Why I Write A Blog That No One Reads

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Michael Schechter • 22 Comments

A few days back, I was talking with a friend about this site. After telling her what the traffic (or lack thereof) was on the site, she logically asked me why I kept putting time into it. It’s a fair question, as the response to my personal contribution to the web has been lackluster1, yet here I am, typing away… So why do I plan to keep talking despite the world’s clear indication that they have no intention of listening? Let me tell me why…

No matter how often I tell them that they should, people aren’t waiting for my ideas. If I want to prove myself worthy of anyone’s attention, I am going to have to keep at it and what I am putting out there needs to get a heck of a lot better. I also need to be a lot more consistent2 if I have any hope of getting those of you who decide to tune in to stick around. That said, I still plan to keep going even if no one reads. Why? Because even though I’ve always written the content for you, the act of writing and the benefits that come from it are entirely my own.

  • Blogging Encourages Critical Thinking – In the past I’ve talked about the way that Twitter and Instagram have impacted the way I approach the world. The same is absolutely true with blogging. Just as the old saying goes, “If all you have is a hammer, everything starts to looks like a nail…” If all you have is a blog, everything starts to looks like a post. You start taking a deeper look at your everyday life in an attempt to find the insights. It often begins as an attempt to come up with content, but eventually it become the lens through which you approach the world.

  • Blogging Makes You A Better Writer – I am far from a great writer; in fact, I’m far from a good writer. What I am is far better than when I started this site. Putting in my hours at the keyboard, making the “Clackity Noise” as Merlin Mann puts it, encourages me to embarrass myself a little less with every subsequent post. My atrocious grammar has improved (slightly), my thoughts are getting clearer and I’m even starting to look forward to what was once the arduous task of putting my fingers on the keys.

  • Blogging Leads To Unexpected Opportunities – The beauty of putting yourself out there is that you do not need every person on the planet to read your ideas (although that would be nice). You just need the right one. Since I started blogging, I’ve been offered a monthly column in one of the leading magazines in the jewelry industry, I’ve been able to speak at several conferences on the topic of Social Media marketing and I’ve been able to connect with a wealth of amazing people both on and off of the web. The more I keep at it, the more I discover a certain serendipity that only comes from putting yourself out there.

Do I hope that more people will stop by and decide to stick around? Absolutely. As embarrassed as I am to admit this, when I first started, traffic was the only goal. Everyone wants attention3, but it is only once I start doing this for me, that it has any hope of benefiting you.

In the coming months, I’m looking to give the writing here a lot more direction and focus in on my passion for how technology can have a major impact on our productivity, our creativity and our lives. So I am going to keep at it and if you’d like to follow along, I invite you to subscribe4.

  1. I talk at length about why I’ve lost readers here. [↩]
  2. Something I’ve started working on with my Quick Quotes Weekly posts. [↩]
  3. Those who say they don’t are either lying or already have it. [↩]
  4. You can subscribe for free by RSS or email. [↩]
Filed Under: Creativity
  • http://www.lostintechnology.com Kyle Judkins

    The most valuable thing I’ve gotten out of blogging is writing skills. My background is in engineering, so I didn’t really have the most polished writing skills. After blogging for a couple of years, I’m not longer intimidated by being asked to quickly craft presentations, emails or whatever.

    This confidence and speed has really helped my career.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      I know exactly what you mean! My background is in operations and customer service, so I wasn’t really tapping into the creative center with my emails. It’s been really interesting to see how the more creative writing has found its way into the “business” writing. Writing is far less intimidating as is hitting the publish (or send in the case of emails) button. Thanks for reading and for commenting!

  • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

    And you are an EXCELLENT writer so it’d be a shame to see that talent go to waste.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Thanks for the encouragement as always Gini, you are FAR too kind :) Looking forward to heading in a geeky and hopefully useful direction with this little site of mine. Good luck kicking that Danny Brown’s ass on Ad Age… that dude needs some humbling… talk about an EGO! :)

      • http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich

        Right?! It’s really painful to be around him.

  • http://www.312digital.com Sean McGinnis

    I’m with Gini on this….. Just found you through her RT. Glad that I did.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Gini is good like that! Glad you decided to pop on in and hope I make it worth your while to stick around!

  • http://twitter.com/maringerov Marin Gerov

    Michael,

    Great post! I can relate to it word for word! I have been thinking about this topic the same way and responidng to people asking me about why I blog with similar arguments. Now, it is great to read it black on white! Thanks for sharing!

    BTW, I am a first-time reader and you’ve won my attention. Looking forward to your next posts!

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Thanks Marvin,

      Hope I live up to the hype, going to be heading in a bit of a geeky direction. A healthy bit of productivity and creative tips and tactics. Something where I hope I can add some value. Will start out fairly simple, but hope to get into some useful tactics for getting more made on the computer (especially with a Mac).

  • http://twitter.com/Chris_Eh_Young Chris Eh Young

    Excellent post. I’m sure there are many that feel exactly this way. Myself included.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Gotta love it when you think you are alone only to find out there is plenty of company! Thanks for popping in!

  • Anonymous

    Inspiring words that will touch many my friend! I will, in return, share why I write: http://httpchrisfollowcbcom.amplify.com/2011/04/04/if-i-could-just-touch-one-person/

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Thanks for the link, love the prose like style! One person officially touched, and not even in the creepy way!

  • http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.newlin Elizabeth Newlin

    I totally agree with this. and it makes me feel better to hear someone else say it.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Glad I’m not alone and nice to have some company :)

  • http://billdorman.wordpress.com Bill Dorman

    Ha, I could have written this because you are saying the exact same things in the way I feel.

    Your quote ‘ I am far from a great writer; in fact, I’m far from a good writer’ is how I feel at times especially when I see the incredible work of others. I will go as far as to say my work is ‘readable’ but I just don’t feel I have much depth. 

    I don’t know where you are from by when you say ‘My atrocious grammar has improved (slightly) could be me too. I’m a Florida Cracker and tend to speak it at times as well.

    I’m probably too hard on myself and actually do have a lot of traffic; I just feel I can do so much better and I would say that if I had 5 comments or 100.

    I’m going to put you in my Google Reader ’cause if Gini is pimpin’ ya there must be something there.

    Good post at her place today.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Thanks Bill,

      I had a feeling that this post may feel a bit universal to those of us who are trying our hand at this.

      I’m a NYer, but I tend to throw words around loosely (thankfully I married an English teacher, so she sets me straight).

      Never a bad thing to want to do better, even if you’re already doing damn well!

      Looking forward to following along with you as well and hope I don’t disappoint you or Gini :)

  • http://www.yarcher.ru Miroust

    Thanks. You encourage me to write.

    • http://michaelschechter.me MSchechter

      Exactly what I was hoping for with that post. Thank you, truly.

  • Parth

    This really touched me, dude. You know I’ve always wanted to write about cricket (it’s a sport we play in India, in case you haven’t heard of it) and when I go online I see thousands of my kind writing regularly only to have ’0 comments’ at the end of their posts. And so I get a little disappointed and think “what’s the use of me writing if nobody is gonna care about it.”

    And there’s one other thing that has stopped me from writing till now. My language skills. English was far from a first language for me when I was growing up, and so I’d tell myself “once I finish college, i’ll read a lot of books and THEN start up a blog on cricket.”

    But after reading this, I feel like I should give it a try after all. Not for traffic. Not for the likes and the shares. But for my love of cricket. And for my love of writing. And like you said, you only get better with time. :)

    Thanks for the inspiration, mate. Cheers! :D

    • http://michaelschechter.me/ MSchechter

      My pleasure and frankly, this note is far better written than most of the things on this site :)

  • Dellu

    Bettermess is one of my favorite blogs in the net. I have checked and re-checked your tech tops (productivity apps). Thank you for putting them out.