Reading Behind ...
Jumping ahead here by looking back (could be dangerous.) In about six weeks this blog will be a year old. While I celebrate beginnings, this one isn't a big deal to me. In fact, I had decided to start deleting posts at that point.
Why? The internet is well clogged with useless stuff and I don't want to add to it. While I am humbled that anyone stops by out of interest or pity to read these words, I don't pretend to be dispensing gems of wisdom that need to be carried on down through the ages.
I'm also going by my experience with other blogs I've come across. Take a look at CafeDave. (Please note: I don't know Dave, have nothing against Dave, and am not trying to criticize Dave. His site was just the first one I came across in Google that was helpful to my point here. And if he should somehow come across this post: Hi Dave!) Look at how far back his archive of posts goes. He's been blogging for over six years. If I were inclined to visit his blog regularly, there is no way I'd read through six years of his posts. And if someone new was reading my blog regularly, I wouldn't expect them to go through all of my old stuff.
So what is the point of keeping all those posts? All I could imagine was in order to establish a kind of blog cred that you'd been around for a while.
Recently J.A. Konrath had a post regarding this, making a case that blogging is forever. His point is, as people link to your blog and your posts, that is basically free and lasting publicity and networking opportunities for you. He also cites how it improves your blog's visibility with search engines.
Of course, he actually has some useful information on his blog. Even so, point taken. If, for some reason, someone had linked to this sacrificial post I had made last year, no one is going to find it. Blogger isn't even kind enough to redirect the person to my blog home page.
So, the posts stay, warts and all.
Why? The internet is well clogged with useless stuff and I don't want to add to it. While I am humbled that anyone stops by out of interest or pity to read these words, I don't pretend to be dispensing gems of wisdom that need to be carried on down through the ages.
I'm also going by my experience with other blogs I've come across. Take a look at CafeDave. (Please note: I don't know Dave, have nothing against Dave, and am not trying to criticize Dave. His site was just the first one I came across in Google that was helpful to my point here. And if he should somehow come across this post: Hi Dave!) Look at how far back his archive of posts goes. He's been blogging for over six years. If I were inclined to visit his blog regularly, there is no way I'd read through six years of his posts. And if someone new was reading my blog regularly, I wouldn't expect them to go through all of my old stuff.
So what is the point of keeping all those posts? All I could imagine was in order to establish a kind of blog cred that you'd been around for a while.
Recently J.A. Konrath had a post regarding this, making a case that blogging is forever. His point is, as people link to your blog and your posts, that is basically free and lasting publicity and networking opportunities for you. He also cites how it improves your blog's visibility with search engines.
Of course, he actually has some useful information on his blog. Even so, point taken. If, for some reason, someone had linked to this sacrificial post I had made last year, no one is going to find it. Blogger isn't even kind enough to redirect the person to my blog home page.
So, the posts stay, warts and all.
posted by Todd Wheeler at 1/22/2007 10:03:00 AM
7 Comments:
Blogging is forever, but love and pain are fleeting?
I don't buy any of it.
Actually, maybe I do. We might be the first generation whose words will universally outlive our bodies on such a grand scale.
What southern writer said, ditto.
Yeah. Kind of applies to life. I throw away a widget and then a day later I think of absolutely brilliant widgetting widgery which is now impossible unless I go to Home Depot and buy a replacement widget.
LBB: I used to think the web might have some legs thanks to the Wayback Machine's archive. But recently discovered maybe not.
Back in the dark ages of the internet, there was a guy named Todd Wheeler (not me) who lived in Alaska and had bought the domain toddwheeler.com for himself. He had it long enough to be archived by Wayback. At some point he must have given it up or lost it or something as it now belongs to some domain holding company (*cough*vultures*cough*).
I thought I'd remind myself what it looked like by doing a search on Wayback. Turns out the past can be erased by whomever the current domain holder is. Isn't that just peachy?
Todd, I owe you a book for your recs. Email me w/ a mailing address, or if you want, I'll just bring yours to Boskone and give it to you over a coffee or a drink or something.
I'll buy.
Blogging forever? Not bloody likely. When super-power-enabled hyenas finally take over the world and force us weak humans to do their (terrible laughter) bidding, bet the first thing they do is destroy the internet chip by chip. Otherwise we'd rise up against our evil-hyena-overlords in a glory human liberation cooperation.
Sorry, got carried away. Woke up way too early (West Coast time), and have already drank too many caffeinated beverages. But, glad you'll keep the old posts. Hope you see some progress as a writer/observer. And, if you start to repeat yourself, you can go in a different direction.
Dude! DUDE!! DUDE!!!
What's up? :-)
I figure worse case, I can just reach back in time and recycle a post if I get stuck for something brilliant to say.
As for the hyenas, that's okay by me. At least they have a sense of humor.
Cafedave!
Thanks for stopping by! It's an amazing thing, this internet.
As I said in the post, my intention was not to cast aspersions on your efforts and I hope you didn't take it that way.
So, let me ask: Do people read those old posts (assuming you can see that via a tracking method) or comment on a cafe you reviewed a long time ago?
If you don't have time to comment further, no problem (that would be 'no worries' down your way, right?) Thanks for sharing your experience.
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