Blogging on Justin Vollmer

You’re a Blogger, Not an Essayist

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 07:00:00 -0600

While I don’t recall how I found it, earlier this week I ran across You’re a Blogger, Not an Essayist by Barry Hess, and a couple of points stuck out to me.

First off - go read Barry’s blog post, it’s worth it. I’ll wait.

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You’re back? Good, on to my thoughts!

You don’t need to labor over your posts. You don’t need to have perfect grammar or spelling. You don’t need to leave a post in draft for seven months, pouring over research. (Though you can if you want!) You don’t really need to have an idea.

Just write. Then share.

As I’ve noted in other recent blog posts, learning to just spend a short time putting my thoughts down in a blog post and then publishing is something I’m intentionally working on. My perfectionism streak causes me to often a) doubt that my thoughts are worth posting, and b) spend a lot of time debating phrasing, honing my points, etc.

But you know what?

You don’t have to be an essayist. … Don’t let those essayists discourage you from blogging.

Barry’s right. There are essayists, some of whom write amazing essays for their blog, and I greatly appreciate reading them. But that’s not me. It could be if I really wanted to spend all of my time writing, but that’s not the path I chose in life. My blog is a way to share my thoughts and interests with others, and sometimes my future self, and a way to start conversations.

And so, with that, I’ll thank Barry for blogging and giving me something to think on and blog about (thanks Barry!), and conclude this short post with Barry’s closing thoughts:

Just write. Just blog.

On Blogging and Substack

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:15:00 -0600

Last week, Manu’s post on blogging, substacking (?), and owning digital real estate crossed my feed, and caught my attention for a few reasons: a) I read a lot of Manu’s posts, because I find his thoughts interesting, and b) because blogging and owning digital real estate is high on my priority list/topics of interest currently, for reasons that I don’t fully understand yet.

For myself, I looked briefly at Substack a few years ago, but didn’t feel like it offered anything for me based on the way that I run this website. I’m not a prolific enough writer that I need a newsletter, and I definitely have no plans to request compensation for anything I write (unless I choose to change careers, and that isn’t something I’m considering). Also, I’ve held the opinion for a while that if someone is going to go to all of the work to write a newsletter, they should ideally be in control of the domain and infrastructure it’s posted on, since platforms come and go. I will say that I followed Moly White’s migration from Substack to self-hosted Ghost with interest though, and on the off-chance I ever need a guide, I’ve bookmarked her post detailing her journey.

A few hours after I saw Manu’s post, Kev followed up with a post agreeing with Manu’s sentiments, and recommending that his readers go and read Manu’s post, which I will whole-heartedly second. And like Kev, I wanted to highlight one of Manu’s final comments:

[I]f you care about the web, get off social media platforms and get yourself your own piece of digital real estate. And if you don’t know where or how to start, reach out. There are plenty of people out there—including myself—who are more than happy to help you.

Kev and Manu are infinitely more capable than myself when it comes to web design, blogging, etc. But if I can in any way provide insight on how to get started, perhaps from a different perspective than theirs, please reach out!

Seconding the Call to Blog More Often

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 19:55:00 -0600

Consistency is a common challenge for bloggers.

Blog consistently and your followers will look forward to reading your posts. Blog infrequently and your readers will forget about you.

This evening while browsing my RSS reader (Fiery Feeds, for those interested), I ran across A Call to Blog More Often by Cole, which is quoted above, and wanted to second his call, and add my two cents to the conversation.

Outside of a few news sites, blogs are one of the primary forms of written content that I follow online. Bloggers are often where I get ideas for new personal projects, books to read, places to visit, or interesting ideas to consider. I’ve constantly grown the number of blog feeds I subscribe to over the years, and there are certain individuals whose content I’m excited to read every time I see a new post in feed reader.

Personally, I’ve attempted to write more often, but consistency is still a struggle. Much of my recent work on this site has been with the express purpose of making my interactions with the site and its content more engaging for me, to increase my desire to post more consistently.

So, I second Cole’s call. Blog more often, and with consistency. Your readers, such as myself, will greatly enjoy and appreciate it!

Note: I’ve written about my love of RSS feeds here, and if you’re new to the concept, I highly recommend taking a look. RSS feeds aren’t new tech, but are still an amazing way to consume content at your own pace, and without the distractions much of the modern web seems to contain.