Sunday 11 October 2009

I Can't Go On. I'll Go On.


This weekend sees the first anniversary of this blog, and that means it's time to decide whether to stick with Plan A, which was to spend a year checking out the Blogging Experience -- finding out what it was like having a public shop window and whether anyone would like what they saw in it -- and then maybe moving on to to something else. I always had the example of photographer Alec Soth's blog in mind, which ran a brief but exciting arc from September 2006 to September 2007.

I was unsure whether I could sustain regular written content of sufficient interest and variety to entertain both myself and anyone else who happened to read it. That has not turned out to be a problem, but it has been difficult finding a consistent tone and subject matter, and (perhaps not unconnected) impossible to boost the regular readership into three figures. I've noticed I get the most visits and the most comments when I attempt humour, and when I get into the territory of family and personal history. But it's also clear that most people, understandably, prefer their content to be predictable: the people who arrive here because of an interest in Panasonic cameras are not going to stay to read about Joni Mitchell, and the ones who like blogs to operate in non-stop confessional mode are not going to be turned on by donnish jokes about obscure words.



So, what to do? The thing is, I've got used to making the effort: it's like keeping a diary that I happen to leave open for others to read. It concentrates my attention on what I really mean to say to know that even as few as 50 people may read what I write. And, of course, it's useful being able to give new photographs an informal outing, before new sequences and books take shape. The reactions to them can be quite instructive. I'm enjoying this too much to stop.

So, in short, I am going to carry on for now, but perhaps at a considerably more leisurely pace. I may also try to write less, as in "write fewer words" -- I'm appalled, looking back at what I've written, at how pompous and portentous I can become, once I get going and the word count goes up. So I'll stop now, having undertaken to carry on.

12 comments:

Huw said...

I like the electic nature of your blog - who knows what idotic hat we'll see next.

Martin said...

Mike

Yes, you should continue with this 'quality' blog. It's one of the few that has the mix just right.

Here's to the next twelve months!

Gustaf Erikson said...

I enjoy the blog whatever the contents. Please keep up the good work!

seany said...

Please do continue, I find you photos difficult to make sense of and half the time I don't understand what you're on about,nevertheless I look forward to your contributions.
Regards Michael

Paul Mc Cann said...

Continue on in the same vein, please. Whilst I don't always appreciate your images your erudite meanderings are a joy

Paul Mc Cann

Anonymous said...

I am a loyal reader precisely because of the unpredictable nature of its content. I found the blog through TOP, which also strays from the pure photography, cameraphile (sorry for that coinage), pixel-peeping, which gets very tiresome when unleavened by interesting digressions. By all means, keep it up and don't change a thing. I like your photos, too, and you have provided food for thought for my own photo projects.

Frank Harkin said...

As someone who has recently discovered your blog via TOP comments I want to say that I like both the photographs and the writing. Keep it up and more photos please

Mauro Thon Giudici said...

Hi,
I think that an year is a bit too a short time to get a peaceful evaluation.

If it helps I repeat myself that the total number of visitors of my own outreaches the number of visitors I could have in an actual gallery (and with far less questionable experiences like speaking with low grade art critics).

Tieni duro.

Stephen said...

Glad you've decided to keep the blog going. It's a good, interesting read.

Bronislaus Janulis / Framewright said...

Mike,

Yes, go on, though pictures of hats would help.

Or frames.

Bron

Anonymous said...

Talk about coinage. I do like "electic", probably a new word that combines the exotic with the exciting, hinting at the digital. I'll vote for that. Keep on trucking.

Gavin McL said...

Well I'm glad you're going to continue - I enjoy reading it - especially the variable topics. I like having things pointed out that I haven't see or heard before. The pictures are great especially the river and I look forward to the gasometers