A Minor Landmark

At around 1:05 am (PDT) this morning I had my 10,000th hit, six months, 5 1/2 hours after posting my first entry to this blog. It seems a bit discouraging sometimes, as if I'm talking to an empty room because I get so few comments and most of the people I know who blog get way more hits than I do. Is 6 months a fair trial? I don't know, but I do know I'm thinking seriously of giving it up. I spend a lot of time writing some of these posts for what seems like very little in the way of feedback let alone reward. Practice in writing is a good thing, but how long do I knock my head on the brick wall?

Comments

[Jill Smith]

I would keep doing it - unless you dislike the process. It seems that you could (and perhaps do) get satisfaction out of the writing itself: is that true? If so, keep going. I enjoy reading!

[Laura G]

In the end, you have to satisfy yourself over anyone else. I love reading your blog, and I'd miss it if you went away. But if you aren't getting any pleasure from it, then follow the advice of Tegan in Doctor Who: If it's not fun anymore, then don't continue.

[Mary Kay]

Jill: Writing, is very difficult for me actually. That's why practice is good, but very draining. I don't actually think in words unless I'm plotting conversation or writing. I particularly don't understand/learn on a verbal level. Translation can be tricky and is definitely not easy. I've written about it at length in my Live Journal and can hunt up the urls for you if you're interested in the gory detail.

I've done both the LJ and the blog for practice translating and I do think it's helped. I think my words come more easily and more fluently in conversation now. Of course, I could just be fooling myself, hard to say.

MKK

[Mary Kay]

Tegan: Thanks; it's nice to know you enjoy it.

MKK

[Scorpio]

I'm not sure I will make 10K in 6 months, but what the heck, it beats screaming at the TV or talking to the terminal.

Besides, one day a week you can photograph cats.

Scorpio
Eccentricity

[Christopher Davis]

I tend not to comment unless I have something specific to say; that's a side effect of trying to minimize typing and clicking for RSI reasons. However, you're in my RSS reader and on my sidebar blogroll for good reason!

However, Laura G is right; you have to do it because it's right for you, not because of your audience (or lack thereof). Sorry for being a bit anechoic, though...I understand the desire for feedback.

[Trinker]

I read what you say, Mary Kay.

I just don't often have anything new to add that I haven't said already, elsewhere.

But I've linked to your Inhofe commentary at Utopia With Cheese, which is run by a friend of mine. It's not part of the usual blog circles, so I don't know how you want to handle that.

[Jill Smith]

MKK: I am intrigued that you are doing this partially as an exercise. I think you are a good writer - my definition, as there are many: a good thinker who puts your thoughts into articulate sentences.

I too understand the desire for feedback. I implemented commenting a while back on my site, and get very little in the way of comments. It is especially frustrating on days like yesterday, when I thought I had something to say that wasn't being said elsewhere and I got bupkus. Not one comment. Ah, well....

Like Scorpio, I would think myself fortunate if I got to 10K posts by the time my site was six months old.

We all do this for different reasons: I do it because I'm looking for a job and I wanted something that would give me structure and keep my brain in gear. If your reasons for doing it are not compelling any more (or are changing and the activity is more frustrating than satisfying), then consider stopping.

But I, for one, would miss your voice.

That's the kicker - you may not know how missed you are until you stop. I personally can't stand "It's a Wonderful Life," but it did have a point.

Okay, I need to stop free-associating. I also need to post to my own site!

Bottom line: If it hurts stop, if you stop, we miss you.

- JAS

[Jill Smith]

Last line of last post was poorly punctuated - apologes.

It should have read: If it hurts, stop. If you stop, we miss you.

You sparked a trackback with this, if that helps.

[fidelio]

I suspect one of the things that's happening is that people read your blog, but because you and they are commenting on other blogs, they feel they're keeping in touch with you in those places and don't want to seem redundant.

However, as a five-finger exercise for the mind, I think this is worth doing--if you feel you need more mental five-finger exercises than you already have in your life.

As a comparison, you might go and check the total comments between October 2001 and May 2002 on another blog you're probably quite familiar with--Making Light. I have no idea how many hits accrued in that period, of course, but I doubt that TNH was shouting into a barrel, any more than you are.

[Liz]

Oh, golly. I come by at least once a week, but rarely comment. I will try to at least say, as we do out here, howdy.

[Serena]

Wow, that seems like a lot of hits to me and would seem to provide some external validation. I've been blogging since November and I only have a little over 1000. Keep it up!

But I agree with other comments that to a large degree, this is a internally focused process.

PS Thanks for the link on your blogroll.

[Mary Kay]

Serena: You're welcome. Trying to keep track of the old home state!

You're undoubtedly right that it's a lot. I suffer from the tendency to compare myself to everyone who does better than I do and then sulk rather than comparing myself to a wider range and feeling satisfied. It's that old, "I should be the best at what I do" thing that so many of us seem to suffer from. Which all too often keeps us from doing things at all.

mkk