I want to discuss blogging while Black. More importantly, I may be dealing with a nuance, or a demographical nuance of that grouping label, that nomenclature of Black. Not quite sure, so I will not detail it by name, I will simply just discuss.
I have been the writer and mind behind the blog known as OwlAsylum for the past year now. When I first started the blog, I didn’t have a clue as to the standards by which many bloggers hold themselves to. Not a major problem for me, as I am the type who has always had to defy social norms in order to create opportunities and forge my niche in life. My initial drive to blog was mainly to have an excuse to design my own website, as I had completed a long-term contract developing and designing a site, and felt compelled to build my own personal space online besides my design portfolio. This created somewhat of a problem because within two months I realized that what I represented as a writer and attempting to market as an interactive digital media company collided on more than one front. Who I am as a thinker was becoming a hindrance on what I was promoting as a tradesman. One of the first lessons learned as a blogger.
Black people are a very political people. Our existence in this country is highly political. When we even discuss simple things like why we dislike our teachers, we can create an emotional reaction that can drive traffic towards us on one front, and away from us on another. In the beginning of my blog, I made efforts to advertise, but had to constantly take down my google driven ads because they were in direct conflict with my beliefs. I set up an Amazon book banner that I customized to advertise books by black authors that I respected. After a while, I decided against monetizing the blog through that method, and have since promoted my own e-book, ‘The Better You’. This has provided me with a means for Owlasylum to take care of itself, as it were.
The greatest asset to my blog has been my activities on Twitter. No matter what method you use to make your blog self-sufficient financially, that method will mean nothing without traffic. Traffic means not only unique hits for a black blogger though. Black people are a very social people. Not to discuss us in a monolithic way, but to address certain qualities and attributes about our people that a blogger might run into. The culture of Black people is very familial. I was using Twitter, not to promote my company, but just to socialize. In that socializing, I met many people that would help drive traffic to the blog without much effort on my part, other than writing the posts. The medium of the internet being what it is, namely, a connection to people that we may never spend time with in a physical proximity sort of way. My friends and associates, some of which I have known for years, could not any meaningful way ever be depended on to keep my hit counter high. For one thing, most analytics are based on unique hits, first time visitors. Secondly, my friends and associates saw me everyday. Visiting my blog in the beginning may have seemed like a chore, an obligation. What I learned from Twitter is that those you meet online tend to want to support your online activities, as this may be one of the only ways for them to get to know you better.
I learned quickly that unique hits meant nothing. I would go into class and brag about a popular post that drove hundreds of people to the blog, and spend the next three month looking at a stat counter tell me that no more than twenty people had been on the site any given day. I learned to cater to those twenty people, because those were the people that made my community. Bloggers need loyal visitors. We have to almost see ourselves as the mayor of a city, and we need citizens, not just tourists. As black bloggers, this need is even more important because most us are writing about socially viable events and situations that are apart of a greater discussion, the Black question. When I blog about Steve Harvey being a relationship counselor, this is more than just a discussion about an entertainer, this a political discussion. It is a discussion that carries a certain weight to it. Much of what is discussed by Blacks is. I can’t simply chase numbers. I have to prepare my audience with a discussion piece that will armed them at the water cooler or in the classroom.
Black bloggers aren’t just bloggers, we are all media communicators with a tremendous duty. We provide content from the perpespective of the downtrodden, the people who have to work twice as hard to get half the rewards of our white counterparts. Regardless of the nature of the blog, be it gossip, be it political, we really have to reflect on the power we have to influence and shape thoughts. The main thing that seems to keep me going is knowing that someone may be going through a hardship, and my words are helping them stay strong. Is it difficult to keep coming up with ideas and content, of course it is. Is the money pouring in? Of course it isn’t. I don’t know if I will ever be able to eat like a rich man because of my blog, but I’m happy knowing I should…that was a hearty laugh you just heard from me.
*snapping fingers* I agree. I also think that everyone is a blogger these days so there is an overabundance of information always coming at readers.
I was thinking that earlier today, which really means you have to either be pretty expert in what you are discussing, or at least set your self apart with something creative. The most difficult chore I am faced with is creating a community. I believe it will come in due time, but I know my own surfing habits, I attempt to frequent as many blogs as possible, but if there isn't anything that stimulates interaction, it really is difficult to remember whose blog I haven't been to. Which is why I promote using twitter, at least in the beginning. Thanks for your response!
It’s all about the community because in the end that’s what we will be left with when everything else is gone. I love your analogy “We have to almost see ourselves as the mayor of a city, and we need citizens, not just tourists.” It’s important to lead and inform, not just entertain and distract. There’s so much work to do and we have to do it if we think we’re the ones that know better. We have to be responsible.
There is a danger, I find, in addressing certain issues and automatically putting, shall we say “trivia”, into a larger context as if it says more than it does about the state of Black people. Also, we must not be afraid to discuss politics explicitly and arm people with the vocabulary and arguments they also need to arm them at “the water cooler or in the classroom.”