Tri-Monthly Blogging
February 19, 2008 · Filed under: Thoughts.
I don’t know if I’m just irritable these past few days, or if Aunt Flo is coming for a visit, or if I’m just an irritable old bitch, but I have another little pet peeve from the internets that I can’t help but talk about. I. Must. Get. It. Out.
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to personal websites is bloggers who blog once every two or three months, maybe. They open their website, type up an entry, and then let it sit there. When I come upon a personal website, browse the latest blog, and realize that the entry date was somewhere back in August of 2007? I’m not impressed. I probably won’t return either. I’ll maybe look at the content (and most of the time, there isn’t any available because it’s just a blog) and peace out. I’ll also wonder if you’re safe or dead. Certainly not the best first impression. You haven’t only wasted your time, but mine. And if they’re being hosted, that’s even worse. The host is graciously handing over some of their space, and for what? An incomplete website? I think that’s hardly fair.
What’s the point of working hard on a website and never updating it? Doesn’t it seem like a complete waste of time and effort? If you’d like to vent and unload every few months, get a livejournal. It’s free, it’s got good user interaction, and more importantly, it’s friends-only. We all win! If you’re just interested in visitor content, take out the blog, but don’t forget to update and let your visitors know that 1) you’re not dead and 2) you’re working on the website. The content was obviously created to cater to a future visitor, but now that same visitor won’t be returning because they fear you have died. Or worse, “gotten a life” (more on that one later). Pointless.
It all boils down to laziness and procrastination, in my opinion. If bloggers do suddenly get busy with offline things (it does happen) or just lose interest, why not put up a little notice for that visitor that is stumbling into your website for the first time? Something like, “Hey, I’m not actually dead”, “Offline life has taken its toll, bbl!”, or even “I’ve moved to Livejournal so I don’t waste your time.” It’s courteous and thoughtful. I’ve seen some bloggers put their site on hiatus, leaving a notice of a future date to check back on (usually they don’t stick to the date, but hey, at least they’re trying). I think this is better than just letting your website (or plain ol’ blog) to just sit there and rot.
I know it’s trivial, this little pet peeve of mine, but that’s why it’s a pet peeve. It felt good to let that out.