Masturbatory Blogging
Yes, yes, we all know that blogging is really quite sad and self-indulgent. It’s bad enough that we all get to babble our opinionated nonsense to the world in a way that wouldn’t be possible if we required a paying audience like times gone by. But what’s with this disturbing trend to blog about blogging and the obligatory monthly stats-round-up of your own position among your fellow bloggers? C’mon.
(I realise the delicious irony that in order to make this comment I also am forced to do it. I apologise.)
Tags: blogging, self indulgence, stats
The only thing I can think of that’s worse then giving into the trend to blog about blogging, and to blog about the obligatory monthly stats-round-up, is giving into the urge to respond to a blog post about blogging and the monthly stats-round-up.
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…D’oh!!
I couldn’t agree more. I read a blog for its content. I couldn’t possibly give the tiniest fraction of a damn less about how many other readers it has, or how it rates compared to other blogs in some arbitrary category. So telling me all about it every month, sometimes with several self-congratulatory posts, really gets in my face. The more posts a blog has about itself, and the fewer about its purported subject matter, the less I want to read it.
I made a rule many moons ago that I would never write about anything on my blog except that which it’s about. I did break that rule one time when I wrote about the birth of my daughter though. Because of this rule, I obviously couldn’t point out how much meta-blogging annoys me—as you note, that would be flagrantly hypocritical. But I’m glad someone did (:
Regards,
Bnonn
Nice post, Damian
I know! I struggled with the dilemma of how to express my annoyance about blogging about blogging via the medium of a blog. It’s a bit like the dilemma of wanting to tell someone to stop being so judgemental.
Well put
Evidence that full-on ‘non-judgmentalism’ (i.e. “I judge that judging is pretty much the only bad thing there is…”) is not only impossible, but probably not a good thing 
Yeah, but look what it’s done. You’ve now linked to my post, thus increasing my Technorati Authority.
And look what your post has done – you’ve forced me to come here and see why there was an incoming link from your site. Normally, I rarely come here.
I don’t know how much self-justification to get into here, recognising the humour of the situation (and agreeing that some bloggers are taking themselves too seriously and have no objectivity in their self assessments).
However, masturbation is what one does in private, without a partner (reader) and hopefully won’t be noticed by others. I think that does describe the activity of some bloggers – they are in it for their own self-expression (gratification). Maybe some others wish to fantasise during the activity (they can imagine all sorts of desirable partners rather than be stuck with real ones) and will select statistical surveys accordingly.
Although I don’t accept that masturbatory blogging makes you blind, I do think it’s healthier to have a more social purpose. To involve a partner (audience).
Perhaps some people get gratification out of expressing themselves electronically without intending that their ideas get communicated to anyone else. Personally I think life is too short and fascinating to waste my time doing that. Even the old-fashioned sexual masturbation would be more attractive.
Touché!
Hear hear!
Enough about stats, and more about whatever the other posts are about. Although, a blog that just posted stats and nothing else would be even better. Then, it would become apparent that whatever the interest in masturbatory blogging might be, it is nothing compared to the voyeurs who look on feigning disinterest, or worse – disgust!
Since we are getting down and dirty sharing our most private fantasies, I have a small admission to make.
I once exposed my statistics willingly to all and sundry, not for the gratification, but because I had found out some-one was sneaking into my blog and perving at my stats without my knowledge.
They then published my stats on another blog, and (I’m embarrassed and humiliated to say) discovered they ranked me for size and penetration and the number of partners I had encountered during the month.
Is that rape or what.
Any normal person would have screamed “victim”, but I was of tougher mettle. I discovered this sad individual was doing this on a regular basis, across many blogs. And it took him hours and hours.
And I felt sorry for him. Fancy that, having been violated in ways you can barely imagine (given the rather restrained tone of your post, I may be crediting you with virtue you may not have, but I’m a glass half full kind of blogger) rather than taking this person to task, I willingly exposed my stats, all nicely counted and emailed him the link, to save him time.
I may have started a trend. He thanked me and others started doing it.
Call me a trollop, maybe I was born bad. Maybe I’m just damaged goods. I hope one day you can look on me with respect, and that I can regain that sense of human dignity currently stripped from me for my fornicating ways.
Ha! Nice.
If a person keeps an eye on other people’s stats would that make them a voyeur? And should there be a distinction between soft-stats and hardcore-stats?
I am going to disagree here. I like stats. I find them interesting. I like reading blog rankings and understanding the different formulae used and seeing the different results. I also like checking out the various blogs that helpfully get listed in one place to see what it is about them that makes them well visited – often I find blogs I enjoy that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
I like opening up my various stat monitors and seeing I have regular visitors from Blagoevgrad, Roubaix, Nord-pas-de-calais, France and Seattle Washington – I want to wave at them when I see them pop in on my Feedjit.
I enjoyed reading Not PC and Zen’s blog posts rounding up their monthly stats – I like seeing where theirs are different to mine. I also enjoy discovering which posts were heavily viewed over the previous month on a particular blog – often I find someting interesting I missed.
I don’t for a second view these practices as sad or self-indulgent. I see them as interesting and informative and as someone who gathers stats for monthly rankings it is really helpful when a blogger puts their stats up all neatly into a single post.
I run the Christian blog rankings and I think I have contributed to the blogosphere by doing this by having a place where people interested in finding Christian blogs have a good selection to visit. I also like highlighting the fact that several NZ Christian blogs can seriously hold their own against secular ones.
What I think is sad is this need in kiwi culture to downplay achievement to pretend we don’t feel good about doing well – worse to try to actually make ourselves not feel good about it – and to view statistical reporting and rankings as being on par with pride, self-indulgence and masturbation.
I celebrate success; both my own and others and I will continue to do so.
Is this not your listing on Technorati Damian?
http://technorati.com/blogs/damian.peterson.net.nz
Why attempt to increase your page rank if you don’t care about stats?
Is this not your listing on Technorati Damian?
http://technorati.com/blogs/damian.peterson.net.nz
One wonders why somone with a problem with self-indulgent mastabatory blogging would deliberately create an account on a network that serves no other purpose but to increase page rank.
Is this not your listing on Technorati Damian?
technorati.com/blogs/damian.peterson.net.nz
One wonders why somone with a problem with self-indulgent mastabatory blogging would deliberately create an account on a network that serves no other purpose but to increase page rank.
gee whiz… not that big of a deal people
Damian accused 4 blogs, and by implication many others, of “sad”, “self-indulgent”, “mastubatory” practices. This was an attack on the character of other people.
Other people prached about the errors of “self-congratulatory posts”, how they ‘get in their face’ and their self-imposed holier than thou rules about avoiding blogs that engage in “blog masturbation”, how they resist the urge to engage themselves and finish with confession of the one time they crossed the line.
All of this is designed to prompt the named sinners to repent and prostrate themselves before those who are better. It is kiwi culture gone mad. If the all blacks win the world cup are we supposed to suppress our jubilation and flagellate ourselves for our brief moment of wicked jubillation at our success.
What exactly is it we are now not supposed to make a big deal about?
Sorry to have upset you Madeleine (aka ‘Exploding Feijoa’ of the same IP address).
I’m also sorry that the way technocrati automatically adds blogs tricked you into thinking that I had to create an account of some kind which, as you point out, would have been horribly hypocritical of me.
Sorry also am I that you read my comment about “sad and self-indulgent” as something that isn’t inclusive of my own sad and self-indulgent blogging; yes there was a bit of self-denigration going on there.
And I’m most terribly sorry that you have taken this so seriously. Don’t let it bother you too much.
Exploding Feijoa is a friend who was visiting who used my computer.
You didn’t upset me.
I care about stats and I’m not ashamed to admit I flippin love it when my stats go up. I care about them for The Humanitarian Chronicle because it is my job to grow that blog into something that is read by many people who want to engage thoughts (often Christian) around the poor and our work with them. I first established it with that in mind and I now run it with TEAR Fund with that in mind.
Servant’s Thoughts used to be my central blog and I also loved watching the stats on that and using that as a measure for how many were actually interested in what I had to say… now it’s more of a flippant personal space and it doesn’t worry me what people think.
Blogs are predominantly public platforms. If someone really doesn’t care if others are reading or not…. write in a journal you can put in a draw. For me, blogs are about engaging other people… sometimes, the more the better
May the reader numbers for The Humanitarian Chronicle http://www.hcweb.org continue to grow
When it gets to number one in New Zealand I will be proclaiming it on the blog with huge satisfaction… we won’t talk about the word pictures we could associate with that in light of this post
I am an unashamed blogging exhibitionist
The number 1 spot is taken Frank
You can have number 2 LOL!
Oops, sorry Madeleine. I should have thought about IP’s.
I wasn’t really angry, maybe a bit. If you knew Madeleine and Matt you would know that the sorts of things they write about is a big part of who they are and what they are gifted at doing. They have always been engaged in some thing or the other (like their blog) ever since they met and they have refined their activities over the years into MandM. The suggestion they do it for rankings or that they are vain and prideful for mentioning their pleasure at seeing the hours and hours and hours of work and service they give the blogosphere pay off irked me and still does.
It was an unfair charge levelled at several decent people, none of whom, having read the blogs concerned blog for praise or accolades.
If you don’t like the practice don’t do it on your own blog. If it bothers you that much don’t visit blogs that do it. But don’t sit on your high horse and claim the moral highground and point fingers.
Now the humour seems to have evaporated – a serious question for Frank.
Madeleine has mentioned her efforts at compiling a rating list of NZ Christian Blogs. Now, it seems to me that religious groups/individuals have been quite prolific in blogging. More so than secular ideological groups/individuals. Maybe that has something to do with a perceived need to proselytise.
Anyway, my observation is (and I might be quite wrong – correct me if I am): Most NZ Christian Blogs I come across appear to me to be politically/ideologically conservative (I won’t use the left/right terminology because I think it has little meaning these days – if it ever did). Perhaps Frank’s blogs are an exceptions (I judge them not to be politically conservative).
But, Frank. If my observation is correct why is that so? Surely there are far more liberal Christians out there than evidenced by the blogs? Why aren’t they participating?
My earliest mature contact with Christianity was in the peace movement – initially with people like the Quakers but later (particularly during the Vietnam war) with liberal mainstream Christians. I always got on well with them – there was a unity of purpose there.
But I rarely see this form of Christianity represented in NZ blogs.
Maybe I am wrong. Maybe Madeleine needs to differentiate here list along the liberal/conservative divide?
Hey Ken, just a quick comment to let you know I will get around to responding to this. I’m on holiday and will be back on Monday. Till then my blogging is being relegated to simply maintaining The Humanitarian Chronicle and making sure it stays civil
*Bump*
(I’m also interested to hear Frank’s thoughts on this in response to Ken’s question).
Ken, let me throw some thoughts out and we’ll see where they go.
Blogging can be a relatively combative form of dialogue… it doesn’t take long for “fights” to develop and for people to be pushing back and forth strongly on their views.
I would say that a large number of people attracted to blogging are those who feel comfortable with and are willing to give time to that form of engagement.
My over generalised observation is that it is these people from all persuasions that dominate the blogging world. In terms of Christianity and politics, it tends to be those with a more “conservative” and “right” leaning political pursuasion that tend to be more willing to debate, argue and combat around their ideas. This isn’t always the case, but I think that a cursory look around the blogosphere will reveal it.
Christians at the more liberal end of the political spectrum (as I believe liberal and conservative are being defined here) tend to be less willing to engage in debate and argument… they are generally more passive and get frustrated with such discussions.
It’s an interesting discussion and as always the labels can cause many a headache since liberal in popular terminology denotes the left when the classical definition puts it “right” in the libertarian camp – where there are quite a number of Christian thinkers.
I’ve just had a thought.
A blog’s popularity is largely down to the amount of conversation that occurs surrounding the topics it raises. If we think of blogs as little living creatures then they will almost inevitably tend toward controversial topics in order to stimulate conversation (i.e. the number of comments can be seen as one measure of ‘fitness’).
This might explain why we tend to see (or, at least, notice) more politically, religiously and scientifically controversial blogs.
I think you’ve nailed it. That’s a great observation.
I disagree.
smart ass
Thank you; it’s a gift.
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