What are the main barriers to updating your blog?

[Brother Tyler]

This is a transcript of the replies to the title question that we received from various members in the PM. This transcript is provided for continuing discussion and background, especially as additional members join the club and participate in the effort to improve the Blogs feature.

 

@Mr Farson

3. I think the lack of comments if the big demotivator but that could also be a me issue and my content.

 

@The Yncarne

My main barriers to updates are personal motivation. I find it difficult to take good photos which is outside the software. Photo dumps aren't always great to look at.

 

@Wormwoods

My main complaint is the lack of interaction that seems common when comparing Blogs to Threads out in the wild. I got a LOT more eyes and comments on my WIP Thread, which was basically just a hobby blog, than I have for my actual hobby blog. 

 

@Noserenda

typically blogs didnt get much engagement even if i think they are a better presentation personally so after a while i just stopped posting them as often, then at all.

 

@Brother Nathan

i do find the actual blog section  less enjoyable to navigate than other sections

 

what likely impacts more as i have left off posting in blogs and should restart is that theres so little interaction by readers. yes i like to collect my photos and show my progress and have had it useful to back scroll over certain  things iv done, but without interaction then why post it online? it can be a very lonely hobby elsewise so to some extent everyone posting does want more interaction be  it a literal reaction or the occasional conversation relating to it. (ie no one i work with talks  40k, the all game. non of my family either so whilst i do have a gaming group i play with the validation of 'peers' does help with the inspiration to push on.  which is ultimately why i do use forums over other media. 

 

now where the lines are for most blogs of how much interaction they want in their posts? throwing off on tangents or such but i do feel like interaction and increasing it may be a very important part. its especially off when you compare visit count to post interaction. i wonder how that compares across the site. its something i found slowed my progress in the tyranid section too as only a few frequent it compared to other sections. likely a difficulty across the site?

 

@firestorm40k

3. Aside from if I close my tab and aren't able to find my blog again in a hurry  it'll be a combination of personal factors - having time to post (or not), and also whether I have anything to post about. It might be a couple of months between posts, but when I do I try to make sure I've something worth posting about! 

 

@Bouargh

... And yet, like everyone else, I would like more interactions and coments. This is the frustrating part sometimes, especially if you want to propose material taht you think might be fun sharing. 
Another stuff that is sometimes "irritating" is the disparity of contents within Blogs or within posts. this may require an explanation:

1. There are some posts which are basically like blogs and their authors might be incitated to use the latter instead of updating the post. They are telling us a story that may be worth being journeyed through a blog
2. There are some blogs that are just one liner posts. with very limited content. I am not an Ayatollah, but may be Blogs should come with a requirement for a miniun content in words... To tell a story

 

@Tomcatgunner

So as someone from the advertising side, I've looked at the source pages from different people reaching to my website on a blog update vs. forum post. also on blog posts I get 0 interaction/feedback from people vs. forum I get some regular feedback,

 

I get 4-6x as many eyes on a forum post than a blog update. 

I could post both, but that seems to be overdoing it.

Now if I could cross post from blog to forum when I highlight different groups/factions/etc that would be the best of both worlds.

 

@W.A.Rorie

3-My main barriers are as others have posted that it seems few read the blogs and comment. There are some that always like and occasionally comment. But it feels there are others that would rather light fires and start fights in threads then actually care about the hobby. 

 

@apologist

3 – Like lots of the contributors to this discussion – such as @Tomcatgunner – not getting as much feedback on a blog as a project log would have, tends to sap that enthusiasm – which leads to a vicious spiral. 

 

@drakheart

3. The main barrier to updating are my own available time 

 

@Xenith

The reason why I'd update individual forum posts over the blog are: 1) inertia. My BA log has been going for over a decade, and there's some pride in the age, post and view count. I want that to persist. 2) Lack of traffic on blogs. Posts in forums get way more attention and views.

 

@zulu.tango

• As other have mentioned, lack of engagement be a damper. I occasionally don't feel I should update the blog with minor progress and have to wait until I have a milestone update to justify the post, but that's likely more of a personal problem. 

 

As you can see, the main complaint about the blogs is that there is much less engagement than there is in the discussion forums, due to a lack of visibility. As we improve the blogs, I hope that this will change and that there will be other complaints.