To Blog or not to Blog

I have been posting for about 6 weeks now and I am still experimenting and getting more familiar with WordPress and the ins and outs of blogging. It has certainly been a steep learning curve, but one in which I have enjoyed and gained much satisfaction. I will continue!

As I look ahead, I am glad that I have a clear outline of what it is I want to achieve from this blog. I know that much of this will change when my schedule changes next year to accommodate for work or study. Part of my learning about blogging includes many of the same ideas and concerns that other (academic) bloggers have.

I’ve been wrestling with my own ideas and choices about my blogging. How many complex aspects there are! I can see how it can easily become overwhelming and all time-consuming! I have been very happy with how I have gone about learning the WordPress skills needed and being resourceful about finding helpful advice. One interesting aspect of this has been talking to some trusted friends and colleagues about blogging – and although many of their suggestions echo information I have already encountered, or thought of myself, below are some of the more interesting ideas they have raised:

  • You are all excited now because the blog is new and you have many ideas – but you will soon run out of things to say.
  • Comments are a great way to bounce off ideas, get suggestions, look at things from a different angle and consider aspects that did not occur to you at the immediate time of writing.
  • You will spend more time posting than working on your dissertation.
  • The focus of your blog is totally different from the same old diary product and news bicycle blogs – your emphasis on biking projects and community development is so positive and engaging –it sets you apart and makes your content interesting to a much wider readership.
  • Warning- how regularly you blog sets a precedence and an expectation. Can you maintain it and/or are you okay when your posting timetable changes?
  • You can make a massive online income from your blog – you can advertise and get a passive income – that way you won’t need a scholarship to study!
  • Doing a blog is like hard drugs – once you start with blogging, it is a downward spiral into twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Integra – next stop social media addiction – goodbye Doctorate.
  • Are you writing for yourself or an audience? What if you end up with a large readership that will influence your content, approach and process?
  • The blogosphere is a perfect platform for your work – you can share ideas, connect with your community activities and network with an array of people who are interested in biketivism – which is precisely what your research is focused on.
  • It is a great way to document and record your thinking and research – very helpful for you – and you will be surprised about how interesting it will be to others.
  • Be clear about the time you have and will afford for the blog – otherwise, it will get out of control and before you know it you will have spent four hours on one blog post and still not be happy with it.
  • Your spelling is so terrible –aren’t you self-conscious about everyone seeing your mistakes?
  • Careful – there are academics who will read your blog and steal your ideas and publish them for themselves – be selective with what you share.
  • Great idea to find your voice, clarify some ideas and get into a regular writing habit.
  • Be careful of people’s comments – the public can say whatever they want – and they will. This has the potential to have an impact on your ideas and skew your thinking and confidence, both positively or negatively. This is a major concern in writing your thesis.
  • It is an excellent way to process and test ideas – you will find that you often go back to ideas to include or edit later.
  • People all over the world love bikes and they LURVE talking about them – your blog will be perfect!

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