Subtlety in Blogging

Blogging is an incredible creature. Yes I may well have a biased view on this topic since I've had a blog in my life for quite a while now but I think that my opener encapsulates the general consensus amongst fellow bloggers and blog readers alike. Blogs are very flexible, they can be accessed by anyone on the internet and the content can appeal to so many different types of people. 

When I started out I thought about starting up a 'marmite' blog where the topic of the posts would be very focused and would only appeal to the minority. In many respects this blog that you find yourself on today is testament to the fact that I chose to make this blog appeal to as many people as possible. I might well have shot myself in the foot with that decision because now I write one of millions of 'generic' blogs on the internet and therefore it is hard to get readers. This blog (contrary to the title) isn't even exclusively for teenagers either - it's hard to come up with a unique selling point. Those negatives aside however, I get to write about anything I want to. It's a great thing to be able to play around with because, despite it being generic, I know my audience (damn, I know most of my readers) and therefore I can pitch my posts at them and see what they think. The only problem with this (and yes, I'm being a little negative today but I'm slightly hungover) is that I have to try and be subtle when it comes to writing about things that relate to people I know. I don't name names and I don't act as a news-broadcaster for people's lives - I just put down my take on an event, nothing more nothing less.

I consider myself to be pretty good at being subtle. I've let a few clangers drop over the 70-odd posts that I've written and I've been called out on them but most of the time I'm pretty good at what I do. Negativity and a lack of modesty is the same post? Must have been a good night out eh Martin!? Anyway, I was perusing a blog post written by someone I know recently and, put lightly, it completely lacked subtlety. It made me laugh how much this person had decided to write so blatantly about other people that I know. I love to read things written by my peers but this piece of bitchy, self-righteous writing was a diseased slurge that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. It is for this reason why I try to avoid writing about other people. Wait! Hold up! I'm doing it right now! This doesn't count surely? Maybe? Oh you idiot!

The irony that seeps from this composition is that the message I'm trying to portray is the writers (and bloggers in particular) should seek to be subtle when it comes to writing about people that they know. I've therefore not taken heed of my own advice and for this I'm ashamed and disgusted with myself. In fact, scrap that. It was merely a foolish way to get the message across but I actually feel good to get it off of my chest. Be subtle but only when it is necessary and also avoid writing about people that are smarter than you - they will work it out and they will probably be less fond of you afterwards!

Thanks for reading my most nonsensical and egotistical post for a long time; please come back!

Martin