Shotgun Blogging

~ beetleypete

I have been perusing other blogs of late, and drawing some personal conclusions about the nature of many blogs, including my own. Some of my favourite blogs publish articles of great import, sparingly posted. They are usually sumptuously illustrated, or have accompanying photographs, generally of high quality. Although they do not appear that often, the response from their audience is always immediate, and in great numbers. These bloggers are at the high end of this pastime, the careful craftsmen in our blogging community. They have experimented, worked hard and meticulously, and achieved something enduring, with work to be proud of. I think of them as the Guild Bloggers, masters of the art.

Then there are the Niche Bloggers, predominantly photographers, poets, or writers of published works. They post only about their subject of interest. We might see something of their travels, or their personal developments in their chosen field, but we know little of their life, or background. They avoid the daily reports, the ‘I did this’, or the ‘I think this’. They blog in packs, embracing themes, projects, and tasks. Often, their work is wonderful. Unusual, or well-rendered photos grace their attractive blogs, and are pleasing to both the eye and mind. Interesting novels or heartfelt poems make us think, and admire the skill of those wordsmiths.

Next, we have the Re-Bloggers. They save us the effort of excessive trawling, by bringing the posts of many others to our attention that we would almost certainly not have discovered otherwise. Some re-blog in specific areas, or on one subject. Others find work similar to their own, and present it for comparison. A few have even been kind enough to re-blog some of my own articles, and I am always careful to thank them for this favour. These re-bloggers do us all a great service. They work hard to find interesting and relevant posts, and sometimes turn up real gems from the ‘sunken wrecks’ of the millions of blogs out there. More power to them, and well done all of you.

There are also lots of blogs that I would rather not happen across. Posing as one thing, they are most definitely another. Religious mania is rife; preaching to the unconverted, who will remain that way after seeing this stuff. Bigotry, uninformed and unintelligent opinion, it is all there, unfortunately. I never cease to be amazed at how hard someone will work to be objectionable, nasty, or downright offensive. Despite championing the freedom offered by the very concept of blogging, part of me wishes that these individuals could be made to exit this otherwise well-intentioned community. Luckily, they are generally easy to avoid, as long as you don’t get caught by the bloggers wearing a different face to the one you find in their articles. I would have to call these the Disturbing Bloggers.

The Happy Bloggers are those who just want to have fun on the blog, and tell us about what they feel at any given time. They post about days out, what they ate in a restaurant, and what they said to their friends. They might tell us about their last holiday, their favourite film or book, and whether or not they got held up by public transport on their way into work. These harmless diarists are doing nothing wrong. After all, we can choose not to read what they post, if it is not to our taste. However, I suggest that this category of blogger is the most important of all. They are the chroniclers of the age; and in centuries to come, the descriptions of the minutiae of every day life in the 21st century will be of enormous value to historians and social commentators. Please keep going with these. They will be the Pepys diaries of the next millennium.

On to the Sad Bloggers. So many people use the world of blogging to express their emotions, sometimes it all becomes too much to take in. Depression is a familiar subject, as are marriage break-ups, relationship failures, and feelings of loneliness. Some also document illnesses, both physical and mental, and can often be distressing to read. This is where blogging can really help someone. They can connect with others who feel the same, or are suffering in the same way. Their stories can give inspiration to many who thought they would never see a good day again, and just writing about it all can help the blogger in so many ways imaginable. Despite the apparent sadness associated with these blogs, I actually see them as incredibly positive, in that they give voice to the worries and innermost fears of the writers, and in so doing, start them on the road to recovery.

This leads me to my own blog. How would I sum up this personal journey into the outside world?
What of this blog, that has numerous categories; and covers subjects as diverse as dressing gowns, dog-walking, and World Cinema? Over 600 posts about everything and anything; from my personal history in great detail, failed marriages, songs that I have a connection with, and recollections of old holidays, through to adapting to a new life in a rural location, and not being able to enjoy driving without street-lights. As I sit here with my glass of Barbera, contemplating my three years of blogging, I think I have found a way to describe it. In a world of blogs where some are written with surgical precision, others presented with great care, and aplomb, I have used a simple approach.

It is like a shotgun. I load my blog with lots of posts, written frequently, and posted almost daily. I then metaphorically fire it out in a wide spread pattern, hoping to hit something somewhere.

73 thoughts on “Shotgun Blogging”

  2. Yes, shotgun blogging is a good description. Some authors just want to spam the universe about their own books, and then they wonder why they don’t sell any. I think the best ones to follow are those which have good content and are sparingly posted. I have cut down on the number of blogs I follow, as it’s overwhelming if everyone posts numerous blogs every day. My concentration goes to pot and I can’t get any writing done. I have turned off the WordPress notifications, and just follow a few from the Reader these days.

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    1. I have always limited the number of blogs I follow, and only follow a ‘new’ one if someone sadly dies, or announces they have stopped blogging. There is a finite amount of blogs you can follow before it becomes too much.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  4. If I were still teaching blogging Pete, THIS would be a required read-up. Most blog writers don’t have a clue when they start. Some have ideas. It needs to be pointed out what you write here. Bravo!

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  5. I’ve been aware of blogging but always ignored as a local minister had a blog site and each blog, each paragraph, each sentence started with “I” followed by done, did, doing.
    Pete what I like with your blogs is you do them so WE can relate to your subject and you draw US into the experience.
    And you posters are great. Thanks

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  6. Your posts about blogging are always illuminating, Pete. I hadn’t come across this one before, but it seems as relevant today as it was originally. Thanks for reblogging this and for your shotgun style of blogging.

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  8. Whatever you call it, Pete, I enjoy reading what you post every day. It gives me a link back to the country I still think of as “mine” with all its troubles and in spite of so many years separation.

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  9. Despite your longevity and the fact I’ve sort of been aware of a Pete who Beetles for some time, it is only recently I’ve spent time following and from what I’ve read, Shotgun is probably apt if one accepts that the shot in question is highly distinct and not uniform. It makes me think about my own attempts and I suppose I indulge in Back Of The Sofa Blogging, in that most of my output comprises fluff but occasionally there might be something that justifies the time taken rummaging around. Keep shooting.

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  10. I am unsure how I missed this post since we’ve been blogging buddies for a lot longer than 2015. Regardless, I like how you have categorized the blogs. I was a consistent and strong blogger for about eight years. Then I struggled with the time to complete my novels. Then I took a break when my Mom died and lost my momentum. It felt like a burden. Then came the big move to VA and trip to SA and a new job right around the corner. I wonder if I’ll ever get back to regular blogging like you. IDK.
    I struggle to find the inspiration I once had. Your blog is a combination of all the above categories~!

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    1. You came up as anonymous, but I know it is you, Cindy. I hope that you find your way back to regular blogging, as I miss you here. But I understand if everything else going on in your life takes precedence.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  13. I see myself in the following statement on your post today … ” I never cease to be amazed at how hard someone will work to be objectionable, nasty, or downright offensive. Despite championing the freedom offered by the very concept of blogging, part of me wishes that these individuals could be made to exit this otherwise well-intentioned community.

    I also work very hard to be objectionable, nasty and downright offensive … it is called “Being a Shock Jock” and it is designed to make people think …But at any rate I would love to seek out some more of these because I like to see how angry they can make me sometimes …I also like to read them to find out if there is something that I had not thought of before I blew my top at their rantings and that I should research more thoroughly than I ever had before. Even us nasty and profane have our value if people know how to make use of it.

    I will never sugarcoat manure just in an attempt to avoid offending the sensitivities of someone who may consider themselves to be highly morally elevated.

    Nature of the best and of the game.

    It is called “Politics”

    It’s reward is survival in an unforgiving world.

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  14. HI Pete, I enjoyed this post. I think you have summed up bloggers in general, and your own blog, very nicely. I think I am a pot luck blogger. I tend to post what I feel like at the time. This year, I have been making an effort to post a recipe on a Monday, but other than that it is quite haphazard.

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  16. Well Beetleypete, I am with you. Word vomiting my way through a variety of topics and themes on my blog rather than being a diarist/sad/happy blogger. It is the only way I know how to write. The community that follows my blog is very giving and I love that aspect of blogging that it creates friendships without geographic barriers. Keep up the great work!

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  19. Thank you for this very enjoyable read. As a poet I do believe that poets (some of them anyway) do provide, through their poetry an insight into their inner life. Inded some poems (as with songs) can describe everything from personal tragedies right the way through to failed lov affiars. Best – Kevin

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  20. Brilliant analysis – a pearl I somehow missed when it was first posted. That’s because there’s too much blogging out there, too many clamours for attention. It’s madness, like the rush hour tube – that at least will be clear to historians of the future.
    I always agree with everything you say, though “happy bloggers” get on my tits and are less representative, I fear, of the age in which we live than the suicidally depressed bloggers, the scream for help in the age of no privacy and no time to help, it seems.
    I’m sceptical of Pepys, too – historians have probably misled us all by putting too much faith in him.
    “Dear Diary/Dear Me” writing is not more honest than any other kind – we lie to ourselves more than to anybody else.

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    1. I would argue that “dear diary” writing can be some of the most honest posts out there. It is of course on the writer. I only lie to myself when I say I won’t have another drink. -OM

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    2. An interesting view, and I would have expected nothing less from you. I trust very little ‘history’, as it was either written by those who could actually write, or on behalf of them, probably by someone uncredited. I do enjoy Pepys as an observation though, irrespective of how accurate it really is.
      Whether we can trust the future to sort the wheat from the chaff will be of little concern to me by then, I suspect.
      I am pleased that you enjoyed it though.
      Best wishes as always, Pete.

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  21. Don’t worry I think we all in the reality blog pretty much the same way. Some posts work, some don’t, some get great hits, others we probably could have not written. The most important part is having fun in the process, right?

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  22. I have almost no experience with different blogs, but I really like your blog. The shotgun category is wonderful! Not boring, always something different!
    Best wishes to you.

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    1. You are most kind Irene, and your comments are always appreciated.
      You should look around the ‘blogosphere’ though. There is much to discover and enjoy.
      Very best wishes, Pete.

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  26. I love this post Pete. I wonder what category my blog posts fall, it has become a jumble of subjects that I wrote about through the years. Blogging is here to stay hopefully because I learn a lot from other bloggers too. I really love your posts on “blogging”.

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    1. I think you fall into my ‘shotgun’ category Arlene. Like me, you have a variety of subjects, some personal, some about nature, many about faith and family. Unlike me, you also post a lot of photos and images, but overall, you blog in a very similar way. I don’t think that blogging will ever go away. Some bloggers lose interest, others take their place,
      Best wishes from England. Pete.

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  27. I like the expression, “shotgun blogger,” I think that means I’m a pea shooter, or maybe a micro-niche blogger. I suppose everyone is free to make of blogging what they wish. Personally, I love your approach, as I never know what to expect, which is a good thing. You are also a “chronicler of the age,” though I understand that you cannot categorize yourself as a “Happy Blogger” because you delve into sad and serious issues at times, despite the fact that you usually infuse your posts with wit and humor. Your survey was quite interesting. It does seem that your blog appeals to a good many people, myself included, and I hope it continues to build readership.

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    1. Thanks for your kind compliments David. I think that your blog covers a few niches. From your limericks, to Pope On The Dole, and your appropriate photos too. You are a long way from being a ‘pea-shooter’!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Pete, I appreciate your comment. I will soon post the lyrics to “Curiosity,” a Chris Almoada/LividEmerald song that should be issued any time now on the Squoodge Records label. The company is releasing twelve collectible 7″ vinyl records commemorating its tenth year in business.

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  31. “Shotgun blogging” is the best! Post whatever is of interest to you, and hopefully those who read it will find things that are new, inspiring, or just plain fun to read..nice job!

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