Last week I published a post that posed the question, “Blogging: Work or Hobby?” where bloggers and non bloggers (well, mostly bloggers) voted and shared their take on how they see blogging. I was hoping to come away with a clear message on which category holds the most bloggers. Why? Initially, I was focused on finding out whether bloggers do it as a hobby or whether bloggers are all working toward an ultimate goal of being paid for their blogs. Being that I never started blogging with a paycheck in mind, but realizing early on that blogging can be as time consuming as a job, I was curious. Interestingly, the message I came away with is priceless.
While some can easily refer to their blogs as work by the simple fact that they are getting paid to blog, and others had no problem labeling their blogs as a hobby, as with any poll, election, early stages of a relationship, there’s bound to be someone who is on the fence about the whole thing. Last week’s post revealed I’m not alone. There are others who can’t seem to choose work or hobby when referring to their blog even though we aren’t necessarily being monetarily compensated for blogging.
Katie over at Sass and Balderdash, who has been along for the ride since the early Little Miss Wordy days and has a way with words herself, bestowed upon us a term I hope she has since trademarked because bloggers across the globe are embracing it like Steve Perry.
Katie’s comment hit the mark for many of us.
“This is a tricky one. I don’t get paid to blog, and even though I love writing, I think I’d classify blogging as somewhere between work and a hobby.
A wobby, maybe.
Writing the posts is just one time-consuming bit of it, but the other half is engaging with other bloggers and your own readers. It’s a labor of love for sure,
but I think we’ve probably all felt overwhelmed by our blogs for one reason or another, which makes it a little more than a hobby.” – Katie
Blogging is definitely a labor of love for me as it is for Katie and other bloggers too. In his post yesterday, Le Clown stated “Blogging is an unpaid gig—the reward is the success of each post and the slow and constant growth of the community we create together.”
And, in a comment on one of my earlier posts, back when he was My Right To Bitch, Chowderhead coined the term bloggerhood. It is a term that has stuck with me, and I have even found myself welcoming newbies “to the bloggerhood” a la Mister Rogers. The word encompasses a place, a community, a gathering of folks who share experiences, stories, writing tips and so much more. Yet, it isn’t just a space but a connection in the sense of brotherhood or sisterhood because through it friendships are forged, opportunities are presented, lessons are shared, lessons are learned, and souls are touched.
I will share the results of the poll because I’m a stickler for follow up and some of you are sticklers for numbers. However, the true results for me exist in a category all their own.
Bottom line: It really doesn’t matter whether you get paid to blog or want to get paid to blog. It doesn’t matter if you call your blog work or a hobby, or even the genius term of “wobby” because the truth is you started your blog for a reason that is important to you. You continue your blog for reasons that are near and dear to your heart, reasons unique to you and no one else. And if blogging feeds your soul in some way, then you should never have to label it or categorize it. That kind of satisfaction can’t be stuffed in a box with a title because it has a life all it’s own. Keep living it!
Poll Results:
I was struggling with this. Then I saw Slava’s Snow Show and everything changed. I just wrote about it.
I must check it out! Thanks!
Well I certainly don’t get paid, but I enjoy writing and see it as a journal of my thoughts, my activities. But the one thing I love mostly is the interaction with others, their own stories, challenges, and achievements!
[…] Last week I published a post that posed the question, “Blogging: Work or Hobby?” where bloggers and non bloggers (well, mostly bloggers) voted and shared their take on how they see blogging. […]
I like your conclusion.
I often refer to the Blogosphere, and bloggyships, and I reckon that Le Clown has it most succinctly with “Blogging is an unpaid gig—the reward is the success of each post and the slow and constant growth of the community we create together.”
That’s where the treasure’s at – the community – the people – the connections. We can create our own tribes here, online, and be an active participant in the whole.
This is a brave new world, and one I’m thrilled to be part of.
[also, *love* your new term ‘wobby’]
I’m so glad wobby is catching on!
I’ve been thinking lately, and I’ve been noticing a lot of other bloggers have too, about what our blogs mean and how they become part of our lives. I think in the daily practice of writing posts and responding to comments, we tend to minimalize the impact of our respective pages. On my blog, I often write about the minutia of everyday life, but people respond to it regardless. It connects people. It assures people that they’re not alone in their innermost sassy thoughts. It gives a new perspective.
I guess the bottom line is, whether it’s a wobby, a paid gig, or totally pro-bono, blogging is important in the grand scheme of the Internet community–whether you reach 100 readers or 100,000.
I agree wholeheartedly, and what I love about your writing and your blog in general is how your topics are those that many of us can relate to because we encounter them all the time. I’m a bigger fan of those little moments in life than the big momentous ones as they seem more relatable and often have more to offer in the grand scheme of things.
Agreed! I’m a fan of the relatable posts, too.
I think bloggerhood is a good way to look at it. When I first started, it was about sharing my thoughts about a range of things and posting samples of my fiction. With an eye towards a platform that would help when it came time for me to publish those pieces of fiction. Then when, for the first time, I started attracting followers, people who didn’t know me except from the words on my blog, I started thinking big. Having a blog that was followed by thousands. And, if it got that big, then maybe I could make money at it.
I realized though that’s not why I blog. It’s for the neighborhood. It’s for the core group of bloggers I follow regularly and who follow me. It’s about the on-going dialogue we’ve created around our fiction, our fears, our hopes, our rages, our loves. It’s all in there, in the blogs that mean the most to me and it’s a part of the me I share on my blog. It’s a community. A neighborhood. A social family.
My only problem is that I spend more time blogging now and less time writing my fiction, which is really where my energy should be. 🙂
I love hearing about the different reasons we each started blogging. Yet, we all seem to continue for similar reasons, the sense of community, the on-going dialogue, etc. I would like to work on a second book beginning this fall when my kiddos are in school again, but wonder how I’ll keep up with both!
Little Miss Wordy,
Bloggers write the pages of the internet… How amazing is that?
Le Clown
Yes we do! I never really thought about it that way.