Walking back from the railway station last night after a 6 hour journey home, I began turning over a thought in my head. I thought it might be worth exploring - writing the thought down, and poking it with an inquisitive stick. While gazing up into the dark, starry sky, the thought was obvious - but after a mayhem filled night, the clarity seems to have dissipated somewhat. We’ll see how we go…
People write in many “places” online - WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and so on. They invariably choose the platform based on it’s capabilities, and user experience. This is in direct opposition to writers in the real world (particularly journalists), who choose their platform based on it’s reach.
It’s not really a direct comparison though, because the audience of a real world publication are not also content authors within that same publication - the community within Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr are fellow contributors.
It got me thinking - about the place I choose to write on the internet. I began wondering if I’m doing the right thing, recording these thoughts at Blogger, and cross-posting them out to Tumblr. I guess in some ways it makes sense; Blogger is my trusted store, and Tumblr is a delivery mechanism to a potentially huge audience. The best of both worlds, perhaps.
I also found myself thinking about the social blogging experiment I have been tinkering with - “We The Users” - about it’s future, given it’s relative obscurity. Publishing content in an obscure location is no different than a mad person spending days writing a manifesto that they give out on the street. I’m wondering if it is worth continuing with, or has a long term future.
It’s amazing what goes through your head late in the evening, while avoiding puddles, walking home from the railway station.