The other day I was reading Bryce Haymond’s Temple Study blog and came across a reference to “slow blogging.” In his article Temple Study One Year Anniversary Bryce referred to Sharon Otterman’s New York Times article Blogging at a Snail’s Pace. He suggested that with the birth of a “beautiful new baby boy” last September, his priorities shifted and he may become part of a growing movement called slow blogging.
In the New York Times piece, Sharon wrote that slow blogging:
. . . is inspired by the slow food movement, which says that fast food is destroying local traditions and healthy eating habits. Slow food advocates, like the chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., believe that food should be local, organic and seasonal; slow bloggers believe that news-driven blogs like TechCrunch and Gawker are the equivalent of fast food restaurants — great for occasional consumption, but not enough to guarantee human sustenance over the longer haul.
A Slow Blog Manifesto, written in 2006 by Todd Sieling, a technology consultant from Vancouver, British Columbia, laid out the movement’s tenets. “Slow Blogging is a rejection of immediacy,” he wrote. “It is an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly.” (Nor, because of a lack of traffic, is Mr. Sieling writing this blog at all these days.) Ms. Ganley, who recently left her job as a writing instructor at Middlebury College, compares slow blogging to meditation. It’s “being quiet for a moment before you write,” she said, “and not having what you write be the first thing that comes out of your head.”
Recent studies indicate that slow blogging is catching on:
“I’m definitely noticing a drop-off in posting — I’m talking about among the more visible bloggers, the ones with 100 to 200 readers or more,” said Danah Boyd, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies popular culture and technology. “I think that those people who were writing long, thought-out posts are continuing, but those who were writing, ‘Hey, check this out’ posts are going to other forums. It’s a dynamic shift.”
One of the reasons for this shift are evolving web business models and the introduction of new technologies such as Twitter (see What is Twitter?). Instead of posting a short note about a new article or video, it’s easier to write a short tweet“, share pictures on Flickr, or use the news feed on Facebook.” Then again, maybe slow blogging is just a response to the Internet and its incredible shrinking attention span. Regardless, less frequent posts written with a little more thought seems to be a growing fad.
I too have noticed this phenomenon both in my own blogging and in the blogs of those I follow. As I go through the day reading news articles or blogs, I make mental lists of ideas that they inspire and then write about them once or twice a week in posts that are eighteen to twenty paragraphs. Maybe it’s a reflection of getting older, but I tend to ponder and think more about the things I read, especially with dramatic world events we are experiencing these days. Blogging for me has become a way of assimilating the world around me as seen through the lens of the internet. Thoughtful post – thanks for sharing.
I find that, whether they know it or not, most of the best bloggers I read do things this way. For myself I try to write daily while still keeping above the level of “just for kicks” or “check this out” posts – it’s very hard.
I like that more people are putting more thought and effort in their work and paying less attention to the siren call of immediacy.
Tim & David – For me, I think it’s about finding the right balance. There are times when I enjoy the immediacy of reading a “breaking news” post. But most of my time as a reader is spent catching up on many of the more thoughtful and well-written posts. As a writer, I am coming to the conclusion that slow blogging has its benefits.
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also.
To start earning money with your blog, initially use Google Adsense but gradually as your traffic increases, keep adding more and more money making programs to your site.
Best you should edit the post name Slow Blogging | LDS Media Talk to something more specific for your blog post you make. I loved the blog post withal.
good stuff. Do you have an RSS feed? And also will it be cool if I added your feed to a blog of mine? I have a site which brings content out of RSS feeds from a several sites and I’d like to include yours, most people really don’t mind given that I link back and everything but I like to get approval first. Anyhow let me know if you could, thanks.