I've been a blogger, off and on, since "weblog" first became a word, but the way blogs and communities are built these days confounds me. I miss tight-knit, ye olde internet communities but am no longer sure how they are built or nourished in a noisier, more commercialized web. I need opinions. I've had many (mostly personal) blogs over the years, a few of which have had a number of readers. However, my more recent, self-hosted attempts, which were not so different in nature from their predecessors, made it clear that online community has changed, maybe especially in my age group (30 and younger).
Part of it is how the web is now. Visitors are more transient. Sites are more locked down, less likely to be self-hosted. Communities are more commercialized and interested in what's commercial. Places where conversations used to flourish are either less active now or have evolved into other beasts (e.g., chatting on Twitter was once common; now, Twitter is a sea of RTs and scheduled tweets, my own included). It's harder to get to know people, and to be known.
In the past, it was easy to find everyday people and their personal sites. You found them via forums/groups/clubs, directories, webrings (lol), link/blog rolls, Technorati, small site/blog networks, etc. Sure, there was a mountain of porn spam, but there was also a lot of heart and lesssite-approved spam clickbait! Now, many communities are large, noisy, and automated (or affected by some form of automation)—and deeply impersonal. Worse, there's a bias toward them, meaning the little gems are more hidden than ever.
How do I find the "real" people who want to be found? How do they find me?
What I miss is the online friendship that came from slowly getting to know people. Many relationships I made online 10–20 years ago turned into real-life encounters or friendships, a few of which I still have and treasure. As far as I can tell, these sorts of organic relationships are rarely found online now, but still occur (sometimes) between mommy bloggers and vloggers on YouTube, in fandoms, and through MMO games. Unfortunately, I'm not a die-hard fan of any one thing; I love video games, but usually hate MMOs; and I haven't quite decided whether I want to deal with the misogynistic assholes that will come with vlogging. I am also not looking to be a mom any time soon.
What's more likely to give me the community I want—the people I can get to know, the people who will want to get to know me? Should I just stick with a self-hosted blog and see what happens over time, or am I better off foregoing administrative control and embedding myself in some commercial entity's built-in community? If the latter, I should mention I'm more inclined to use Tumblr (yes, even since the Yahoo! takeover), simply because Tumblr would give me more control over the design than WordPress.com or Medium would, but I'm interested in hearing about any and all recent, positive community experiences found anywhere.
A few things:
Part of it is how the web is now. Visitors are more transient. Sites are more locked down, less likely to be self-hosted. Communities are more commercialized and interested in what's commercial. Places where conversations used to flourish are either less active now or have evolved into other beasts (e.g., chatting on Twitter was once common; now, Twitter is a sea of RTs and scheduled tweets, my own included). It's harder to get to know people, and to be known.
In the past, it was easy to find everyday people and their personal sites. You found them via forums/groups/clubs, directories, webrings (lol), link/blog rolls, Technorati, small site/blog networks, etc. Sure, there was a mountain of porn spam, but there was also a lot of heart and less
How do I find the "real" people who want to be found? How do they find me?
What I miss is the online friendship that came from slowly getting to know people. Many relationships I made online 10–20 years ago turned into real-life encounters or friendships, a few of which I still have and treasure. As far as I can tell, these sorts of organic relationships are rarely found online now, but still occur (sometimes) between mommy bloggers and vloggers on YouTube, in fandoms, and through MMO games. Unfortunately, I'm not a die-hard fan of any one thing; I love video games, but usually hate MMOs; and I haven't quite decided whether I want to deal with the misogynistic assholes that will come with vlogging. I am also not looking to be a mom any time soon.
What's more likely to give me the community I want—the people I can get to know, the people who will want to get to know me? Should I just stick with a self-hosted blog and see what happens over time, or am I better off foregoing administrative control and embedding myself in some commercial entity's built-in community? If the latter, I should mention I'm more inclined to use Tumblr (yes, even since the Yahoo! takeover), simply because Tumblr would give me more control over the design than WordPress.com or Medium would, but I'm interested in hearing about any and all recent, positive community experiences found anywhere.
A few things:
- My interests are varied—books, music, art, occasional (liberal / very liberal) politics and irreligion—and I like it that way. Blogging used to embrace that personal stream of consciousness and self-discovery, but I feel I might have a better chance of building a meaningful community if I focus on one interest. Unfortunately, that also tends to create echo chambers... Thoughts?
- I know a lot about SEO. This is not an SEO question. This is not about bounce rates, keyword density, or any such thing. I can "drive traffic," but that builds an audience you sell to, not a community you talk with. Different concepts, no matter what marketers say.
- The blog in question does not have to be "monetized." If my writing can make money naturally, like some of my blogging has in the past, that's cool, but it's not the focus.
- I am a designer. Design and usability matter to me. Don't send me to ugly places, please.