Being a blogger

With my 1 year anniversary coming up July 6th, it’s a weird feeling: damn that went fast! I’ve spent this much time on here? It’s a cool feeling to know you’ve done 1 year of blogging. The only reason I’m making any deal out of this is that I am uncertain I’ll be here July 6th, 2008. It’s not like I’m giving up but being a blogger takes a lot out of you and there is a constant personal struggle.

Is this really worth it?

In order to be a successful blogger, you need passion, diligence and a unique outlook. It may help to write in complete sentences too. It might, depends how stupid your audience is.

The biggest obstacle in blogging is returning everyday. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt and thought about quitting. The reasons are many. Personal satisfaction is huge and may take time to reach its full potential. I blog for fun and the love for Rap music but I want to be heard. Ratings fluctuate. For me though, it has been a steady, slow rise over the year. Although I don’t care how many people read me, the more regular hits I get, the more motivated I become (hence this last month’s invigoration)… so yeah, I do care how I am perceived.

Then there is content. You feel the pressure to be timely, the first to post news, music or reactions. I’ve given up on that. I like to stay away from most popular topics and if I do comment on something, I like to take my time with it. Rushing things is the worst and I’ve done it before and it really shows. This is especially pressing with music. I always feel the need to be the first one to post the new Weezy* or T.I. or Jay Z material. I like to be competitive. However, being humble has always won me points and I will stick with it. But more than the Jay Zs, I like to offer the potential music that blows up, becomes hot over the span of months. I’m not saying I was the first person to push Skyzoo or Joell Ortiz or Hurricane Chris (I’m sorry about this one too, really) or Fat Al but I do know I have given them an opportunity to be heard and taken notice of. But Mally? Yeah, that’s all me homeboy!

I swear people irritate you when they ask you to blog on something. If I don’t want to do it, it ain’t gonna be on there. Friends throw out disclaimers at times asking you “is this going to be blogged about?” Well, yes. Sometimes I do take in a lot of what surrounds me. When the De la Hoya vs Mayweather fight was on, somebody asked that question. Since the element of surprise was gone, I decided not to carry on with that post.

The daily grind is something, I tell you. I wake up every morning and one of the first things that pops into my head is: I need to post today. Getting material ready in time to post takes hard work and consistency. Tons of ideas arise but very few get written down and even a smaller amount gets posted. But once a habit forms, it becomes routine.

Help is crucial. Support goes a long way. I was shy in telling my family, brother and friends that I’d started a blog. It can be a running joke on me of who wastes their time the most. I win usually and not to my liking. The fam and the friends don’t visit the site, at all. The exception is my mom, surprisingly, and of course, Mally. Much thanks to them. Without much input from people you’ve met and know, blogging early on can become a chore.

Yet the random viewer's support everyday is great. It helps a lot. And the fellow bloggers that have befriended me, much less over the internet, is gratifying. The support keeps this site going.

It gives me fulfillment that what I put out everyday will be heard and read. Someone around the world will read me and feel something. I am paying forward knowledge and entertainment. The anonymity and randomness of the internet is an odd fit but I believe the net is an unlikely source for progress in everyday life.