Seriously, do we write too much?
Believe it or not, this is actually a serious question.
I wonder if more people would tune in over here if we wrote... LESS.
I almost wonder if the three of us here write too much for daily bloggers to slog through. If you miss a few days, you might spend upward of half an hour trying to catch up. Am I right in thinking this? Should I take a poll? I'd really like to know. Should we write shorter posts? I used to make fun of Saint Gasoline for writing such lengthy posts, but when I started up this blog, I began writing posts that rivaled his.
Input! I need some. How can I make this blog better? You guys in the woodwork - I want to hear from you more than anyone else.
I wonder if more people would tune in over here if we wrote... LESS.
I almost wonder if the three of us here write too much for daily bloggers to slog through. If you miss a few days, you might spend upward of half an hour trying to catch up. Am I right in thinking this? Should I take a poll? I'd really like to know. Should we write shorter posts? I used to make fun of Saint Gasoline for writing such lengthy posts, but when I started up this blog, I began writing posts that rivaled his.
Input! I need some. How can I make this blog better? You guys in the woodwork - I want to hear from you more than anyone else.
Labels: blogging
posted by Ziztur
at
3:00 PM
17 Comments:
It all depends on your audience, really. PZ writes tends to write a few posts per day, some short, some long and detailed. That's what his readers expect. It might be easier to build up your audience base with shorter posts at an easier pace, but I don't know. I personally haven't had any trouble keeping up, but I'm something of a blog addict, so...
I love that you guys write so much, though honestly I don't always get through the longer ones if I'm busy or, sometimes, the white text on black background gets to me so I have to take a break.
But I really enjoy the posts and in-depth analyses(sp?) and don't think they should change.
Nelli
Okay, I guess I'm not so much in the woodwork, but still I'd like to toss in my $0.02:
The answer is 'Yes'. Yes, your articles sometimes are very long, and chatching up if you missed a few days is a real time killer.
Yes, a poll is a good idea (but make sure to phrase it in a way as to not attract the Pharyngulites). I'd really be interested in the outcome.
But most important, yes, I like those lengthy posts. Of course I have skipped some of them if I was short on time and the topic was not immensly interesting to me (which in no way says that the post was rubbish). But then you guys deal with a lot of deep, difficult, and demanding stuff. And to me it is a sign of sincerity if you take as much time dismantling some theist's arguments as said theist has initially invested to create it.
My suggestion: To your fine mixture of attempted intellectualism, photography, and snark, add articles of various length, and everybody should be happy :D
I enjoy how often you guys post. It's nice to read all my feeds in the morning and know that there will probably be a few updated in the afternoon. I agree with Devysciple, adding articles of various length is a good idea. Whatever you do, please don't post less.
I have no problem reading long posts so long as the length is appropriate to the topic. The Ray A Day reviews are what brought me here, and I thought those merited your long and thoughtful responses. If there's a post whose topic doesn't interest me, I'll skip it, but that has nothing to do with length.
I'll second what Devysciple said: if you're concerned, try adding a few shorter posts and see if they get more comments. That should help gauge whether the length of posts is the problem.
Anyone who knows me at all should pick up on the fact that I can have a very limited attention span at times. I think that should speak for itself, lol.
I don't really think of this site as a traditional blog... more of a repository for essay-style rebuttals. I really, really enjoy seeing the deeper conversation. The way I see it, readership doesn't matter as much as scholarship -- the archives of this site will be useful material to dig back into even if not a whole lot of people read it right now. Most of PZ's or Hemant's posts don't have that quality -- they're more about current events and state-of-affairs. I dig your style, even if it means I have to take some time to catch up occasionally.
I have no problem with how much you post I just can't seem to get it adder to my blogger dashboard successfully so I have to keep coming over here manually, and some days I forget to, then there is a lot to read.
Thanks for all of your comments, guys!
People have suggested several times that I change the white text on black background, so coming soon, the text of these posts will be black on a very very light gray background.
@BathTub - you might not be able to add this to your dashboard because I publish via FTP
@Anonymous - thanks! When I started this blog I had no idea what kind of things might come pouring out of my head, but I didn't want to just be another atheist blog.
@DelRoady - you know I <3 you.
@Cameron - Thanks! You might notice I do long posts in the AM, and short(er) ones in the PM.
@toanoma - I might have to post less once I get a real job. Boo!
@Devy - attracting the Pharyngulites would be awesome!
@koko -Actually, the white text on the black background bothers ME. Ha. Oh but it looks so cool.
@Lord - I know, I see you all over the place, dude.
Re: Colour Scheme
Working with colours, contrast, saturation, hue'n'stuff every day I can assure you that the readability of text depends basically just on two factors: font size (which can be adjusted in every modern web browser I know), and contrast. The latter depends on a few surrounding factors (daylight, artificial light, fatigue of the optical apparatus, etc.), but it basically boils down to the text itself. Therefore, there is (scientifically) absolutely no difference between a black text on white ground and vice versa (this common appearance is only a result of the fact that paper is usually white-ish and ink is black -> cost savings in print). If some of your readers regard your colour scheme as wearisome, it might be a result of bad computer screens, bad setup of said computer screens, amblyopia, and a dozen more. In other words: If you like your colour scheme, keep to it. If you have problems with it yourself, find a suitable alternative.
@all the readers that have trouble reading Ziztur's blog: I am not blaming you. Human physiognomy can be really tricky :D
In my opinion I think in general a post shouldn't be longer than a page on Word Doc. in order to keep the interest of the readers and so it doesn't consume too much time. For me I tend to skim over the longer posts which may cause me to miss important details. If I have extra time I will go back and re-read them, but it would be easier if they were condensed. Also, in general I think no more than one post a day per author is necessary if you want readers to keep up with your blog, considering that many may not be able to check in on a daily basis. But that's just my humble opinion.
I sort of get that feeling sometimes, Dani. People really have to invest a lot of time into reading the stuff I write, and I often have more than one topic on a single post, which makes commenting overwhelming. I've written several posts that were 5+ pages in a word doc - such as the recent Faith Infiltration. At the same time, I didn't want to break it up or do a super-summery, as I feel like essential information is lost.
You seem to have tons of readers, but then again I think your blog is more... Controversial? Sensationalist? Shrill? Loud? I think is easier for people to have a kneejerk reaction to your blog than to mine.
Also - I was wondering if you have a feature where we can receive email alerts if anyone comments after us on a post that way we can stay informed on any on going conversations?
Nevermind - I'm an idiot, I just saw the subscribe feature!
Yes, we do! There is a little link right under the comment box that says, "Subscribe by email". I've never used it though, as I get all the comments anyway.
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Thanks. Yes my blog is a bit controversial which some describe as a train wreck that they just have to keep looking at. But as a mother of four, I only have the time to post every couple days and lately I've been posting articles written by others with brief commentary from me. I usually contribute in the comments, but I love to debate, and participating in a blog like yours can be extremely time consuming (plus I need to learn how to type faster) - but I don't mind making a weekly visit. Chances are that I'll miss the bulk of your posts, but it seems like you have enough interested readers to continue how you like to write.
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