To Blog or not to Blog?

[lillypink]

To blog or not to blog that is the question !

Is blogging the modern day equivalent of those horrible "round robin" letters we used to get in Christmas cards that boasted how fabulous our kids were but failed to mention the s**t side of life or is it a means of letting concerned loved ones and friends know that all is well as we take to the high sees?
To blog a holiday / adventure is one thing but to blog a "life" takes some commitment. So CF folks do you bother and is it open to all to read, so others can learn from your experience or is it private for a few friends only? Do you follow others that blog and other than keeping family informed is there any real point - does a public blog help other sailors to feedback / offer advice / make plans to meet up? If we all blogged would that make for a better sailing community !!!! I wonder

[Target9000]

We blog.

Its interesting and fun. I follow a *lot* of other blogs and have learned a lot from them. I suppose it really depends on what you're looking to get out of blogging. If it is just a place to keep the family updated then you could easily use email.

Some people blog for fame and fortune. Some people blog for feedback. Some blog because its the thing to do. We blog because we enjoy documenting our progress and looking back at it while connecting with other people in a similar situation. Its a deeply personal choice as is what you share on the blog. Just because you have a blog doesn't mean you have to share your deepest secrets. We keep ours very boat oriented and try to keep any and all "commercialism" off of it.

There is a lot of great reading material out there and I personally hope to see a lot of people blogging. Its great when you find someone that you can read and really enjoy.

[jim_thomsen]

We do a website for a couple of reasons. First, much like we would keep a journal... and now that we have been voyaging for sometime we do look back at places we have been and often read a few pages for the great memories.

But we started it because we used other great websites when we started out. I loved equipment lists, suggestions about what to take and how-to information. We had never sailed before so had a lot to learn. As we learned things about equipment, what worked, what didn't, and how to cross oceans we kept updating our website.

We still look at other blogs by certain people, especially for areas we are about to visit. We are not interested in blogs that talk about what people had to eat or about their sundowner evenings. We do want to know about great places that we may not have heard about. Having waypoints or cruising info about out of the way locations is great. Information about local villages or people and suggestions of places to visit is very useful.
Sometimes, after following someone for months or years we have met them in person and feel we are old friends.

So, do a blog. If it is useful you will have a bunch of followers (we have about 600 individuals a day looking at ours and it's not near as good as some others we follow.)
And at least family and close friends can see where you are.

Like "Christmas letters" some are fun to read and the rest you just ignore.

[rebel heart]

We have a blog. I'd say maybe 10% of the people I run into have a blog of some type. Of those, maybe a third are updated and interesting.

I like to write, I'm glad we're documenting everything, and I know I've helped people with some decisions. What to buy, where to go, etc. I read blogs much the same way.

It's a little weird meeting for the first time that know a lot about me though. Haven't gotten used to that.

[JK n Smitty]

I have to agree with the others that responded. I think blogs are worth the effort for the most part. I too read a lot of blogs (I follow about 30 on my word press account) and read them very often. The parts of blogs I find most useful are when people share their costs of cruising or repairs and talk about what passages were like to various points. I find this information to be very helpful in making my plans.

When we made the decision that we were going to head out cruising one of the first things I did was start a blog. I use it to track our progress towards preparing our boat and repairs/upgrades we have done. But I also decided to add some other stuff about cruising locally and other boating adventures we have had.

I like my blog as it helps keep me focused on the plan to get out cruising. If I haven't made a post in a while it means I have not been keeping up with my upgrades schedule or I have not been doing anything fun with my boat that I want to document.

[Dod42]

I am interested in what software people use to blog. Do you use a commercial package, or a hosting site that provides the software? Would prefer free but can pay if the right solution. I have a domain and wife wants to start a blog but she is not at all tech savvy so what ever I use needs to be simple to use.

[tamicatana]

I found blogs to be a valuable source of information in regards boats I was interested in purchasing, although in at least one case the owner didn't want the particulars shared with potential purchasers...

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by lillypink

To blog or not to blog that is the question !

Is blogging the modern day equivalent of those horrible "round robin" letters we used to get in Christmas cards that boasted how fabulous our kids were but failed to mention the s**t side of life or is it a means of letting concerned loved ones and friends know that all is well as we take to the high sees?
To blog a holiday / adventure is one thing but to blog a "life" takes some commitment. So CF folks do you bother and is it open to all to read, so others can learn from your experience or is it private for a few friends only? Do you follow others that blog and other than keeping family informed is there any real point - does a public blog help other sailors to feedback / offer advice / make plans to meet up? If we all blogged would that make for a better sailing community !!!! I wonder

it's the internet. It'f full of fascinating views and full of trash.

Mine is open for all to read although it's on hold and will be for a couple of weeks. Some people love it and some hate it. I don't expect everyone to love it any more than I want to read every single book in the world. I'm selective.

If I were you I would look at lots of other blogs and see if you have something to offer that sincerely comes from you and that isn't out there already, or is uncommon.

I personally think the hardest thing is to take an uncommon view of a common life. In magazines, they talk about articles "having an angle." They try to take a fresh perspective on an old topic. If you look at magazines like REDBOOK, they often come back to the same topics over and over, but with some new perspective (ex: "Lose Weight Eathing Chocolate," or "The Benefits of Vegging Out When Your Workload is Already Huge" (badly written title there but you see what I mean about a new take on an old theme).

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Dod42

I am interested in what software people use to blog. Do you use a commercial package, or a hosting site that provides the software? Would prefer free but can pay if the right solution. I have a domain and wife wants to start a blog but she is not at all tech savvy so what ever I use needs to be simple to use.

It's much more work than most people think. Start simple and go to "Blogspot." Get your own domain name so you have it but ease into it.

I had a list of 75 topics before I ever started. Take your camera with you everywhere so when you sit down to write you have a body of pictures to use as well.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Do it for yourself (for whatever reason(s) work for you, likely a bit of diary to look back on later and to keep family / freinds at least vaguely up to date........or annoyed!), if others like it then all the good - if not then it don't matter.

Me no blog as too lazy (and a dull shore life!)......I have a website for my boat though, albeit more on the model than about mine (website does not go out of date so visibly if you forget for a year!).

[mbianka]

My blog which I started six years ago is a combination personal journal, log for the boat repairs and modifications, informational book and product reviews. Since it also produces a piddling amount of income I also consider it a job when not doing freelance technical work on land. But, it does take quite a bit of time. But, I enjoy it. Beside the satisfaction I get from writing it and I enjoy it when others find things I post about helpful. I had a memorable experience at anchor one day in a harbor and a fellow sailed by saw my boats name and said "Are you the guy who got rid of his diesel and put in an electric motor?" I said yes and he gave me a thumbs up. Made my day!

[MarkJ]

I have a website as distinct from a blog.
I find website are more malleable, personal and easier to use multi media. A downside of a blog is the indexing of posts being poor generally, and too much information in another way: They show when a blogger has lost interest in their blog. Their first few months were hectic with a blog post per day, that, by the fifth month came down to one per week. A website its easier to disguise the times of web apathy...

My website is more about photos that some diary diatribe of life. I can easily update it and can structure it the way I want. That also influences Google. I can see where my hits come from and see if my readership is dropping off. I average 100 readers per day and 200 page views per day.

If it was dropping much off that I would know itrs a waste of time and I need to work at it harder or give it the flick.

During the time of the boat fire which I published photos I was getting 2,000 to 3,000 hits per day for a week. So theres no doubt a website done well can be read if the content is good.


Mark

[Rhapsody-NS27]

I started my blog when I bought the boat. Mainly because there isn't too much out there on my type of boat. Also, I'm still new to this boating thing. I wanted to document some of the work I am doing to my boat so if anyone comes across it, I can get ideas of projects I'm planning or if I already did something, someone can come up and tell me "You should of done this instead". I find it interesting to see where others are coming from with their blogs too. They are a good source for ideas and inspiration as they work/sail on their own boat.

[zeehag]

my website is not a blog. i do not read blogs, i will visit websites.
i find much of the difference is the tone in which one writes, as well as content and intent.

[VirtualVagabond]

We've got a website with a blog tab on it, and if you go the website route we've found weebly very easy to set up and use, and I'm no techie. And it's free.
We set it up because it was easier than sending emails to family and friends all the time and they can dip into what we're up to if they're interested.

I've got no idea why people read it but I'm surprised how many do. I even get a nudge from a few if I've neglected to post for a while.
I don't list costs or technical detail but answer emails if they ask those questions.

I guess part of it is knowing that one day we can sit in our rocking chairs, and whichever one of us still has eyesight can read it to the other one and we can revisit this chapter of our lives... if the other one isn't deaf... :-/