Blogger bloat and the meaning of ?

I've not been posting as much recently. And neither have many of my favourite bloggers. Subject matter seems to have stagnated. I cannot motivate myself to drum up new angles or think of subjects to entice the visitor to get involved with. My stats (not that they are the be-all and end-all) have dropped. Comments are rare. Something's gone wrong.

I have recently started to tweet which gets a short observation or idea out there quickly. It does not take the place of a post as it is relying on 'followers' as an audience (and if we are being honest it's an audience that we all want). Maybe these tweets have taken the steam out of my posting.

I have deleted this blog once before, something that I regretted doing. I won't make that mistake again. I need to rethink what it is that I want this blog to do. It's never been my intention to just list my observations but there again it's rather presumptious to assume that my meandering thoughts or slightly wonky take on what we do is - in any way, shape or form - worthy.

So, I will continue to post if I feel the need. I would hope to have something 'new' in place by the new year which will scatch my natural history itch in a more satisfying way and maybe act as a service to those of you who have a real passion (hate that word) for our natural world but maybe want a slightly different take on it. There again, I could always get a life...

Thank you for listening.

Comments

Kingsdowner said…
Just to give you a comment to cheer you up Steve.......

We have been thinking along similar lines and the increased use of Twitter and Facebook provides other outlets.

Part of the problem is that we've been through the seasons a few times now, and I for one have run out of things to say.
The blog-world is being left to photo-maniacs to fill. Oh my God, more waxwings.....

I hope you resolve your issues!
6 November 2012 at 15:59
Andrew Cunningham said…
Maybe the lack of posts is because you have a life?

I was thinking of this the other day. All the blogs I read regularly have dried up too and I can empathise. I tried to catch up but did one for June then it fell off the radar again. The purpose or theme possibly needs revising. Maybe we just need 2013 to arrive.

I found it a lot easier when I did the year list in 2011 as the blog was part of the process. This year I do not feel the same way about the blog. It was a driver to keep going through the year.
6 November 2012 at 18:10
Andrew Cunningham said…
Forgot to say that I am thankful for Roger Morris' new and informative blog.........

http://stamfordsyrpher.blogspot.co.uk/
6 November 2012 at 18:12
Skev said…
Been nowhere, done nothing, seen nothing, photographed nothing ..... well, not exactly. Been busy with family, work and holidays and haven't had time to poke around in the undergrowth or get me bins out. Haven't felt the impretus to post for the sake of it, but I have no intention of deleting my blog or completely abandoning it. I think a bit of Facebook exposure has had some impact on my blogging, but I'm sure a decent foray into the natural world will have me clamouring at the keyboard and posting to blogger again sometime soonish.
6 November 2012 at 21:57
Steve Gale said…
Steve: You are right, the photo blog seems to capture the audience. Post a picture of a Robin perched on a spade and say 'Aw shucks' and you will get 38 comments...

Andrew: I sometimes think that I've got a life and at other times realise I haven't! Your observation on having/needing a purpose/drive to keep a blog going is spot on.

Mark: I wondered what you'd been up to. My best guess was pan-listing burn-out!
7 November 2012 at 13:10
Gavin Haig said…
Good post Steve. Similar thoughts here. Enthusiasm is a fickle thing. For some reason I hardly seem able to get my bins out at the moment - perhaps the appearance of winter gulls might fire me up a bit? In the meantime NQS will just sit there idling...
7 November 2012 at 18:35
Rob said…
Your visitor stats won't reflect people like me who use an RSS feed. While I rarely visit your site directly, I do read your posts and this is one of my favourite UK natural history blogs (a large part of its appeal is that it's not pretty-robin-on-a-spade photos or dull lists of common birds). I understand how hard it is to keep a blog going as my own poorly-kept blog can attest to. But please, do keep it up when you feel inspired to write something!
12 November 2012 at 11:41
Steve Gale said…
Gavin: I thought I'd take a leaf out of your book and introduce another subject. Rather than cycling, maybe cake making? Single-malt drinking? Monkey tennis?

Rob: Thanks for the kind words, as one pan-lister to another!
12 November 2012 at 13:18
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