I love books, but more and more I’ve been reading blogs too, and lately I’ve been mulling over two different schools of thought about blogging:
(1) some say that it’s important to blog often on a regular schedule, to make each post short and/or in point form or with some kind of layout that’s quickly scannable since people don’t really read blogs anyway.
(2) others talk of “slow blogging,” ignoring any kind of regular schedule and simply blogging when you have something to say, believing that a blog post doesn’t have to be a quick read, that it’s possible to have depth even on the internet. Software product designer and slow blogger Todd Sieling wrote his Slow Blog Manifesto in 2006, and others have followed suit.
I’m not quite ready to write my own Slow Blog Manifesto, but I’m leaning that way:
(1) while I like the rhythm of blogging twice a week, sometimes it seems rather relentless and a self-imposed pressure that I don’t need along with everything else that’s happening in my life.
(2) As I look at my own short blogging history and stats, I realize that the blog posts that took me the longest to write are also my most popular. Writing more of those would also mean blogging more slowly.
(3) On the other side though, if I do blog more slowly, I think I’d want to retain a rhythm of once a week. Todd Sieling’s tagline “it happens when it happens” has meant that he hasn’t blogged at all for much of the time since 2006. But now that I’ve started a blog I’d like to be more consistent than that.
Writing/Reflection Prompt: Are your favourite blogs ones that you read every day, or is that too much? Are you a fan of slow blogs, or is that too little?
April Yamasaki 
Ah…I can relate April. When I first started blogging in 2006 I only had a few rules for myself. I would post a picture with each blog, I would not use my blog to air my dirty laundry, and I would do my best to honor Christ. I am not sure I have always succeeded. I know that the posts I have written when I have bared my soul have certainly been among the most read but the light hearted ones are my life story one day at a time for future generations.
I have only recently begun to post less often and am okay with that. I have learned that the world can carry on without me saying my piece each day.
Great food for thought.
Lovella
I try to blog once a week but school and work have not allowed me to maintain that for the past three weeks. I also don’t give myself a limit of how many words to write I just write until I have nothing else to say but to make my posts interesting I add videos and pictures as well. Great post.
thanks Lovella – whether blogging or slow blogging or not blogging at all, I like your “what matters most” title as a great way of putting everything into perspective.
wow – music, school, work, blogging – life is busy for you! Thanks for stopping by my site and giving me the opportunity to see yours. I’d love to add more pictures and videos too!
Dear April,
I have been blogging since 2004 and experimented with in general terms, both of your suggestions with my two sites. (1) I have found for me works better for gaining more pageviews. For gaining more traffic of course it also helps to gain reciprocal followers/links which is difficult in religious studies and philosophy for most. I still have much to do. Blessings to you and Gary.
Hi Russ – I’m glad you stopped by–thanks for your comment and congratulations on the “dr.” I’ll check out your blogs too!
April, cheers.:)
I haven’t heard about a ‘slow blogging’ movement before. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong approach to blogging, but whatever works best for each writer. When I started, I expected the novelty to wear off soon, but the opposite happened instead. I blog daily because I can’t seem to stop blogging! As a stay-at-home mom with two little ones, my blog is a daily escape and creative outlet that I now crave and love.
Yes, I totally agree that it’s “whatever works best for each writer,” and that might also change over time. I started out blogging twice a week, dropped down to once a week, bumped it up to three times a week, with an occasional additional random post, now for summer I’m going back to twice a week. I’m also on Twitter almost every day too which is a form of “micro-blogging.” But I take a weekly sabbath from all of that Sat. 6pm – Sun. 6pm, so for now I guess that’s my way of slow blogging.