When A Blog Dies, Does It Make A Sound?

I have little interest in writing these days. I have continued to read some blogs. I’m still partial to Dumb Little Man and Ririan Project. They’re among two of my favorites. Lately, I’ve not been reading many blogs though - and I’ve sure not written anything worthwhile (in the blog) for as long as I can remember. I just have no interest in it.

Some bloggers report spending no less than 4 hours a day on their blog. Many spend more than that. Sorry, but I can’t figure out how or why a person would do that. Well, one instance makes a little bit of sense - compensation. If a person is a paid blogger I get it. But, web space is full of amateurs (non-professionals who earn nothing) who spend hours and hours on their blog daily.

When you check the subscriber count on some sites (Dumb Little Man currently displays 73,557 subscribers) it certainly makes sense that a person, or group of people, will spend some quality time on the content. Thus begins the debate - must you devote those hours to the content in order to get subscriber rates into 5 digits, or must you devote those hours to please all those subscribers? I suspect Dumb Little Man has always given substantial resources (including time) to the creation of their blog. I’m glad somebody did because the content is worthwhile.

Then, there are the millions of blogs that nobody reads because nobody cares what you had for lunch, or what movie you saw last, or who you’re dating, or what your vacation plans are. And there are innumerable blogs like this one - blogs about nothing! We’re the Seinfeld of blogs.

Why do we keep them going? I have no idea. I did have a purpose when I began - and much of that continues to this day. It began as an exercise to learn a bit about website creation, design, FTP, SEO and all the other nuances of websites. In the course of a few years I’ve learned a lot.

I don’t earn my living in web design or any other Internet-type industry. When I began blogging it seemed the space was primarily filled with web designers, IT guys, and other technical people, or so it seemed. Some of the best designed blogs are about blogging, blogging technologies, CSS and other elements of design. Go figure.

My desire to unclutter my life plays a major role in my current state of dissatisfaction. My physical space is full of too much clutter. So is my cyberspace. My bookmarks alone testify to the fact that I’ve got too many websites stuffed in folders that I never visit. At the time I bookmarked them, they surely seemed valuable. But not really. My mind, like so many others, often thinks, “Interesting. I may want to come visit this again.” But I rarely do. Because most sites aren’t worth visiting once, much less again.

I may disconnect this blog. I’ve not yet decided. I surely have much to learn about CSS, and other website design technologies. But I’m bored. And tired of the clutter. And Moleskin notebooks are still one of my favorite ways to write - or should I say, one of my favorite mediums on which to record my writing?

Funny thing is…nobody is reading anyway. So if a blog dies on the Net and nobody is reading, does it really make a sound? Likely not. Silence. The sound of death. The sound of apathy. The sound of indifference. No sound whatsoever!