In honor of BlogHer ’13, the biggest blogging conference around, which is happening right now in Chicago, our Finish the Sentence Friday topic is,
The best and worst things about blogging are…
Well. I could go on and on all day about this. I’ve written a lot about my love/hate relationship with blogging, including a post about why I started blogging, and why I continue to blog. I am actually at the BlogHer conference right now, a fact that is kind of blowing my mind. It has been about 13 months since I started blogging, and I’m happy to break down the best and worst parts of it, according to me.
The Best Parts of Blogging
- The instant outlet for emotion, frustration, and brainstorming. It allows you to “write out loud” in many ways.
- While it is beneficial to find “your voice” and maybe even “brand yourself,” you have a lot of freedom when you blog. You can also use “excessive” quotation marks and nobody is going to “yell” at you. (But they may get irritated and stop following you. I may have just lost a dozen readers.) One day, you can write a hilarious story about catching a handful of your kid’s poop in a department store, and the next you can speculate about whether or not American kids have too much self-esteem. It is liberating to be able to write humorously (I hope) and also focus on subjects that are heavier, all in one week. In fact, you know how people have those two line descriptions as their email signatures or Twitter profiles? I think I’m going to change mine to this:
Stephanie Sprenger
Writer, Humorist, Seriousist
(What do you think? Too much?)
- The connection to other bloggers. In fact, I am meeting some of my very favorite bloggers right now in real life. That makes me giddy. All in one weekend, I get to spend time with Kate, Katia, Deb, Julie, Carisa, Sarah, and Jen, and that’s only to name a few! I feel that many of the women I have yet to stand face to face with have already become true friends, and that feels pretty fantastic.
The Worst Parts of Blogging
- It is so time consuming. Sure, it doesn’t have to be, but I’m a perfectionist, and I don’t spend time doing things badly. (Please reserve all of your judgments about the quality of this post for a later date, m’kay?) I take my blog seriously, and writing, editing, publishing, and promoting posts is a lot of work. The other significant part is the connections. (See above paragraph about all my blog buddies.) Forming and maintaining relationships with other bloggers means that you devote time to reading and supporting each other’s work. Which brings me to:
- The guilt. My LTYM piece in May was titled, “The Guilt, The Crippling Mommy Guilt!” I think I will be working on another post: “The Guilt, The Crippling Blogger Guilt!” I feel so bad when I have busy weeks and I am not able to read, comment, and share as many posts as I’d like to. (Ahem. I am experiencing major guilt about the fact that I am at the conference today and have zero chance of reading anyone else’s FTSF posts. Feel free to skip this post since I am unable to return the favor for at least a few days. Oops, too late, you’re almost done now.) I feel like I am neglecting my duties. And most people who do a crappy job at work get fired. Which brings me to:
- It feels like I am working a second job. A job that doesn’t pay me. Sure, there are some rich bloggers out there, but how many do you know? And how likely is it that you are able to turn blogging into a paying full time job? Once again, it’s all about balance. Balancing the time I spend on my blog with my other goals, and trying to find a way to integrate blogging into my life in a way that makes me feel comfortable. Nobody likes a workaholic, and the last thing I want to do is sacrifice other aspects of my life.
So there you have it. Blogging is a beautiful thing, and it is also crazy-making. If I am lucky, I am learning at this very second about ways to make my blogging experience a little better, more balanced, and more successful. And if you promise to forgive me for being out of the FTSF loop today, I’ll teach you all the stuff I’ve learned when I get back!
Welcome Back to Finish the Sentence Friday!
Your hosts:
Me from Mommy, for Real
Janine from Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic
Kate from Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine?
Dawn from Dawn’s Disaster
- Follow Your Hosts, If You Like, and Anyone Else You Find On the List!
- Make Sure to Read and Comment on at Least Two Other Posts.
- Share Your Favorites on Facebook and/or Twitter Using the Hashtag #FTSF.
- Link Up Your Posts Below with This Week’s Sentence Prompt.
- Hop around and have fun!
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Next week’s sentence is: “My bucket list includes….”
Going to hold you to that last part and seriously hope you have been having a wonderful time at BlogHer!! 🙂
great post babe…yes the connection is a major plus for me. I feel it is draining my time too…but I could never stop.
I hope you have the time of your life at BlogHer13. Enjoy meeting all the people you read and see what they are like in “real” life. I envy you, maybe I can go in a few years. It sounds like so much fun!!
Yes …. so fun to meet and connect with so many people, and so hard to find the time to pursue what really does feel like a second job! I’ve had two conferences in the last week so I am feeling major blog guilt about not being able to visit as many blogs as I’d like…. So excited to meet you this morning! 🙂
It does sometimes feel like a second job but without the paycheck! 🙂
Oh man, yes, to every single part of this post. It is SO MUCH work, but at the end of the day, it is something that I find endlessly satisfying…but the balance still needs to be found for me.-Ashley
I love “Writer, Humorist, Seriousist”. Totally cool.
You and I share a lot of the same feelings of guilt. I feel like if I’m not neglecting one thing, I’m neglecting another. I’m so looking forward to reading your post-BlogHer post about how to achieve a better balance!
And I’m so incredibly jealous that you’re in Chicago right now…
xo
It is amazing how much time it takes…and you are good at it!! I hope that you have a great time at the conference and I cannot wait to read about everything that you learned. You are definitely one of my blogging inspirations and I always look forward to everything that you write. I hope that someday you can get rich doing this 🙂 I will buy your book!
Hope you’re having fun and learning lots – hopefully I’ll get to attend a conference at some point. I say go for it with the new tag line. 😉
Agree, agree, agree! And jealous that you are at BlogHer – but also happy for you and hoping you have a great time and learn some awesome stuff!
whats the deal with streaks? as in ‘never miss a day’, ‘eat fritoes for dinner 18 months running’, what is the pressure to not disrupt the consecutive performance of an act or acts?
I hope it’s a good thing, ’cause thats the reason I am giving to anyone who asks about my contribution to your (and Janine and Kate and Dawn)’s little blog hop.
I had the kind of day that put me in a position to believe that I could not write a Post.
Unfortunately (or not), the thought of not participating over-ruled the part of me that said, “clark, this is not a contest or an ordeal, and it is about that ‘quality’ issue.. what you write counts as much as if you write.
Maybe it’s a Y chrome thing..but I decided it was better to send something in (and hope that it is forgotten in a couple of Posts) than to break the streak.
Suspect there some of the Best and the Worst about blogging in all that!
I totally let my food blog become my second job. Although I got paid with food, I didn’t mind! I love hearing everyone’s thoughts week to week, but this one was especially beneficial since my mommy blog is making me want to pull my hair out.
Couldn’t agree more with all of these! Also, writer’s block is a big problem for me, sometimes. Ugh.
I am dying for all of you to teach us the wisdom from the convention. I’m also dying that I am so dang close to you guys in this -freezing- weather we’re having today and I can’t go! Next year, next year!
Working a second job. Yes.
You summed that up beautifully and it’s all true–the good and the bad.