What’s this all about?

Posted on July 22, 2002
Filed Under Diary |

Well, a few days in, and I’m still wondering how to use this site. This publishing system is fantastic; easy to use, a breeze to set up and designed to be played with. However, the concept behind the whole thing is still a little murky to me.

First, who’s the audience? As a writer, you should have an audience in mind, but who is the audience for a ‘blog’? Friends? Family? Random web surfers? Stalkers? And from this, why would I ever read one? If you don’t have an audience in mind, it’s hard to be secure about what you write about.

So, what should I write about? Looking at other sites of a similar nature, it seems to split into the following areas: a very public diary; links to areas of interest (usually in the field of expertise of the author); reviews and pictures. These areas could all work, but I have my doubts about how interesting some of them are.

If I were an incredibly talented writer it would probably be possible to make it entertaining to read about how I got drunk this weekend, or just saw a cool film on TV. But frankly, why bother? My life is either too dull to document, or too interesting for me to have time to document it.

Links are a good use of space - a way to use the internet to its full, and introduce people (whether you know them or not) to a range of areas that interest you. This works especially well if you’re researching online, and want to share your findings easily.

Reviews also have milage, I guess, because the more you get a feel for a writer, the more their opinions can guide you. It’s also an interesting way for me, the writer, to think about things I’ve experienced.

Pictures have an obvious audience of friends and family, but generally little interest to others. I worked that out a while ago and am confortable with the pictures I already post for friends and family on the site.

My confusion is increased by my desire to include other people in this venture. I’d like Sarah to contribute and, if possible, my sister and some of my friends. A number of contributors can make it more difficult to retain focus, but should add much-needed variety. On the other hand, this is my website.

All this makes me, and probably you, wonder why I bothered to set this up in the first place. Well, I think the answer to that is encapsulated in this article. I’m interested in how this could work. All the issues outlined above, and my search for their answers, are why I’m trying it. It’s a way to use the internet that I’ve not played with before, and it’s worth getting my head around it. Let’s face it: this whole thing is a work in progress. Feel free to add a comment to help me.

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