The little I know so far
Despite the fact it takes a lot of work and the desired results can be slow in coming and difficult to measure, I like blogging. It’s a great exercise for those of us who have lots of thoughts and opinions we never took the time to jot down.
And since I began blogging a relatively short time ago, I’ve formulated a few thoughts about blogging itself. First, whether you blog for business or just to express yourself (I happen to do both), bloggers want to be read. Which is why many people judge their blog’s success by how many readers or subscribers they have.
Since I’ve been blogging I’ve started reading other blogs. Blogs not just about translation but about many things. Sometimes to learn something and sometimes just to see how they blog. I’ve even visited blogs about blogging; there are hundreds of them. These bloggers are professional bloggers. The blogger’s blogger, so to speak. Akin to a teacher who teaches teachers.
I’ve learned things from their “top 10 blogging tips” or “top 5 blogging no-nos.” I try to post on a regular basis. I try not to run off at the keyboard and do my best to keep posts relevant and interesting. I try to invite discussion. I like to get involved in discussions on other’s blogs; sharing our ideas in the larger blogging community is fun and educational, like wandering around a big party participating in the variety of smaller discussions. I’ve imported some widgets and plugins and have optimized my blog for search engines (fellow bloggers will know what I’m talking about).
For example, I recently loaded the plugin that gives a few buttons at the bottom of the post so readers can share it or bookmark on digg or technorati or in various other ways. By the way, for those of you who haven’t tried it, I like Stumble Upon, which not only lets you collect sites you like but allows you to, ahem, stumble upon others you might never have discovered. For example, here’s one of the fascinating articles I Stumbled Upon.
But most of us are not full time bloggers. We only blog about something else we do full time. So besides keeping up with our industry or hobby, we’re learning lots of little tricks about a new medium so we can share the stuff we really know about.
The downside about reading blogs about blogging is we can get blog envy — I know I’ve had it. Bloggers who blog about blogging or marketing or other popular topics tell us things like, “don’t worry, it takes time… it took more than a month before I got up to 5,000 hits a day.” Only a month? That’s a little like the school teacher listening to people in the corporate world comiserate about how this year’s bonus will be slightly smaller. And I admit to feeling a little envious when I see an uninteresting post receive 143 comments. But I’m not discouraged. My numbers are lower but, as I say, I like blogging.
But now I’m off the topic of my blog, which is usually on the “no-no” list. So what’s my point? No point other than to take a moment away from my main topic to discuss the new tool I’ve been using to communicate it, and to share a few thoughts with my fellow bloggers in my blogging community.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Jill // Jun 25, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I just want to go on record that I find your blog really interesting. I also think the graphics are a nice touch.
As one of the newest members to the blogosphere I still have a lot to learn, but I love having an outlet for all my inane thoughts, random websites, and comments that I used to simply share with friends or the German Language Division listserv.
I love tossing it out into the blogosphere for whoever cares to listen.
Thanks for the tip about Stumble Upon. I’ll have to check it out.
2 Etymologic: the toughest word game on the Web « Musings from an overworked translator // Jun 26, 2008 at 12:26 am
[...] June 26, 2008 Posted by jillsommer in Uncategorized. trackback Glenn at yndigo wrote an interesting post on blogging tonight and mentioned StumbleUpon, “which not only lets you collect sites you like but allows [...]
3 Corinne McKay // Jun 29, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Glenn, I also want to go on the record and say that I really look forward to reading your blog; I think that you have a wonderful range of topics, you’re an excellent writer and your posts have made me think about aspects of translation that I would have otherwise ignored.
As a fellow translation blogger, I’ll say that I’ve found a few other appealing points about blogging. It’s a great way to store information that I would otherwise either forget, or be too lazy to write down for my own reference. I love having all of those links and tidbits right there on my blog; another blogger I know refers to her blog as her “backup brain.” Also, blogging keeps me excited about what I do for work. I love the linguistic aspects of translation, but let’s be honest and say that one set of corporate bylaws is, well, pretty much the same as the last. So, I think that blogging is a good way to stay motivated about the aspects of your job that you love. Keep it up!
4 Ryan Ginstrom // Jun 30, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I’m a regular reader, and I look forward to your articles. There are plenty of blogs about programming, but precious few good translation blogs, which makes yours all the more valuable. Keep up the good work!
5 Kyla // Sep 23, 2008 at 5:38 am
I know I’m joining the party late, but I wanted to let you know that I’ve been enjoying this blog since I discovered it (which, admittedly, was just yesterday). I appreciate that you write in a style that’s both easy to read and intelligent. And along the lines of what Corinne meant when she mentioned that blogging keeps her excited about her profession, reading your translation blogs makes me excited about the profession. I’ve only been translating for 3 years, but I love it and can see myself doing it for many years to come.
So thanks, and well done!
6 Glenn // Sep 23, 2008 at 11:06 am
Kyla,
Thank you so much for the kind words! I agree with Corinne; I think everyone should blog, no matter their profession. It gives you an opportunity to step outside what you do and reflect on it, and to see how others approach the same problems.
Thanks for reading!
Glenn
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