Stepping Out of Character

My good, online friend, Hari sent me a message that started me thinking. I don't like to think too much about being personal, but his message made me think. He read my article about redefining my focus and noticed that my writings were headed in that direction before I wrote that article.

I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I do not have a niche blog. Blogging about blogging is not my niche. I'm focused on helping other bloggers (and I know some of you hate that word) in the blogosphere (and hate that word even more) both directly and indirectly, but that doesn't make it a niche. I believe the very nature of niche blogs doesn't allow their authors to "step out of character". When they do, they potentially lose credibility. I say potentially because some good writers can use their "blog personalities" to actually enhance their niches.

If you dig through the archives, you'll find of lot of personal information about me, as well as some personal humor. Here are some examples:

• Live in Hawaii? Nope, Never Again
• Am I a Bigot?
• Autobiography, Part 1
• Autobiography, Part 2
• Autobiography, Part 3 (Mostly High School Years)
• You're a Dead Man, Ron Howard
• Cats and dogs and chickens! Oh, my!

Those are just a few of the many, many personal articles I've written since the beginning of February. The truth of the matter is, I just haven't felt like writing anything personal lately. Perhaps it's because my daily routine has become just that, a routine. Maybe I'm just a boring person. Whatever the reason, I've decided that I need to return some personality back to my personal blog. I plan to write one or more installments of my autobiography this week, making notes for things that I may want to write about further.

I want to hear your opinions.

Do you think it's alright for the writer (or writers) of a niche blog to "step out of character"? Do you think it hurts their credibility? Am I stepping out of character by focusing on just a few topics, or am I simply expanding my reach beyond the personal? Does it sound like I'm "waffling" between a personal and a niche blog? Please take a look around and tell me what you think.

Articles With Related Content:

• Niche blogging… me? No thanks
• Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!
• A Personal Guide To Proper Post Titles
• Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation ARE Important When Writing a Blog Post
• Are you a Serious Blogger?

Get Social and: Stumble It | Zoom It | Digg It | Propel It | Plug It | Sphinn It

August 21st, 2007 By RT Cunningham | Categories: Writing | Tags: Personal | Full Article Feed | Summary Article Feed | Comments Feed | Full Articles by Email | Respond | Trackback URL

2. hari on August 21st, 2007 at 12:52 am (Reply)
   
   

   I know UV won't become a niche blog, but I feared you would get drawn into more "blogging about blogging" a lot - something I see a lot of people do these days. It is interesting to do once in a while though but on a regular basis, it probably gets more repetitive.

   I love your blog reviews though and I hope you continue it. It adds a lot to UV and I was considering doing something similar for a long time now and still haven't decided whether it's something I want to do.

   So long as you write about what interests you, I think you'll keep everybody interested. The moment you feel obliged to write about something because you are committed to that niche, you'll probably lose interest yourself.

   That was the gist of my message. I think you should just let it evolve naturally over a period of time. I don't think you should force either variety or focus but just continue writing normally. That's what a blog is about or should be about in my view.

3. Chris Lodge on August 21st, 2007 at 2:10 am (Reply)
   
   

   No, this whole niche idea is over-rated, especially if you're not blogging just to make money.

   I wrote a post months ago, called 'Blog it your way' and I stand by it today

4. jer on August 21st, 2007 at 2:55 am (Reply)
   
   

   FWIW, I do consider "blogging about blogging" to be your niche, but I don't think it's something you should be taking offense at. I thik the personal articles fit right in with the rest of what you're saying, which I've always taken to be "it's your blog you should write what you want." I see the personal articles as you putting your money where your mouth is.

   Discounting the personal articles, nearly everything you write is about blogging, whether it be about styles of blog you like/dislike, doing drivebys, reviews of blogs, talking about favorite exchanges, etc, you are pretty much all about blogging. Rather than try to fight against the label, I think you ought yo just embrace it, because I really don't find it to be a bad thing at all…

   2. RT Cunningham on August 21st, 2007 at 3:17 am (Reply)
      
      

      I think if you remove the personal articles from most blogs, they're about blogging. I'm thinking more in line with percentages. Blogging articles are getting higher here because I intentionally write them to target specific readers and bloggers, but I still don't think they add up to a third yet.

      My big problem is that I don't have anything personal I really want to write about these days.

5. A blog about nothing on August 21st, 2007 at 3:41 am (Reply)
   
   

   When I first started blogging (all of 1.5 months ago) I knew I wanted to blog because I enjoy writing, but I knew I would never be able to "niche blog". Too many things I am interested in, but nothing that I'm infatuated enough with to stick too all the time. I made the choice that I would just blog about whatever I want and if you take a look at my blog I think you'll see that's exactly what I do.

   That said I believe there are some advantages and disadvantages to my choice.

   I can blog about whatever I like and not need to worry about losing my readers. Sure some might split if the topic is to controversial for them, but like today I posted an article about a bear attack, yesterday it was about following through on a spike in traffic. Point being that by not marketing myself as a niche blogger on any particular topic I've made the choice to trade a small amount of dedicated traffic for the freedom to blog as I see fit.

   2. RT Cunningham on August 21st, 2007 at 3:54 am (Reply)
      
      

      I started out that way… over a year ago.

6. Comedy Plus on August 21st, 2007 at 4:04 am (Reply)
   
   

   I like all of your posts RT. You do personal stuff at times and informational stuff other times. I'm no expert, but I like what you do just fine. I say do what you want. It's your blog. Have a great day.

7. Lorna on August 21st, 2007 at 9:04 am (Reply)
   
   

   I say you blog whatever you want to. I've stuck with your blog no matter what topic you cover, just keep them coming and don't stop blogging. Your no-nonsense personality shines through all your posts, and that's what makes your blog so engaging.

8. Jen / domestika on August 21st, 2007 at 10:13 am (Reply)
   
   

   I stand with the majortity on this point - it's who *you* are that makes your blog interesting, whatever you choose to write about. Personal? Maybe. Personality? Yes.