I Am A Shitty Blogger

I came to the realization the other day that I'm just not a very good blogger.

That isn't to say that I'm a terrible writer.  I think I can adequately express myself in written form without coming across like a jackwagon.  Sometimes (not nearly often enough) I can even come across as witty to the untrained eye.

It also isn't to imply that I don't have the occasional good idea that finds its way onto my page.  From time to time I strike gold with something that was rattling around in my brain.  I have a lot of stuff jumbled up there, so I'm glad that one or two of those ideas force my fingers to type every so often.

What I mean to say is that I commit cardinal sins of the established blogging world.  Well not really cardinal sins, but I seem to ignore every blogging tip that has ever existed.

"They" say that bloggers should post new content as often as possible.  I've read that a blogger should post something every day to really grab readers.  I obviously don't do this.  When am I supposed to have time to write something every day?  I have a job and two infants.  I understand that I started this blog to write about my life with said infants, but I'd prefer to live my life with them rather than spend all of my time staring at a computer screen writing about it.  Plus lets be honest: I'm not really a well-spring of fantastic ideas.  People want to read more content, but I'm sure they'll grow tired of it if the content is ill-conceived with half-assed execution.

"They" also say that you should network with other bloggers, so their readers become your readers.  I don't actually care if  some random blogger's reader starts reading my blog.  I write it for myself and my wife.  I also hope that someday my girls take time to read it.  If other people want to start following me and enjoy my shit, bonus.  It just seems like a lot of work to me.  I want to write and get stuff off my chest.  I'll read blogs I enjoy and talk them up if they warrant it.  I'll comment on a blog if they write something I like or is comment worthy.  I don't do it so they'll share the good book Daddy Dialogues with their readers.

I just don't buy into that whole self-congratulations to gain readers method used in the blog world.  "I got an award from another blogger who got an award from a different blogger..."  Whatever.  People give out blog awards, so you'll write a blog post about it and possibly get them a few more readers.  You passing it along is no different.  It's the pyramid scheme of the blog world.  I appreciate if someone thinks what I write is funny or compelling or thought provoking.  It's nice if they like it so much that they recommend it to others, but I'm also okay with secret stalkers of my blog that just read and enjoy it.

I think a good blogger is someone that is open and honest when he or she writes.  I think a good blogger writes in his or her voice and doesn't care if it's good or not.  To me a good blogger is more concerned with the message than how many people said message reaches.  In the blogger world, I'm no superstar.  As you can tell by my lack of effort, I'm okay with that.