A student in the class I’m teaching for San Jose State University asked me the following the other day:
How did people first learn about your blog? Do you have a previous blog post on how it became popular? It would be an interesting read!
It’s a good question and one I thought I’d post here instead of just on the class site. At the time, it all felt like it was happening without me really doing much, especially since I wasn’t particularly savvy about how to gain an audience. Even now, looking back, I see where luck played a huge part in this blog becoming a popular read for people in our profession. But I think it also helped that I was writing for the love of it and not just to gain an audience.
I started Information Wants to be Free on November 16, 2004 with a rather uninspired first post. I’d had a blog for a single class in grad school (my policy class) where I wrote about open source software. It was called Code Wants to be Free (yes, I have a one-track mind). I found that I really enjoyed writing my own reflections on the things I was reading about open source software, but, at the time, there was no topic that really grabbed my interest beyond the assignment.
That all changed when I started reading blogs myself. In the Fall of 2004, I started following blogs like The Shifted Librarian, Tame the Web, Free Range Librarian, Library Stuff, The Librarian in Black, and Librarian.net. Back then, those were the major blogs in our profession (and, if you look at subscriber stats, things haven’t changed too much since). I started learning more about library technologies and especially about social software. I started playing with new technologies and found that I had a real passion for emerging tech. I started to drive my husband crazy talking about library technologies, since I didn’t know of anyone else who was interested and he was a semi-captive audience. He was the one who suggested I start a blog, perhaps because he was sick of my yammering on about the stuff or because he realized it would be a good way for me to connect with kindred spirits.
For the first couple of months, I posted almost every day, if not more. Most of my posts were just re-hashes of news I’d found online with a bit of commentary, but mixed in were some of the more reflective posts I write almost exclusively now. I wasn’t particularly strategic about getting an audience, since I wasn’t very blog savvy at the time. I didn’t know about TrackBacks, so it didn’t occur to me that linking to A-list bloggers might get their attention. I didn’t realize that when you comment on someone else’s blog, they might check out your blog to see who you are. Those things are probably pretty obvious to people who start blogging now and if it isn’t, you should realize that it’s a good way to make connections and build an audience (as long as you’re writing something of substance and not just gratuitiously link-doping).
Early on, I’m sure the only person who was reading my blog was my husband, Adam. Somehow, though, Jessamyn found my November 24th post about the bleak job market for new librarians and linked to it on her own blog. How she found it is beyond me, but the link from Jessamyn was crazy good for my blog and got me on a few more people’s radar. In a post three days later, I actually wondered what it takes to become an A-list blogger:
But how does one break into this core group? Will having interesting and relevant content and updating frequently do it? Or is it impossible to join their “clique”? Frankly, I’m just happy to have an audience beyond just me and my husband. I actually got giddy when I saw that Jessamyn had referred to my blog entry of the same name that I’d written earlier that day (meaning that she actually READ my blog). Good lord! It’s like high school all over again, isn’t it?
I wasn’t really sure of myself as a blogger back then. I often forced myself to write things because I thought that posting a lot would get people to read me. So nearly every vaguely interesting thing that came across my radar would merit a post. I actually wrote 63 posts in the month of January (probably helped to take my mind off not having a job)! As I linked to people’s blogs in my posts, I started to notice that those same people would often comment on my blog. And sometimes they’d even link to me, which would make my web stats shoot up. I looked at my web stats obsessively back then — don’t think I’ve checked them in a year or so now.
By February, my posting had slowed down a bit and was getting more focused on the things I was really interested in, like the so-called librarian job shortage, impressions from my job hunting (and interviewing), usability of library middleware, and social software. I noticed that the posts I wrote that were really from my heart or where I felt like I was taking a personal risk in writing it, were the ones that got the most comments and links from other bloggers. By mid-March, I noticed that I had reached 100 Bloglines subscribers, which had seemed impossible just four months earlier. And as I hit my stride with blogging, where it began to feel effortless, things just snowballed from there.
After four months of blogging, I had a pretty good sense about the sort of blog I wanted to write. It wouldn’t have a specific focus. It would be a professional blog with a personal bent. My posts would be medium to long, because I just don’t know how to say anything succinctly. I would be just as opinionated on my blog as I am in real life. And while I’m sure there are people who hate my style, there were others who enjoyed what I wrote. I’m grateful to the people who engaged me in blog conversation back then, who encouraged me to keep it up, and made me feel part of a community during a very frustrating time of my life (finding my first post-MLS job).
If I had to give advice to anyone trying to make a name for themselves in the blogosphere, I’d say that the number 1 thing to do is write from the heart. Write about things you’re passionate about. Put your personality into your posts. Good writing will come from writing about the things that interest you in your own unique voice. Also, link to other people’s blog posts that interest you and comment on them. This will bring those bloggers to your blog (since probably 95% of bloggers have ego feeds) and if they like what you’ve written, they might start following you. Also, comment on blogs that you like (or don’t like). I got to know a lot of bloggers (some even before they had blogs of their own — Ryan!) because they commented on my blog (these days, you probably could also do this on sites like Twitter and FriendFeed, which are great for networking). I usually will check out the blogs of people who comment on mine. However, don’t write comments or posts with the sole purpose of attracting attention to your blog. Those usually are pretty transparent. Just be yourself, write what you love, and love what you write. Good things will flow from that.
I’m actually curious to know how other people got started with blogging and I’ve never really started a meme before. So I’m going to tag Sarah Houghton-Jan, David Lee King, Michael Porter, and Jason Griffey. How did you get into blogging? How did you gain an audience? What advice would you give to new bloggers who want to make a name for themselves in the biblioblogosphere?
I thought to pass on how I found your blog. I was struggling to create my online Capstone Portfolio and was reading (yet again) the sample. As I was grumbling over the table of basic competencies I had to describe, I saw your name attributed as its author and clicked over to learn its source. If you haven’t been told of it before, you can see it at http://www.southernct.edu/~brownm/port999b.html. I did use it in my portfolio, after all.
Thanks for the story, Meredith!
Meredith,
What great timing! We’ll be discussing blog posts in class tomorrow and I’ll show this one to my class.
In the library geeks podcast, someone mentions Website watcher at http://www.aignes.com.
Have you heard of it? It’s great!
This is a very useful and informative site
Thanks, Cynthia, for sharing where you found my blog. I had no idea that my little post was part of an example of criteria for a portfolio project at SCSU! Crazy!
I hadn’t heard of Website watcher, Phillip, thanks for mentioning it!
Meredith,
I’m a long-time lurker and some-time commenter. Did you ever blog anonymously or under a pseudonym? I notice that your “Code Wants To Be Free” post at archive.org has your name in the header, but I wonder if ever you gave blogging a go under a different name?
I ask because one of my IS interests lies in the nature of identity and anonymity on the internet, and their effects on veracity and authority. I notice that many established bloggers spend some time writing under a pseudonym before gaining the confidence to “go live” with their real name, and I wonder what your thoughts might be on this subject.
-ms
Hi Michael — I never did blog under a pseudonym. That may be attributable to the fact that I didn’t spend much time lurking in the blogosphere before I started blogging, and, as a result, I wasn’t that savvy. I didn’t realize at the time that blogging could have any negative impact on one’s life or career. I wanted to connect with people through my blog, so it just didn’t occur to me to blog any other way than as me.
It’s not really consistent with my personality to blog anonymously or pseudonymously. However, it probably is a good way to start blogging if you’re nervous about the whole thing, though, if you build up a following and then start a blog under your real name, you’ll have to build your reputation from scratch.
Hi Meredith,
I’m new to LIS and am starting the MLIS program at SJSU this fall. I’ve been reading your blog for a few months and, although some of it is over my head, have picked up things that have been helpful in understanding the big picture. (Thanks.)
I was wondering: Did your blog play any part as you interviewed and subsequently landed your current job?
Trish
Hi Trish, I think to some extent it did help me land my first library job. It was a job where familiarity with technologies for serving distant students was critical, and my blog showed that not only was I aware of those technologies, but that I was really passionate about library technologies and experimenting with them. I can’t say for sure that it helped, but it definitely didn’t hurt.
Best of luck with your LIS program! I think I’ll be teaching my class on social software again next Fall at SJSU, so maybe our paths will cross!
Meredith,
I think what really set your blog apart (aside from your excellent writing style) is how much it changed once you got a job. Many of the blogs out there cry about why we should all be using 2.0 and, frankly, haven’t said much in many years. When you began at Norwich, it was fascinating to read about why some of your social software initiatives didn’t work, how things happened in real life and how your ideas changed due to feedback and experimentation. I think the same can held true for Jessamyn. Her earlier versions of Librarian.Net were funny, but then she got a job in rural Vermont, where it appears they had more trouble with electricity than trying the latest thing. Her later posts on the digital divide were great and really useful.
I like how you remained forward thinking and still a bit tempered with how the process works. THAT makes for good reading!
Thanks Dan! I appreciate the vote of confidence. I agree that it helps to work on the front lines in libraries (and perhaps not in the sort of library that has tons of funding), because it makes you aware of the limitations librarians deal with daily and what it really takes to make a social software implementation successful.
Hi Meredith,
I’m taking another section of 246 at SJSU this semester, and the focus of my own blog – this past week, anyway – has been on building a successful blog. I’ve posted three times about it over the last several days, the last one being a link to this post (with some commentary). Up until two weeks ago the subject had never occurred to me much.
I’m taking part of your advice immediately by sticking my neck out and submitting this comment. Here we go, huh?
Hi Meredith,
What a great story. Blogs can be a powerful tool! I am excited to be involved in creating a blog for NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Foundation. In a similar fashion, we hope to make this blog a go to blog for information on entrepreneurship and education. It’s still in development, but we hope to have it polished soon. I am also interested in emerging technologies, I’ll be sure to check back often for you thoughts on new tools.
Thanks,
Julie
http://youngentrepreneurfoundation.wordpress.com
I can’t honestly remember when I first discovered your blog, but I have been part of a faithful audience ever since. As much I enjoy many other library-related blogs, yours belongs to a group which really shows a snapshot of life for someone in the field post-MLS. That’s really valuable for those of us who are still students and itching to make a difference in the LIS field one day.