Blogging About Blogging
I’ve written before that I really don’t like blogging about blogging because the whole thing seems “incestuous and self-serving.” I understand that it’s necessary at times and to some degree it helps build a community in blogging. But I think this sort of thing should be kept to a minimum. It’s a bit like journalists doing stories about journalists. Eventually they need to report news, and the more they focus on news the better. Similarly, I’m usually only interested in analysis, entertainment/humor, and information from websites, not who’s doing a better job of rigging link rankings. Besides the uselessness of the activity, I sometimes question the motives behind those who do it. Are they truly interested in blogospheric developments, or are they actually trying to build friendships and aliances in order to increase their own power? After all, the surest way to get a link from someone is to first link to them.
I certainly don’t intend to condemn “blogging about blogging” in all forms, because as I said already, it can be useful. But I fear that it’s manifesting itself a bit too much. In fact, there’s a whole category of blogs - metablogs - devoted solely to talking about what other blogs are doing. After a while the internet starts to feel like an echo chamber. Famed radio host Hugh Hewitt is slowly turning his site into a metablog, and I’ve noticed Joe Carter doing it a lot recently as well. I suppose Hugh’s focus is a bit understandable, given that he’s promoting a new book of his about Blogs. Thanks for the introspection, but let’s move on to substance and humor.
Update: Hewitt defends himself. He’s right on this point (though he isn’t about Dobson). I was focusing more on others and I really shouldn’t have even mentioned him here. But hey, I got distracted reading Corporation’s 
Josh,
I don’t necessarily disagree with you. I’ve always been one to avoid meta discourse about any subject. (That drove me crazy in college.) However, the blogosphere is a new and growing medium. It’s unavoidable that this type of dialogue will occur. One issue on the internet is how to build and maintain trust. Aggregator/metablogs and blogging about blogging help to establish and build trust by letting people know who you are and who others are that you think can be trusted.
However, good point to keep it to a minimum.
Mark
Eh, I guess. But there’s a difference between saying “John Doe has a good post about Social Security reform” and “Here’s 100 ways to get popular through blogging.” Both accomplish what you’re talking about and I think the former is a better way to go about it. I’ve been blogging for over three years now and although the medium is still new, issues about building and maintaining trust haven’t changed all that much.
Weren’t you actually just blogging about blogging about blogging?
http://whatattitudeproblem.blogs.com/home/2005/01/joshua_clayborn.html
Joshua Clayborn at In the Agora has about had it with blogging about blogging:I certainly don’t intend to condemn
“I understand that it’s necessary at times. . . ” This is one such time.
Aaron, you beat me to it.
Josh,
Since I actually agree with you for the most part, I don’t necessarily want to debate this. However, how do you propose that neophytes, such as me, learn the trade if people like Joe, or even you, don’t find a way to pass on tips?
Mark
Like I said, I think it’s necessary at times, although you can often email bloggers for tips. My point isn’t that it shouldn’t be done, but that it’s done much too often. The problem is much deeper than mere tips about blogging, though, and runs to things such as deep analysis about blog rankings, etc.
Josh, I have to say I agree with you. I was a fan of Hewitt’s blog when I discovered it a few months prior to the election. I enjoyed his commentary on the election and the new events surrounding it (his comments on the first presidential debate not withstanding). However, I have noticed in recent weeks that he’s doing more and more what you speak of in this post. I don’t find this metablogging particulary interesting (perhaps because I read so many blogs already without people directing me there)and consequently I have been visiting his site less and less. For heaven’s sakes he even wrote an entire book about blogs. I agree there are times when it’s ok to point out a good post or some good commentary, but original supplemental material is necessary along with it I think.
Grumpy law students in January? Heck, that’s when I was happiest. Grades not in yet and no studying needed for three months or so (so long as you’re not a first year, that is).
Mark
Blogging About Not Blogging About Blogging
So, if I post a link to Joshua Clayborn’s complaints about Blogs that blog about blogging, and how a whole group of Metablogs are springing up around that activity, am I helping create a whole new category of blogs that…
Dude,
You’re boring. Hugh is da bomb.
Josh, if you’re blogging about blogging about blogging, then by blogging about this post yesterday, I guess I was blogging about blogging about blogging about blogging. (And I almost used that as a subject header)
And I think you let Hugh off too easy. ;^)
Brent Smith wrote:
I guess that’s why I don’t know if I’d consider Instapundit a blogger so much as a “linker.” Very little of what he posts contains “original supplemental material.”
Drew’s point is a good one and is one of the reasons I don’t often visit sites like Instapundit. If I visit a blog, I generally want to know what THAT blogger thinks about a given topic.
This discussion reminds me of my distaste for songs about songs. I hate when lyrics are about songs themselves. “Sad songs they say…”
Blogging about those who blog about hating those who blog about blogging…
Ok the title was a little bit of a joke on those who blog about hating those who blog about blogging. Oops, I did it again… Seriously though, it’s kind of a weird topic. Joe from Evangelical Outpost had the…
Jolly Digest 1-28-05
Blogging about blogging . . . A few folks are getting tired of all this blogging about blogging. As is often the case, I became aware of this through the Evangelical Outpost, which mentions it here.
A co-worker asked the following:
“I understand why people write blogs (presumably the same reason people write journals) but why do people read blogs?”