Don’t let Facebook kill your blog
Don’t let Facebook kill your blog. I know not everyone has their own web site or blog, but if you do, don’t let Facebook quietly kill your desire to write and voice your opinion. And for that matter, don’t let Twitter kill it either. Your blog is YOUR playground. You can do what you want there and your friends will come play with you.
Post-Its versus magazines
I’m not a big Facebook user but I am frequent Twittererererer. I have to admit, spitting out text messages with quick links on Twitter is easy and draws the attention of people to the things I think are fun and cool. But that’s it. It doesn’t let me dive into a topic…and it’s not supposed to.
There are times when I have an hankering to make a post and then think, “well, I already tweeted about that, do I really need to blog it?” Absolutely. Twitter is great way to dog ear topic link or seed a conversation, but writing a full blog post lets you brain dump about it. You probably have more to say about a topic than a 100 or so characters…unless it’s that YouTube of a cat playing with an iPad. However, you probably could write a post about why the iPad is the greatest cat toy ever.
Why limit yourself?
And then there’s Facebook. The gateway to the Internet for many, many people. It lets you share photos, videos, and even blog if you want to. It’s great that it offers all that stuff, but it does so in a not-so-easy way and doesn’t let you present things the way you want. It also limits your voice to the friends you have and know. Yes, your friends and family will be your biggest supporters, but they probably have a pretty good picture of you already, right? Me writing about toys isn’t a shock to any of my friends.
The balancing act between Facebook posting (even status updates) and blogging is a tough one. Sure, I could blog in Facebook, but why? Yes, yes…I have the technical know-how to make a site and blog and all that…but you don’t need that knowledge to build your own temple on-line. You can spin up a blog (or two) overnight without any effort. You can get your voice out there BEYOND your immediate circle of friends. Best part is, you can still use Facebook to get those friends to your new playground.
You are more than just a status update
Status updates on Facebook and Twitter are great. They’re quick and easy and give everyone a snapshot of your life at that moment. But isn’t their more to your brain than just tiny updates? I know it’s a hassle to make an update AND write a full blog post. It does take some effort, but it’s worth it. I don’t want to discount the interaction Facebook/Twitter can create between people, it’s a great conduit, but they both limit you severely.
If you have a blog, use it. Make it the destination. Use the Facebooks and Twitters of the world to invite people in and have a conversation.
Amen, brother.
I totally agree. And I’ve also said things about similar sites like Livejournal and Xanga in the past. If you have a little bit of time, setting up your own blog/Web site can be very rewarding. Not to mention, you own all the content, and get the final say on what can be posted and what can’t be. And if you choose to run ads, every penny goes to you. Not the same for the other sites.
I think FB, Twitter and the rest can be very useful. And there are things I post to my FB that I don’t post on my blog, but they’re things that I only want a limited number of people knowing anyway.
However, the centerpiece of my online life is my blog. And I’m planning on keeping it that way.
I agree with you and disagree with you. There is a change occurring because of Twitter and Facebook. Both of them expand your reach easily, they also change where the conversation is happening, which is good and bad. It’s good because the easier it is to discuss something the better, the flipside is that the conversation is not fragmented between Facebook, Twitter, etc. The discussion is now more public, rather than concentrated on a blog.
The one thing it has helped with is content of a blog. Now that people can get out 140 character thoughts, links, etc in an easy format, that allows the blog content to be a little more thoughtful, positioned, and edited.
Also, why say something if someone else has already said it? I aggregate over 150+ blogs a day, and chances are someone has already said what I was thinking, SO I’ll link to them.
Websites/Blogs are great for some people, but I’m glad that Twitter has helped people condense their thoughts into one line, instead of 500 words about nothing or that I’ve already read.
Fragmented conversation is exactly one problem with so many outlets. Facebook, Twitter, Buzz…whatever it is, it requires much more effort to get all the input for a single topic - but like you said, that’s good and bad. Getting out there amongst the people is great but I think one goal is to use these tools to get people into one space.
However, I have to 100% disagree with saying it’s not worth writing something that’s already been said. Aggregating is great to seed a conversation or topic, but why not lend your two cents? I like taking credit for my thoughts, however unoriginal they may be.
Either way, I enjoy writing…I know not everyone likes to write, that’s fine, but if you do enjoy writing or blogged in the past, don’t let these new short-message tools kill your creativity.