My advice: quit. Something touched me today. My internet buddy Alli virtually hung it up today. For the most part, I see this happen every fall, when people's minds turn to thoughts of not-blogging. It was reading this that got me thinking about what I would say to a person if they were in the similar mood. I'd throw myself into that mold, were I writing for this site in order to do anything other than help other people out just like myself. In fact, the only reason I found out she was hanging it up (virtually) was because Technorati reminded me I'm old. Reading that list of exciting daily activities reminded me how people with real lives act. There are seasons in a person's life when they just want to stop. This was when Alli thought it was time. Trust me, I've been in that boat several times over the past 10 years. Like Alli, I needed a break. I tend to bounce around from project to project, without ever really focusing, so being all blog-like is therapeutic for me. Focusing on writing helps me vent, and channel other frustrations. For some people, however, it becomes too personal. That's the reason I came up with a novel approach to whenever somebody says, "I think I'm gonna quit blogging." My advice? "Quit." Seriously, there's really no need for most regular people to blog, and it's because of a lot of factors, not the least of which is the zillions of other bloggers, and because they're more famouser than you. Last night I was in contact with another internetty-friend, and we were discussing blog networks. They say there's money to be made in them internets, but I'm not sure who this "they" is, and I don't know how they are making money. In fact, looking at all the blogging networks, it's just daunting thinking about getting into one. Then, once you're there, just how many people will take notice? There's something else to consider, as well. The time it takes to research, write, and post blog stories are not, in all likelihood, going to make you rich. Or known. Or popular. In fact, most of the influential bloggers got that way because they either...

  • Started blogging years ago
  • Would be famous without a blog

The odds are not on your side. And people will miss you, yes they will, but they'll get over it. There's only 5 bajillion other blogs, most of which say virtually the same thing you do, only better, so the world will keep on turning. Okay, so it saddens me that Alli's decided to stop posting every week or so. Blogging is just not that important an activity. In all likelihood, it won't get you notoriety, fame, fortune, or sex. That's just how the blogs are.

status: published
lastmod: '2006-10-23T20:15:06.000Z'
author: John Stansbury
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