Blogging and writing about video games is still fairly new to me. Not only am I trying to figure out more concretely my thoughts and opinions on the state of gaming, but I'm also trying to work through the technicalities of blogging efficiently and in a semi-professional manner. So when I get the occasional comment or email that someone has enjoyed something I've written, I'm always quite surprised and taken aback.
Having said that, I would like to particularly thank Daniel Primed over at his DP's Gamer Blog for thinking my meager blog was worth linking to and mentioning. Daniel, thank you. I really appreciate your recognition of this blog the other day. And thanks for pointing out some characteristics of You Are Lose! that I had previously not considered. I've never considered myself a gaming 'enthusiast,' and I'm trying to see how that word feels wrapped around me. Although I suppose it's appropriate and accurate, given that I have no professional or developmental ties to the game industry, and instead I just play games a lot and want to write about them in a (hopefully) intelligent manner.
I also hadn't noticed, although it's fairly obvious, that I primarily write about specific software. Looking back, I'm mostly interested in how certain games are played, what I feel while playing them, and more recently, how games try to successfully tie together narrative and game play. I'd like to thank Daniel for pointing these things out to me, and making me a little more self-aware of what kind of blog I'm working on here.
I also highly recommend Daniel's Gamer Blog. He consistently has a slew of posts about gaming, and writes in a very accessible and thought-provoking way. His topics range widely from software to hardware, Nintendo to Sony, and everything in between. It's one of the blogs in my Google Reader that I always look forward to.
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2 comments:
Hey Korey, I feel very touched by your post. I totally understand your reaction and where you are coming from. The problem with blogging is that it takes time to build up momentum, months ago I feel as though I was in a similar position to where you are. You're just plodding along, not really sure if anyone really cares about what you have to say, wondering if you are on the right track, wondering what the point is. I know exactly how you feel and it can be pretty lonesome.
The truth is this time is your prime time, if you can continue to write great articles and slowly build up a readership then you have what it takes to survive for the long haul. Starting up is the hardest aspect of blogging, so stick with it.
Don't think of the idea of 'enthusiast' to mean ametuer or unprofessional. As I mentioned in the article I consider my blog to be an enthusiast blog and I regard that as a complement. I myself find most game design blogs to talk in a completely foreign language and I wouldn't even worry about having ties in the industry or anything like that, theres plenty of websites filling that need already.
I think that you should put your worries about your writing to rest. I throughly enjoy and can relate to a lot of what you say. Infact I badly have wanted to post several comments but well...time is of the essence, as usual. Your posts are really interesting to read and are definetly of a high level of english etc. Keep doing what you are doing, you are on the right track.
Don't be fooled by the Wordpress CMS or custom design on my site, when it comes to writing I think your writing is probably much better than my own. This is why I linked to you. I think that your current problem lies in the same problem that we have all had; trying to build up a readership. As they say; content is king. This is definetly true, never forget it. But the truth is if you don't get the word out about your site then it doesn't matter how good your content is. Like I said it takes a while to pick up steam so you should invest some spare time into promoting your blog.
Start by building up a strong blogroll with other sites (we can exchange links if you like), keep posting comments on various other blogs, stick your blog URL in you signature and post on forums, try out Stumble Upon as well. These are all good ideas. Also you might be interested in joining the VG Media Network, it will go a long way to build your rep in the community.
Just some ideas in anycase, you can find some links related to what I am talking about below:
http://www.vgmedianetwork.com/
http://www.bloggingtips.com/2008/02/25/search-engine-optimization-tips-for-blogger-templates-part-1/
http://www.bloggingtips.com/2008/03/03/search-engine-optimization-tips-for-blogger-templates-part-2/
If you ever want to talk more about blogging or games then feel free to send me an email, I am always interested.
http://danielprimed.com/contact
Hey Daniel. Thanks for your comment, especially your advice about the blog. I really appreciate it. And I'm definitely checking out those links you gave me, because I really want to drive up site traffic a little bit.
Don't worry. I wasn't offended by the term enthusiast. It was just the first time I had thought of myself in relation to it, so I was just trying to wrap my head around it. I think it's a good description.
Thanks for your thoughts. I plan on just continuing to write regular articles for it, and try my best to add to my readership. Thanks for the tips.
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