Are science writers starting to suffer from blogging burnout? It seems that way. For one reason or another a number of bloggers (including three of my favorites) have seriously pondered the question of giving up on science blogging (or at least leaving Sb) since the summer began. Why are so many writers stuck in the doldrums?
Blogging is a personal thing and the reasons why any given person writes (or stops writing) depends on a lot of factors unique to that individual. So many bloggers pondering the question of quitting has made me wonder why I keep writing. Although my writing primarily stems from an enjoyment of the activity itself sometimes I do get frustrated. If I work really hard on a post, many of my pieces requiring over an hour of work, I get a little discouraged when the first comments are snidely-worded nit-picks with no comment whatsoever on the main point of what I was trying to say. Like many other people, though, I don't often comment on posts (even if I like something) so I can't take silence for disinterest.
For me, though, the question of "What's next?" does hang over my head a little. If I'm not moving forward (whatever that means) then am I doing a good job? I don't dwell on these issues or let them consume my writing but they do pop up every now and again. I do enjoy blogging about science and I hope to continue it as long as I am able to do so, but I see it more as a springboard than as an endpoint. I have a book I want to finish, articles to write, and (#1 on my list at the moment) a paper to compose. All these things stem from writing here and I really do feel that this blog is my public "writing lab."
That said, I really am thankful for the many friends I have made through my writing. When I see a comment from a friend I definitely look forward to reading what they have to say, even if they disagree, and I feel that the feedback about this blog has been far more positive than negative. I would keep writing no matter what but I don't think I would develop much as a writer if I felt like I was just talking to myself; every positive comment you leave does make an impact. Trust me.
As I stated before I cannot tell anyone how to blog, what to blog, or why they should blog; writing is an intensely personal thing and what works for me may not work for anyone else. Still, I want offer encouragement to anyone who is feeling a little neglected or otherwise feels off-the-beat when it comes to science blogging. The people who I have seen contemplating an end to their efforts are the people I least want to lose (although in the end it is their own decision). Part of being a science blogger is being part of a community and I definitely want to do a better job in supporting people who take so much time to offer up something unique and insightful.
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Like you, I also read a lot and comment little. I feel in a bind about it, since I love receiving comments as well, but I don't like throwing in a comment when I feel I have nothing to say.
A lot of my favourite blogs are about fields I'm interested in, and written by people who are much greater experts than I aspire to be at present. So it's hard to throw a witty bon mot or talk at the level of the blogger.
Your posts on the history of palaeontology are terrific Brian, and yet I sometimes get caught feeling like saying "Thanks for that post!" or "Good job" come off as condescending. I still wrestle with this because I feel so much work goes into much of what you and many other sciencey and artsy bloggers write, it ought to have some feedback.
In other words, once again I agree with you, but this time I rambled instead of staying quiet.
I'm not considering quitting blogging, but I do occasionally slip into the doldrums. Usually, this happens because I start focusing on the wrong thing -- arbitrary rankings, distress over the occasional spurts of nastiness, a sudden dip in traffic, the fact that my blogs are not considered "Diggable" in the short attention span venue that is the blogosphere. But ultimately, I regain perspective. Those things aren't why I blog. And for just over two years, it's been personally rewarding. That's what ultimately counts.
Even so, sometimes I have less energy -- like in the summer. Like now. :) Perhaps Bora is right and we all just need a vacation...
The loss of summer vacation is one of the worst things I've yet discovered about adulthood. (The fact that grown-ups still act like children in all the wrong ways is another.)
I blog because it's a real stress reliever for me and it's the only way I can get the anger and bitterness over creationism out of my system after having them bottled up for a long time.
Wanna check out my new location for my sister blog to Dinosaurs and the Bible A Creationists Fairy Tale? After being constantly suspended from my freehosting server due to using way too much CPU, I just had to call it quits from that server and move my blog to a much better wordpress.com server where I don't have to worry about my blog getting downtime and suspended for petty, frivolous reasons.
Check out
The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Big Lie
Thanks for the comments and kind words, everyone.
Glendon; I often feel the same way. I don't think saying "Good job!" or "Nice post!" is condescending but if that's all I have to say it's almost like I have nothing to say at all. Even so, I want to be more supportive of writers (and artists!) who I feel are doing good work.
Jennifer; Sometimes I think ranking services (Nature Blog Network, Wikio, Technorati) hurt more than they help. Links get lost, numbers aren't tracked correctly, and popularity is based upon the number of links vs. actual content. If I said something really stupid or controversial I'm sure I could get plenty of links (therefore boosting my ranking) but what would I have really contributed? It's good to see that my blog isn't doing too bad in the rankings but at the same time it's hard to take these things seriously. Like you said they do not define why I blog and even if I whine a little (be it here or in the real world) I'm not going to stop writing.
Blake; DEFINITELY. When I get out of work on Friday I'm all giddy, as if I don't have to go back to work on Monday. My freedom seems like it's going to last longer than it actually is and by the time I wake up Sunday morning I'm already dreading the work week again. If I could do what I loved it wouldn't be an issue, but these days I'm mostly feeling run-down and out of energy. I don't have the time or money to go away for a little bit (even a week) and recharge, and even though my little weekend trips are nice they are no substitution for "getting away from it all" for a bit.
About ranking services: you can spoil any good hobby by counting points.
Brian, yours is an awesome blog. It's one of just three science blogs that I check out every day -- one of my three favorite science blogs of ALL TIME. (The other two, FYI, are Darren Naish's Tetrapodzoology and one called Centauri-Dreams.org.) This is not to detract from the many other fine science blogs out there, but to underscore how great this one is.
By rights, I should post this comment ^ every day after just about every post you make. However, I fear the repetition would become tiresome. I hope you will always consider it said, though.
Oh no, you've discovered my secret!
I'm not sure if they "hurt more than they help" — that's a hard call to make — but they could definitely be helping a lot more than they are!
Brian, your point about saying something controversial just to boost a ranking is something I toyed with back when I first started - for about two minutes. Y'know, a satirical dig at a delusional politician or some pure cheesecake (at the time, Paris Hilton snuggling a trilobite came to mind) but it just isn't worth it simply to boost rankings. (Perhaps worth it as a tongue-in-cheek exercise in portraiture...)
I'm not a scientist doing research, but I want to make sure I'm an artist who respects the intelligence and sense of fun of the audience I have. For me, making sure I post artwork once a week has greatly boosted me out of my art-related doldrums. It's easy to get discouraged as an artist, so the looming Monday deadline helps. So far.
I personally would link to a post showing Paris Hilton snuggling with a trilobyte, and forward to everyone I knew. :)
As for rankings: they are almost completely useless (sorry, Blake!). EG: I just discovered this weekend that I've been pretty much invisible to Technorati for almost two years because of some glitch in their system, whereby the "pings" from Typepad when I posted something never got recorded. Ever. You couldn't even find Cocktail Party Physics listed in their index.
So much for the reliability of official "rankings." I'm with Lassi on this one: The compulsion to measure and quantify everything can definitely be a killjoy for those of us for whom ignorance is bliss. :)
Yours is one of the blogs I read every day. I don't think I've ever commented, but that's mostly because I have nothing useful to add to any of your informative and educational posts.
Please keep up the good work!
I second the motion to have a painting of Paris Hilton snuggling a trilobite commissioned. Just let us know when it's ready. :)
As for ranking services I don't check them often, and I'm toying with the notions of removing the little buttons from my sidebar, although technorati at least has the advantage of allowing me to see who's linking to me (presuming that it works, of course!). I was just thinking of it because two bloggers here on Sb recently took pride in their rankings so it was on my mind. At this point, though, I don't particularly care.
Still, I wonder if we're reaching something of a turnover point. A number of people seem to be either feeling burnt out or bored with science blogging while new blogs keep popping up. Then again maybe it's just the "summertime blues"; since this is only my first summer really paying attention I have no idea whether this is a repeating theme or something new.
I start every day with Bad Astronomy and have for years, but other than that, my reading habits fluctuate. Thanks to the direction they've fluctuated lately, I wouldn't have noticed the burnout of which you speak if you hadn't mentioned it.
I wonder if a number of science/health/medical bloggers feel as if they are blogging for the usual reasons but also with some ambition to change things or make the case for a better general public understanding of science. For some bloggers, it must be beyond ennervating and into dispiriting when the few comments that they receive seem to be overwhelmingly hostile.
If it makes any difference, I have learned a lot from reading blogs such as yours. Reading Epiwonk has even led me to make enquiries about additional stats courses and I am seriously considering an advanced degree in epidemiology. But - lacking telepathy or more direct means of communication such as comments it must be difficult for bloggers to discern the positive impact that you are having. *Looks down guiltily.*
"Are science writers starting to suffer from blogging burnout?" -- depends on which ones you ask. And in which countries.
"The loss of summer vacation is one of the worst things I've yet discovered about adulthood." [Blake Stacey]
But that is balanced by our ability to stay up as late as we want at night reading Science Fiction, watching TV, doing stuff with other people.
And we don't have homework to do -- except for that which gets us paid, and that which we assign ourselves. Such as research, blogging, answering email.
Over all, though there are things that I miss about childhood -- much more of my family was alive, I knew that I had so many many years yet to live, food tasted more wonderful to youthful tastebuds -- my mother's prediction to me came true. I enjoy adulthood more.
Personally, I simply don't have much time for blogging these days. And, writing a blog entry about basic science takes a lot of time. I'm not sure people realize how much time unless they themselves are science bloggers. So, I spend the little time I have for writing on other projects and blogging has been put on the (very) back burner for me these days. When things settle down a bit, then maybe I'll be able to pay attention to blogging.