Screw blogging convention
There exists a coven of blogging big-wigs who will tell you how, when and what to write. I’ve succumbed to their badgering thinking, “I should write about subject x, and format my posts like such-and-such. I must keep a huge RSS icon in the upper right hand corner and monitor which days of the week, posts and topics generate the most traffic.”
I’ve also thought, “I ought to emulate blogger x, whom I admire. If I wrote the same types of articles, I’ll seem smart and articulate, too.” The results were predictable — like a fledgling art student, I produced soulless knock-offs of popular works which inspired only yawns.
I wrote what I thought I should be writing, for the audience that I ought to target. I’d stress about producing timely posts and “pillar articles.” In short, blogging became work.
It wasn’t fun.
Lately, though, I’m noticing a new trend. People are saying “F the rules” and writing what pleases them. Merlin Mann is a great example. Recently, he reconsidered 43Folders’ purpose and goals, and I respect him for that. No longer content to post “…productivity pr0n” and the minutia of busywork, he’s shifted his focus to his interests.
My friend Krystyn started Squaregirl over the summer, and it’s terrific. Talk about honesty — Krystyn shares details of her life and work in beautiful, genuine posts. She’s so honest, in fact, that reading her posts makes me feel like a voyeur on the privileged end of a private conversation.
So that’s the plan for Hardcore Geek - writing about my interests and damn the rest to hell. No more “shoulds” or “woulds.” No more posts written out of a sense of obligation, or wanting to fit in or be noticed. No more formulaic articles or keyword-laden Google bait.
This blog has no mission. There is no purpose. I do not want to “help” you do, understand or learn something. This is not a tech blog, a knitting blog or a blog about the weird things ER docs find in people’s rectums. It’s about what interests me at any given time. If you dislike it, you know what to do.
But what about visitors, subscribers, hits? Christ, who cares? I’m not worried about any of that with this site. Earlier this week, Steve Jobs told CNBC, “…manage the top line and the bottom line will follow.” I agree.
This is my weblog. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Thank you for visiting.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:13 am
So what you’re saying is this will be Dave Caolo’s blog instead of some anonymous, formulaic, personality-free blog? Good.