Wild Thing

Tobold is currently writing a series of articles about the NBI 2013 and is sharing some his huge experience as a long and established blogger. Thursday covered the topic of "Why Blog?" and today "The Sofa Test".

People write blogs for many reasons and just off the top of my head I will provide a few.

• Superiority complex - I know best and I am going to show you all how brilliant I am
• General Interest - A bit of spare time and want to share their knowledge and experience
• Diary - A way to record their gaming experience, failures and successes
• The Inner Writer - "Everybody has a book in them" many people blog because they like to write, need to write have a desire to publish
• Niche - A little corner of the Internet that is uniquely their own
• International Recognition - Tobold with 3 million hits, can probably safely walk down the street without being mobbed by a swarm of gamers

I originally started writing due to circumstances allowing me a little free time and that coincided with my wife and friends all cancelling their subscription (damn you Cataclysm). As an outlet for a mind full of Warcraft questions, answers and trivia, I decided to put my thoughts down on paper.

Initially you think that you are writing for yourself but when you realise that nobody else is reading it, you start to question why you are spending so much time researching it (Trust me want to try and keep information as accurate as possible, there is always a man in a red shirt waiting to correct you).

My first post was in February 2012 and the following table shows the number of hits to my site.

February	8
March	54
April	190
May	1060

February is probably just me checking the presentation of the content. March a few more articles to check. April is probably the search bots finding your site for the first time. May NBI 2012, this was instant footfall and for that I thank everyone involved in the NBI. One thousand hits in a month is good start, but now you have to start writing something that people want to read and will come back on a regular basis. If you don't grab their attention, it might be a long time before they come knocking again.

One of the things about blogging is that when you start off, invariably it is utter rubbish. Over time you will develop a style and rhythm that is uniquely your own. Sometimes you will write something that you are unhappy with, sometimes you post it and other times you will stick it in draft hoping inspiration will make it better. My favourite musician Neil Young after 50 years in the music business still writes hundreds of songs a year. Some are polished up when the right project comes along, others remain in his recording studio on his ranch.

 One of my favourite posts from those early days was The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Reading the article again it starts well enough, but bloody hell where is the content. I researched it well enough and I was right to question it's authenticity on April Fools Day, but I was delighted when it was finally introduced. Incidentally I have never attempted the kill the fluffy bunny that is found in the cave on the Darkmoon Faire Isle.

That post is on my top 10 most visited posts, with 900 visits but this is where you need to be careful most of those are for the picture not my blogpost. There are many ways to increase visitor numbers and not all are savoury and not all are welcome.

Tobold's second post on the NBI covers the hot topic of Trolls, or as the British Media likes to call it "Cyber Bullying". Not all comments that contradict what you say are Trolling and there is nothing healthier than a good old fashioned argument. Sometimes people even change their mind, and that is a good thing.

The best thing you can hope for is regular readers, and a little link love from the other bloggers, I have mentioned before how important links can be in redirecting traffic to your blog and if you write something worthwhile then people might even link individual articles that are worthy of note.

Most regular readers will of course remain anonymous but others will become regular posters on your comment section. These make you feel valued and add extra opinion to any topic that you might have presented. I am personally delighted to have regular feedback from the Grumpy Elf and the mysterious R, that is not to say that I don't welcome other comments from regular and occasional visitors.

R has recently provided some interesting information on macros, class specs and addons. I have personally used this information to good effect and would like to share R's recommendation for the addon Handynotes. I am using this addon for the locating of Treasure boxes on the Timeless Isle and so far it has proved to be 100% reliable. I had absolutely no idea there were so many Treasure chests that respawn or have yet been opened.

Blogging is fun, blogging can be rewarding, blogging can help find new friends and it can provide useful knowledge. It is unlikely it will bring International Recognition but it tends to make the world seem a much smaller place.

Mr Writer

I started this blog back in February 2012, so in many respects I am still a baby blogger. My first post was actually written in the November 2011, but I never posted it cause I was unhappy with my writing style. At end of April 2012 after 26 posts, I had received 190 visits according to my blogger stats, unfortunately most of those are probably me checking the formatting and editing any obvious mistakes.

In May 2012 something called the Newbie Blogger Initiative was launched, I threw my hat in the ring because after 26 posts I realised that nobody was reading my posts, and as much as I enjoyed writing them, I also felt the need to share them with anybody who would listen.

I didn't fully partake in the NBI but I did my best to share a little link love to those writing about World of Warcraft. To be honest I only have a passing interest in the other games in the MMO genre, and tend not to read about SWTOR, Rift, Guild Wars, Eve and Everquest. The exception to this is the reasoned arguments put forward by Tolbold.

My second post into the NBI was to examine my own reasons for taking part, after Tobold had raised the issue of the purpose behind the NBI. Tobold wrote a comment on my blog which was a real shock at the time, but it made me think about why I was blogging.

Blogging becomes just part of the daily routine, I write about what I have done in the game, and comment about the thoughts of fellow bloggers. My biggest influences in this thought process are Tobold, The Grumpy Elf, and the Godmother (I thank them all). They provide plenty of information to think about, and often these can lead to some of my better posts.

Yesterday the Godmother wrote a post entitled Zen and The Art of Satisfactory Blogging, the article is about confidence in your own writing, and writing to make your own happiness.

"A lot of that has to do with my own confidence in ability, and this is where the second point come to the fore: writing should be about making you happy. I will never understand someone who bemoans having to write something 'because they have to' " The Godmother

I have never had any confidence in my own writing, I lack the creativity and imagination to write any decent prose. I am far more scientific and mathematical based in my thinking, and this makes me doubt my own abilities in the use of language. Writing about WoW is different somehow and it stems from the deep level of involvement in the game, that makes me want to write something that might help others. The game is so vast and wide and after 4 expansions, it is impossible to know everything about the game, and this is the one of the reason we read blogs and information sites to keep ahead of the changes.

Personally I have no idea if my writing is beneficial for anybody else, but I use it frequently as a jumpstation to other sites. I have no idea if my writing style is easy or difficult to read, and I lack the confidence that the Godmother has in abundance.

I write because my friends no longer play this game, and need to talk about it with somebody. Quite often that communication process is a one-way street, and I get to offload my own thoughts.

I now know my own limitations, and I will never be the next BRK or BBB, I lack the wit, charm and intelligence to be able to write that well.

What I do know, is how pleased and incredibly happy I felt seeing my name mentioned by Tobold. Blogging is not about visits per hour, but about hopefully writing something worth reading, and to give back something to this rich and diverse community.