Wednesday, August 26, 2009

To Blog or Not To Blog

I've been asked by a few people to update my blog. A fair request, and one I would love to favor.
So why haven't I blogged as much lately? Several months ago I moved and at the same time went through a few other changes, including a bit of employment upheaval. I found that having more free time on my hands didn't translate into more time for blogging. On the contrary, I find that when my day is more structured it is much easier for me to sit down and write.

Fast forward a few months and I'm in a different state of employment upheaval, albeit more on the good side. I'm working more, yet the circumstances behind the lack of blogging is different.

So here's the deal. Very soon I will be "officially" launching my new website, where I'll be blogging more, but mostly about social media. Additionally, I'll also be contributing to two other blogs, writing about music, all things local...and if you mash the two up....local music!

Herein lies my dilemma: do I keep this blog, and if I do...what do I blog about? Do I use it as an aggregator of my writings at other blogs? I certainly don't think I'll have too much time to write for this blog AND three other blogs.

Help? Input? Guidance? Thank you!

2 comments:

Kelly Watson | Womenwise Marketing said...

Great question, Ken. I'm writing an ebook on blogging right now so I'm happy to provide my two cents.

I believe that a sporadically updated blog, even a personal one, can ultimately reflect badly on its owner.

If you keep this blog and pursue the other things you've mentioned, there's always the chance that you'll overlook it for months at a time. Plus, it's probably going to nag at you and make you feel bad.

Readers want to know what to expect, so I would strongly recommend closing this blog (not deleting, just closing) and putting all your efforts into your new work. You'll not only be able to blog more reliably, but you'll be able to focus all your energy on creating the best content you can, instead of spreading it around.

The aggregate route isn’t a bad idea, but wouldn’t that put you at risk for Google’s duplicate content penalty?

I’m curious to read what others have to say.

Pun said...

Hi, I'm the social media manager for Spring Awakening, the Tony-winning Broadway show coming to Hershey, PA in January, 2010. We work with local bloggers and social influencers to help spread the word for the show. For what's it's worth, blogs can be a great marketing tool and a great way to find you (I would never have come across your Twitter feed without it). That being said, I agree with Kelly. If you don't plan on constantly it, you won't cultivate a list of regular readers, and then, what's the point? If you'd like to help promote Spring Awakening, please let me know at totallytruckedblog (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks and best wishes! Glad to hear that things are looking up on the employment side!