How Often Should You Blog?

Some people blog every day, some weekly, and some very sporadically. So, it occurred to me to ask the question – How often should you blog? I think the frequency of blogging should suit the purpose of the blog and this means that you have to know why you are blogging in order to determine how often it would be appropriate for you.

Let’s first consider the daily blog and the reasons why this might be appropriate. I can think of three reasons why daily blogging would be appropriate - the diary, writing practice, and news commentary.

In the diary blog, the author simply narrates his or her day for anyone who might be interested in following the days of their lives. If you have something unusual about you then this kind of blog can be very interesting. Unfortunately, many people who write this type of blog do not have anything interesting to say. But, for every humdrum diary blog there are always a few ardent follower. So, who am I to judge?

Writing practice seems to be a slightly more worthy calling. Most writers will say if you want to be a writer you have to write and write and write. They often recommend a daily journal in which you write everyday just for practice. I have done this and strongly endorse the practice. Some time around 2001, I started a daily journal. I made myself write 500 - 1000 words every day. I kept it up until just recently and I believe it was an invaluable experience. Of course, nobody has read my daily journals and I don't think I would want them to be read. But, I can see how writing everyday in a blog could serve the same purpose.

News cometary seems to be the best justification. If you are commenting on the financial markets, or the election process, daily comments are almost required. Things change daily and your daily observations become part of the conversation. This seem to me to represent the very heart of blogging. There are, unfortunately, a few drawbacks. First, it is a lot of work to write every day. Second, it is work for the readers to have to come back every day to keep up. And, third, writing every day does not give you a lot of time to organize your thoughts. So, I don't think daily blogging is for me.

I am going to skip over weekly blogging and go to sporadic blogging next, merely to dismiss it. I don't think a blog should be written sporadically. Suppose you are a world class thinker who waits for appropriate topics to come along, ponders them, refines your thoughts and then writes them in a blog. Isn't that an appropriate use? I don't think so. There is an informality to blogging that is defeated in that approach. It is like preparing a lecture and bringing it to a happy hour conversation.

I think weekly entries are the ideal, at least for me. With weekly entries you have time to come up with something to day and time to organize your thoughts so you can say it clearly. In my daily journal, there was much ink spilled describing the weather and why I do or don't feel like writing at the moment. If you cannot come up with something interesting over the course of a week, then you really don't have much to say and perhaps shouldn't be keeping a blog. Further, your readers will come to expect the regularity of the blog entries and if your writing is any good they will look forward to them. So, I am going to switch to weekly entries and see how that works.

Next week, I will return to the topic of virtual worlds and discuss some of the ethical issues.