers often send me emails as well as comments on posts. Nearly all of my posts receive multiple comments. Discussions among readers often develop in the comments section. I look forward to posting to A Penchant for Paper, and to seeing what sorts of interesting, thoughtful comments I will receive.
Say the Trees Have Ears, however, is less active. New followers are relatively rare, and recently I have had a few followers leave. Posts do receive comments, but there are less of them, and more posts go without comments. Readers hardly ever send me emails. Discussions hardly ever develop among readers. I am often discouraged when I spend a long time working on a post and hardly anyone leaves a comment. I do have a few readers who do regularly leave excellent comments (thank you all very much!), but their numbers are smaller than at my other blog.
Of course, part of this is likely due to the different nature of the two subjects. Probably more people are interested in pens, journals, and notebooks than are interested in... well, whatever the subject of this blog is. Posts at A Penchant for Paper are lighter, contain more images, and are probably easier to read. I often address questions directly to readers (e.g., what size of notebook do you prefer? do you prefer lined or plain paper?), something I rarely do here. Posts here are a bit more vague, harder to respond to, the subject matter not as well-defined.
But still. I follow a number of blogs that are related to the subject matter of both of my blogs, and I have noticed some differences. The pen and paper bloggers I follow post more often and more regularly than most of the Pagan and Druid bloggers I follow. Pen and paper bloggers are more likely to link to each other's blogs - a number of bloggers actually share such links on a weekly basis, while a monthly carnival related to pens and paper circulates among the blogs. This sort of inter-linking does not seem to be nearly as common among the Pagan and Druid blogs I follow. Many pen and paper bloggers whose blogs I have linked to at A Penchant for Paper actively follow and comment on my blog, while few of the bloggers that I have linked to in the sidebar at Say the Trees Have Ears do so. (I know that a few of you do, and thank you very much for doing so!)
What I am saying is that my other blog has been better able to build a community, and interact with and become part of the wider blogging community than this blog has, and I don't think it's entirely my fault or the fault of the subject matter. I haven't really done anything differently between the two blogs. I post about the same amount at both blogs; perhaps a bit more frequently at A Penchant for Paper, but blogging has been pretty slow at both lately. I am just as bad at leaving my own comments at the pen and paper blogs I follow as at the Pagan and Druid blogs I follow. Although the subject matter of A Penchant for Paper may have wider interest and make it easier to readers to comment and interact, I don't think this accounts for all of the differences I have noted between the two blogging communities.
Perhaps I'm totally wrong about this. Perhaps I'm judging the Pagan, Druid, and other blogs I follow wrongly, and there are actually a bunch of great, well-written blogs out there that have the same connected, friendly feeling that I have noticed among pen and paper blogs. And somehow I just haven't found them.
While my experience at my other blog has been largely positive, my experiences here have been more variable, some very positive, while others more negative. This blog feels like a new blog, one that is just starting to reach out and build a community, rather than one that will have been around for three years this fall. When I began this blog, I thought that by this time I would have been able to build more of a community here than I have. I did build such a community at my other blog.
I don't want to alienate anyone here. I am very, very thankful for all the readers, commenters, and followers I have here. I am sure you are all lovely people. It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. Am I missing something here? Have other Pagan, Druid, or spiritual bloggers noted similar patterns in their own blogging experiences, or is it just me? Is there something I can do differently? Is there something we can do differently?
Like what you read? Please visit my new blog: At the Edge of the Ordinary.
My comment may toss a wrench into things- but happily so!
ReplyDeleteI relate very much to what you say. My blog gets many visits and comments when I display the tools of writing. The reponses are largely from what I call "the toolies," and "the ephemeroids." But I don't write a toolie blog. I use the tools to write; that's their purpose. There are many show-'n-tell blogs out there.
Then I'll publish a heartfelt essay that emanates from spiritual life- and the comments disappear. Why do we write? Is it in order to elicit commments? I wonder myself! I write because it is vital- and sometimes it's a little toolie, but the real point of emanation is Spirit.
Lastly, I'll step forward as a Christian fan of your blog! Keep up the fine writing!
I've always loved this blog, Heather, and I hope you don't give up on it! I know how frustrating it can be - as both you and speculator noted - to work hard on an important piece, and have a reception about as cold as... well, as a witch's tit.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think some of your observations are dead-on about Pagan/Druid blogging in general. At least, about Pagan/Druid blogging these days. When I started blogging five or so years ago, it wasn't like that. It had a lot more of the friendly, supportive, interactive community feel that you describe about the pen and paper blogosphere.
I'm not sure what changed. All I know is, the bloggers I had been reading, who enthusiastically promoted each other's work and were always engaging and responding to each other's ideas... well, many of them stopped writing. Some other "Big Name Pagans" I think started to take it upon themselves to see blogging as a career move, and started to write with a bit more "Let Me Tell You How To Do It" and a bit less "I Had This Thought, What Do You Guys Think?" And part of me thinks that, as much good as they do, large "news aggregator" Pagan blogs have helped to make the problem worse, too - as they grow in popularity, other Pagan bloggers start to compete against each other for a mention in the "link round-ups" and a few individuals become de-facto gatekeepers for the Pagan blogosphere community, while at the same time loudly disavowing the role and avoid the responsibility that comes with it.
In short, I think the Pagan blogosphere has become more competitive and less friendly in recent years. That's one reason why I put my blog on hiatus for a little while and then moved it to a completely different site. To try to shake myself out of that mentality. Competition does not make a very nurturing and open space for vulnerability and exploration.
And I agree whole-heartedly with speculator in her comment - we're writing because it's vital and it's a way of connecting to and expressing Spirit. That kind of writing practically demands vulnerability. And it's really hard to be vulnerable when you're worried about being popular.
So... I don't really have any more answers than you do. But you're definitely not alone in your frustration and bemusement, that's for sure. Like I said, I hope you keep writing. Yours is one of the blogs that I always make time to read, even if I don't always comment. :)
--Ali
(And I just realized I was assuming gender for your first commenter! I apologize if I got it wrong, speculator! :)
ReplyDeleteIt must be frustrating to spend a lot of time writing but not getting very much response. My blog is a different kind to yours and I suppose I use it more as a diary than anything else. I'm lucky that I get a good number of comments but I don't have that many followers really. Like Ali I hope you keep your blog going.
ReplyDeleteAli- no worries! I like the spirit of inclusiveness.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, many of us do read (and thirst for thoughtful things to read). And beyond that, it's a noble and boldly-embarked effort to write one's conscience. When / if journaling manifests as a blog, then perhaps the soul beneath the voice becomes somewhat vulnerable. Bravely, we keep on writing our own ways. As I've commented before, Heather, good blogs are hard to find!
Thanks, speculator, Ali, and Rowan for the encouraging comments!
ReplyDeleteI agree, also, that we write to express Spirit. My other blog is, as speculator described, more of a "toolie" blog - it's a fun blog to work on and rather geeky in nature, but my true heart and soul is over here. It is sometimes hard to find the courage to bare my soul here and try not to worry about whether people are really reading my posts or just thinking I'm a clueless idiot.
Ali, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who has noticed the less friendly and less interactive atmosphere among Pagan and Druid blogs. I think that by the time I was beginning this blog, the interactive atmosphere you describe was already beginning to wane, so I never really got to experience it. And I agree with you about the large Pagan news blogs. I feel that while they provide much information about Pagans and things that Pagans are doing, they are not really about the deep, inner, personal practice of Paganism - which is what I want to read.
I do hope to continue writing, although it has been difficult lately. Thanks for the great comments here and for reminding me that while I may be sitting at the computer by myself, I am not really alone.
"I feel that while they provide much information about Pagans and things that Pagans are doing, they are not really about the deep, inner, personal practice of Paganism - which is what I want to read."
ReplyDeleteI think that's really the crux of the issue, Heather, and I'm with you in preferring the soul-searching and philosophy to the News of the Day type of stuff (though the news is important as well - still, I think modern society may have an addiction to it, news for news sake as a form of escapism and distraction).
It really hit home for me when someone posted to a Yahoo message group for Pagan bloggers (which had been deathly quiet for months) that they were struggling with writer's block because of that fear of vulnerability and such... and the writer of one of these very popular Pagan news blogs responded self-boastingly that he found it was no problem to write something every day, it was just a habit you had to have the discipline to develop. As if writing a few sentences in summary is the same thing as the kind of deep, soul-drawn writing this other person was talking about! That's when I realized that some of the most popular Pagan blogs had perhaps crossed the line from "striving for high quality" into "self-congratulating one-up-manship."
There are only a handful of Pagan bloggers I still read these days - you, Cat Chapin-Bishop, Ruby Sara, and some of the more obscure ones done by people writing more for themselves than for an audience (there are some pretty excellent Druidry blogs done by folks in the UK, for instance, though they often write much less frequently). You can see, though, even on a group blog like No Unsacred Place, how some posts get tons of comments and feedback, while thoughtful, challenging posts (like Ruby Sara's recent Earthly Rites column) barely get noticed. So I really do think it is also partly the subject matter - or, the depth of the subject, if not the subject per se.
But now I'm rambling! Anyway, I want to echo again the others' comments here - please keep writing, and know that you are definitely not alone. I can't tell you how much your post has actually helped me remember that, too, and feel a little bit less like a party-pooper for feeling some discomfort about Pagan blogging these days. ;) For that, thank you!
Hi Heather, just wanted to add another voice letting you now that you are not alone at your computer :)
ReplyDeleteI actually rarely comment on any of the druid/pagan inclined blogs that I follow. Mostly because though I find the subjects thoroughly interesting, I feel like I have nothing to add - that the author has already stated everything precisely and completely. Also, in many cases, I find my knowledge to be lacking in areas and feel as though my response would sound silly. When it comes to religion or beliefs, I know alot about what I don't believe, but I think it will take me a long time to know what it is that I do believe - and to be able to discuss this or share opinions.
I very much enjoy reading what you write and would love it if you continued.
Thanks, summertime dreams! I think I know what you mean about not having anything to add on some blogs. I often feel the same myself, especially since the author is usually more knowledgeable than I am about the topic. Sometimes, too, I simply don't have a firm opinion, and it is hard for me to say something specific in a comment.
ReplyDeleteYour link to my site brought me here, Heather. Most of the bloggers I link to on my site got linked to when they left a comment, or several comments on my site. In that sense, blogging has helped me feel like part of an extended community for nearly ten years now. Some of my fellow bloggers seem like closer friends than the people I worked with for years.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, though, I blog for myself, an extended diary as it were. If I didn't get that pleasure from it, I wouldn't still be blogging because it's definitely and up-and-down world out there. Blogging seems to have declined in the last few years, its place taken by Twitter or Facebook. I've moved to those, too, but in the end my blog is my greatest joy, so I've forged on with it.
I think spiritual journeys are much more personal than blogs about knitting, or writing utensils, so you're writing for a much smaller audience.