Blogging in (the end of) 2018

[anch_io]

So, I have a couple of questions for you fine gents (and ladies!) that are still blogging in 2018.

As I am stationed in a small coastal town with a small gaming community (and the one that almost exclusively plays 40k  ), and absolutely no gaming stores in the radius of 100km I started toying with the idea of starting a blog. As I am getting older, I play less, but I paint more. And without audience, well... They are just little pieces of metal that I keep in the boxes.

As I already done blogging...ugh...some 15 years ago, I know what it entails. What I do not know is does it still have an audience or everything has moved to "social networks"? So, my first question for you bloggers is - do you feel it is still worth it? Or has it become just a little box for your memories that is sometimes visited by others?

And the second (and not so depressing) question is - do you think it is necessary for blog to be written in English? And I ask this question as I come from Croatia, there is barely 4 million of us, and there are probably some 20 million people in the world that talk/understand this language. And if we don't use it...well...century more or less and it is probably gone. Especially in this day and age of google translate (which still makes hilarious translations but is slowly getting better).

So, if you are willing to answer, I'm listening...

[Dan55]

Well . . . for every person interested in staying connected with the greater community by writing, there must be 10 people trying to stay connected by reading.  If you enjoy it, and it gives you the feeling of participating when you can't otherwise participate I say go for it.  I write (and produce home made rule sets) for just this reason.

As to language - can you do both?  Write in Croatian and under it write another copy in English.

[Codsticker]

I think most people have migrated to social media but I find reading, and viewing pictures, on blogs better for this very visual hobby. So, I keep blogging and reading the blogs of others.

As to language - can you do both?  Write in Croatian and under it write another copy in English.

I have seen other blogs that do this. Unless you have tons of time, I think you have to keep your words fairly succinct.

[moiterei_1984]

As a blogger myself I‘d say it got a little quieter. When I got about 25 to 30 replies per blog post a few years back, it‘s now down to 10 to 15. That said I like to think the quality of replies got better too. A typical answer used to be“very nice“ or the like, but now it seems (at least to me), as if people put more time into it.
But clearly times have moved on, the heydays are over. Personally though I do prefer blogger and fora over social media platforms as information (like tutorials or the like) are more easily to find again, while on FB they tend to disappear into the noise after a short while.

As for the language personally I don’t bother to read blogs not written in English, as Google translate often simply isn‘t up to the task (especially with the less often spoken languages like your Croatian) to transport anything beyond the basic meaning. Fine intricacies inevitably get lost.

[Julfdi]

Worth wring imo. Both as journal to myself and for amusement of audience.
I write less than I used to but my blog is bilingual. ( Finnish and English) Content is almost the same in both languages. My motivation is similar to Yours. Native tongue deserves active and public use in all contexts.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I've been blogging for ten years and have tried to keep up the content as much as possible, but I am aware that views and comments have decreased in recent times.

I've even thought about changing platforms but I'm a bit of a dinosaur and don't relish the thought of change.

I agree with comments posted earlier - I thing Blogging works for this hobby. I'm just not sure there is a (long term) future in Blogging.

I'd be interested in the views of others who Blog.

Finally, I think you should start and Blog in your own language. Good luck.

Tony
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/

[Arlequín]

If you just want to show off your painting then social media is for you, something a lot of bloggers have come to realise, as have the folk who just wanted to see lead porn online.

Blogging will eventually be the preserve of the people who like to 'show and tell' with their output, those who like to develop a theme and story to their stuff and talk about it, or those who just like to ramble-on about things like me. I used to struggle to find time to read all the blogs I followed, while now a post might stay at the top of my reading list for a couple of days before another puts it in the #2 position.

Commenting on a blog takes effort, especially if there is a click or two to be made before you can actually add your comment. If you read a number of blogs that is quite a time sink, especially compared to just clicking 'like'.

I prefer to read in English, but if I think a post is worth reading, the language it's in is no barrier. It might take a little effort to smooth out Google's errors, but that's part of the fun and keeps your mind active. It's a two-edged sword, you will get more global readers with just English, but could exclude more local readers. If you don't mind the effort, bilingual is the best of both.

[Bloggard]

I think well-done Blogs are one of the better manisfestations of web-content (depending on the content of course!! - I mean presentation really, I suppose, in the general sense).

They can be a very attractive integration of words and text, with a feeling close to a measured conversation / talk by the blogger - particularly if he/she is responsive in terms of comments.

Social Media couldn't be further from this relatively literate and sophisticated experience (and that's without getting into its political / social influence in terms of fake news etc).

I can only hope that those who wish to communicate / share material of this sort continue blogging, or, along with printed matter we risk losing what little rationality seems left to us.

a lengthy thread on a forum board such as this (so generously provided) is a good second choice I think.

(rather large irony here, I must admit, is that despite my username on this board - I don't have a blog myself  , although I do intend to rectify that when I have something of sufficient interest to share).

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I cannot comment on the use of Social Media (I have a presence on Microsoft's one, and I am not posting anything about my hobbies on there).

Blogging allows you to be yourself, a number of other people have had issues with the social media platforms clamping down on pseudonyms. This in some ways makes some sense, but does not give you the option of not "coming out" as a Wargamer, railway modeller, collector of whatever.

I use my blog for three main things, it hosts the images I post in various fora (so there is the occasional post that just says "I needed this for a comment on X".
http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2018/05/building.html

It is an external note system, so there might be a post about something I am working on which has the photographs and links I need.
http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2015/11/compare-t34-85-part-two.html

And finally for posting work in progress and finished items.

I am not brave enough to enable comments, I leave that to the relevant fora, such as this fine establishment.

I have one created and one future blog, the former to record various survivors stories in a solo campaign of The Walking Dead, the other for an alternative world Ultramodern campaign (the names having been changed to protect the litigious or those prone to acts of retribution). Those have been held up while I have been playing a certain board game.

Why do I do it?

A very good question.

Part of it is to have some record of what I have done, to show off the good stuff and offer advice on what has gone wrong.

It might be that no one reads it, but the potential is there, and depending on what the Great Devourer does with it, it might well be there after I am gone.

As to what language to use, well I can see why you should blog in your own language, it might attract interest from other people who speak the language who might not have thought about wargaming.

I have the advantage that my native language has no morals about stealing any language construct, concept or idea that is not nailed down in a locked room under armed guard.

Having become the de facto "Lingua Franca" (see what I mean about being a light fingered language), there is a wider audience.

Of course this might change, just look at the concept of a "Lingua Franca".

Bilingual blogging would be best, though whether that is best done on two blogs, less likely to discourage readers who do not know the language, it is more work.

The Tankograd books are one of the few bilingual books I own, maybe they are an example you might want to follow.

Good luck, and I commend your decision to start blogging.

Oh, and it is always useful to post on various fora if you have something you want people to see.

[mcfonz]

Blogging is something I am looking at, but not as an individual, but as part of a group/community.

I need to read more blogs and need to set myself up so I can subscribe to several really. I think they might be having somewhat of a renaissance. Social media is only really good for quick drive by stuff. Blogs at least allow some time and space for explaining your angle and influences etc.

As others have said, do it for your own enjoyment. I tried to get going on one on my own but struggled to commit to it and didn't enjoy it so much.

[Charlie_]

Absolutely do a blog! I'd much rather follow a good hobby blog than be forced to go looking for scraps in the world of social media. If you've got something worth posting and writing about regularly, a blog is the way to go.

If you just want to show off your painting then social media is for you, something a lot of bloggers have come to realise, as have the folk who just wanted to see lead porn online.

Blogging will eventually be the preserve of the people who like to 'show and tell' with their output, those who like to develop a theme and story to their stuff and talk about it, or those who just like to ramble-on about things like me. I used to struggle to find time to read all the blogs I followed, while now a post might stay at the top of my reading list for a couple of days before another puts it in the #2 position.

Commenting on a blog takes effort, especially if there is a click or two to be made before you can actually add your comment. If you read a number of blogs that is quite a time sink, especially compared to just clicking 'like'.

I prefer to read in English, but if I think a post is worth reading, the language it's in is no barrier. It might take a little effort to smooth out Google's errors, but that's part of the fun and keeps your mind active. It's a two-edged sword, you will get more global readers with just English, but could exclude more local readers. If you don't mind the effort, bilingual is the best of both.

Whatever happened to your blog? Is it coming back? Or at least will the articles you wrote about the late 15th century be available somewhere again?

[Orctrader]

I think blogging has changed simply because...there are so many.

I only read Blogs written in English.

I rarely post comments on Blogs - just too little time.

I don't use Social Media.  Too little time.

Personally, as I'm a painter, I use a website as this is still by far the best method to show galleries of images.  There is no option to post comments.  I post images here for that.   

[zemjw]

I kept a blog for a few years. However, the traffic was never more than just into double figures in any given day, so when Google changed stuff and broke some scripts I used to make publishing easier, I let it trail off.

I sometimes think about going back to it for special projects, rather than just polluting the internet with more pictures of whatever was last on the painting table.

Be aware that It is another time sink, and the time spent writing, taking pictures, cleaning up the drafts and then joining it all together, is time taken away from other hobby stuff. I had been able to sneak some writing in at lunchtime at work, but they blocked all the sites I needed, so that didn't help

Having said that, if you want to do it, go for it. I do have some things I'd like to add to mine, although the shock for my single follower may be too much after all this time

[anch_io]

Wow!

I did not expect this many responses in just one day. Thank you all for your encouragement and kind suggestions. I think I will try to write in Croatian and then translate it with Google translate (with some revisions, of course, the languages have different syntax). It will be more work, but...oh, what the hell. I already write for a living. I might as well write about something that I find relaxing and inspiring.

Some more questions for you bloggers - this time technical. What kind of platform do you suggest? Blogspot? Wordpress? Something else? And where do you store your photos? Is Photobucket alive again? Imgur? Any other suggestions or things I should know about? It has been more than a decade since I published my last blog post...

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I use Blogger/Blogspot, and the Great Devourer provides the photograph storage as part of the package.

I set up an email address with them, and then used it to set up the blog.