This is something that I suspect the majority of bloggers go through. It is a malady is best described as being upset because you spent time composing a post that you thought would be outstanding.
A post that you were certain was so good that you wouldn't have time to respond to all of the comments because you knew that within an hour of putting it up there would be at least 15 and by the end of the day there would be hundreds.
Only the exact opposite happens. You upload your post and anxiously await your first comment but there is nothing. It is like being back in high school. Your parents went out of town and left you home alone with strict instructions not to throw any parties.
Of course as soon as they left you spent a ton of time notifying everyone about the amazing 16 keg Bacchanalian festival that you have planned and no one came. And then the disappointment and depression set in.
Why, oh why are there no comments. You tried so hard to be funny, to be witty and insightful. There is a very cool picture and that clever phrase you were saving for the perfect post. You know the one I am talking about. It is the phrase that you are sure is going to become the new rage. You'll be like that girl, the one who made "Dooced" a part of popular culture. The next Forest Gump movie is definitely going to include some reference to you/it.
But unlike in Field of Dreams, when you built it they didn't come. It is time to take off that special party dress. It is time to put the collar back down on your shirt. It was cool to wear it like that in the 80's and you thought that you'd bring back the trend but now you know you just look sloppy and disheveled.
My friend, you haven't even hit the worst part of this. The worst part is that at some point you are going to stumble onto a blog in which they have produced the same post. It may not be an exact duplicate. It may not be a word for word reproduction but essentially there are only minor differences but one big distinction.
And that distinguishing feature is that those million comments you had hoped to receive are all on this other blog and there is nothing there to show that you had the idea first. Not a link, not a comment, not a simple thank you for the idea.
Maybe Kohellet was right and there is nothing new beneath the sun.
But have no fear little blogging buddy. Life is a journey in which we learn from experiences. The measure of a person is how they respond to adversity, not how many comments they get or how much traffic they receive.
Live long and prosper grasshopper and may the blogger be with you.
A post that you were certain was so good that you wouldn't have time to respond to all of the comments because you knew that within an hour of putting it up there would be at least 15 and by the end of the day there would be hundreds.
Only the exact opposite happens. You upload your post and anxiously await your first comment but there is nothing. It is like being back in high school. Your parents went out of town and left you home alone with strict instructions not to throw any parties.
Of course as soon as they left you spent a ton of time notifying everyone about the amazing 16 keg Bacchanalian festival that you have planned and no one came. And then the disappointment and depression set in.
Why, oh why are there no comments. You tried so hard to be funny, to be witty and insightful. There is a very cool picture and that clever phrase you were saving for the perfect post. You know the one I am talking about. It is the phrase that you are sure is going to become the new rage. You'll be like that girl, the one who made "Dooced" a part of popular culture. The next Forest Gump movie is definitely going to include some reference to you/it.
But unlike in Field of Dreams, when you built it they didn't come. It is time to take off that special party dress. It is time to put the collar back down on your shirt. It was cool to wear it like that in the 80's and you thought that you'd bring back the trend but now you know you just look sloppy and disheveled.
My friend, you haven't even hit the worst part of this. The worst part is that at some point you are going to stumble onto a blog in which they have produced the same post. It may not be an exact duplicate. It may not be a word for word reproduction but essentially there are only minor differences but one big distinction.
And that distinguishing feature is that those million comments you had hoped to receive are all on this other blog and there is nothing there to show that you had the idea first. Not a link, not a comment, not a simple thank you for the idea.
Maybe Kohellet was right and there is nothing new beneath the sun.
But have no fear little blogging buddy. Life is a journey in which we learn from experiences. The measure of a person is how they respond to adversity, not how many comments they get or how much traffic they receive.
Live long and prosper grasshopper and may the blogger be with you.
17 comments:
That is EXACTLY what I went through a couple of days ago when I thought I wrote a post that would have my whole blogroll at my door, and in reality got only a few measly comments. *Sigh*. It's amazing that the less you try, the more comments you (or at least I) seem to attract, but when you're sure you're at your best, most creative - no one seems to appreciative. Oh well. At least I enjoyed writing it.
I'm just commenting because now, after that, I feel bad not doing so.
thank you for reminding me that validation coems from WITHIN, oh grasshoppah!
:)
been there, jack. i didn't realize how much validation i got from blogging. well, it's not even that much validation, just a large portion of my daily self-esteem
Oh, yeah, we've all been there. Maybe *THIS* will be the post you've been wishing for...
Yup, I find myself in this position at least once a week. Some days I get few comments and I get rather discouraged.
And I like your quote
"The measure of a person is how they respond to adversity, not how many comments they get or how much traffic they receive."
Amen brotha'. Amen.
Jack- I am so used to getting little or no comments. I write now for the sake of writing and because someday, I might like to get published! Having said that, I still get discouraged sometimes... I mean, I like my blog, I like myself- what's not to like?!
Boo hoo.
Hi Irina,
Blogging is a funny thing.
Robbie,
Great, a mercy comment.
Shelli,
My pleasure.
Something Dirty,
I feel your pain.
Gooch,
It could be. You don't happen to have any friends named Arnold do you.
Tovya,
There are always a few that go wild and generate a ton of comments.
Chickadee,
Thank you.
Regina,
It is similar to the whole tree falling in the forest scenario.
Stacey,
You haven't any problem with this because you have a zillion comments. Must be the cleveland thing, I mean the fact that you escaped.
Sorry if I missed that post Jack. I'm sure it was really good. I probably had a computer virus that day, yeah that's it, I think. But please consider accepting this comment in lieue of the one I should have left on that post.
(and yeah, the same thing happens to me. I had one that I was sure would get me an Instalanche, and all it got was cricket chirps. Sigh.)
Blog more about the Lakers and see what happens.
Blog about anything, and include the word "sex" and you'll get a million hits and comments.
Its weird; a post I wrote last week in under 10 minutes, without any editing was hailed as a great post. Other posts that I agonize over for hours sometimes never get noticed.
And then...nothing beats the feeling when you've hit the grandslam. You know its one of your best posts ever, will get a lots of comments and lots of hits. It's a feeling of proud accomplishment and creativity that gives you a high for hours...sometimes days. Its such a good feeling, that if you look back at the same post a month later, and re-read it, you say to yourself, "Wow...that was a great posting."
Juxtappose this to other posts that make you cringe and wince when you look back at them... "Ung...I wrote that? I want to bury myself in a hole")
Any there you have it. 13 comments on this post of yours.
Oooh... exactly. It's funny, because I really do think we (generally) blog for ourselves: But once in a while, we finish a post we really worked on, and we look at it and think, "Wow - that was really great. That came out better than I imagined. I'm sure my readers will LOVE this, and link to and comment on it. Maybe even Glenn Reynolds will love it, and I'll get Instalanched! Wouldn't that be fun?!"
And then... nothing.
(Okay, so that's basically what happened to me on two recent posts, which were [I thought] so original and well written; the type of posts I really like to write. And an Instalanche would have been really cool, too. But now, I can say I am just happy to have written them: They were good posts, and I'm proud of how they came out - and that's all that really matters.)
well, Jack, I just did two posts on this...thought I was hysterical and no one "got it"! Oh well, gotta keep plugging away.
Jameel,
So true. Mention sex and people go nuts.
Ezzie,
I have been picked up by Glenn a couple of times but it didn't generate as much traffic as I thought that it would.
CM,
Keep on pluggin is a good motto.
Was this one of those that got more comments than you'd expected?
I find that posts about blogging often get more comments than other posts.
Posts that ask questions sometimes get responses, if the question clicks.
But therein lies the rub: how do you know what will click?
"Blowin in the wind..."
I find that posts about blogging often get more comments than other posts.
I would agree with that.
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