Have you noticed lately that the bloggers you follow are posting a little less frequently?
For me, there’s a direct correlation between deadlines looming and a slowdown in both reading and posting to blogs. I’m disciplined about working when I have to be, and time online is the first to go when I have a lot on my plate. So at times like the busy weeks leading up to a week away on my mini-vacation in San Francisco and then attending the IABC conference, I did not have much to say online.
But something else is getting in the way these days: Twitter.
Kelly Thul at CommunNtelligence recently voiced that same thought, in a post called “Cheating on my blogging with Twitter”:
“I have resolved to get back to posting to a couple of blogs that I have neglected lately. Trying to understand how I got there. Was I lazy? Sure, always a bit, but that is not it. Did I run out of things to say? Unlikely. I blame Twitter.”
Me, too. First, you spend time scrolling through tweets from everyone you follow to see what they’re up to, and maybe answer or retweet a couple. Then, you have to look at all the interesting URLs they’ve suggested. Next, you might share a few URLs of your own, or come up with something about what you’re doing. And maybe you have some new people following you, so you look at their profiles to see if you want to follow back (or maybe block them, if they appear spammy or in other ways suspicious). And then, oops, look at the time, better get to work! And so you leave blogging to another day.
Don’t get me wrong, Twitter has its appeal. As Kelly notes, it’s easy and quick, and it’s short. And I think those very attributes encourage a quick comment, which helps to build a connection. People seem to be a little less likely to comment on a blog post, especially if the comment is a one-liner (within Twitter’s 140-characters).
But it’s still an enormous expense of time. So here’s my new plan. If it’s been a few days between posts, I’ll blog first, and not even launch Twitter or (the much nicer tool) TweetDeck until that’s done. Or tweet one day and post to my blog the next. And if I’m super busy, I might not get to either.
How are you achieving blog/Twitter balance?
Sue, as you know, I’m so trailing edge that my recent resolution has been to try to blog more frequently. As for Twitter, it is not even on my radar yet. And I wish lurkers would feel free to post more. I like comments, even one liners, & try to contribute whenever I can. It is really OK, and not that embarrassing unless you reveal silly stuff.
That’s OK, Gloria, we have people like Donna far up ahead shining a light for us to follow! I agee, it would be nice if lurkers posted just a little more. Thank YOU for doing so!
I’m still afraid of Twitter, because I know it will suck up way too much time. But I don’t think I’ll be able to hold out much longer.
You read so much about bloggers feeling the need to post several times a week, but I think that’s impractical for people like us who must also earn a living. It’s also easier to maintain blog quality if you don’t feel constantly pressured to produce. Quality always trumps quantity. For blogs, tweets, friendship, food and so much else.
Thanks for commenting, Barb! You may have to jump in, just to try Twitter. Just don’t LET it take over your life! As for blogs, I think it’s good to set a goal for how often you will post, and as you say, aim for quality vs. quantity.
I have to admit Sue, I am sucked into Twitter. It’s become a guilty pleasure. But I don’t see it as a blogging cheat, I see the two in very different ways. I have never been a frequent blogger, preferring quality over quantity as mentioned above. I try to develop in-depth blog posts, and then I use Twitter to help direct traffic to them.