The Technorati Influence

Since daughter and I are home sick and I'm not too motivated to do a damn thing, I just took an interesting Technorati survey on blogging. The survey addressed things like why I blog, blogging habits, what my family thinks of my blogging, topics I read on blogs, topics I blog about, what I think the impact of the blogging industry might be, how blogging affects traditional media, etc. I'm opinionated to a certain extent (aren't all bloggers?) so it was kind of fun to be asked what I think about blogging.

The two topics that stuck most in my mind were related to money and family life.

Many people make money from their blogs. Since I don't market this blog or Bull Run Writings (what's to market?) I obviously don't make money from them. I do market my Poems from the Battlefield blog because it advertises my book and provides a place for me to explore poetry, the Civil War, historic preservation, etc. But I wouldn't say I have made money from that blog, either, unless you count two copies of the book that were sold through that venue. Most of the 150 books I have sold have come from local readings, signings, etc. (pretty good considering the book is under a year old and contains original poetry--not an easy sell).

So on to family. One question was whether or not blogging affected my family life. Related was the question of whether or not family got angry at me for blogging about them.

The second question was easy because I don't really reveal the personal lives of my families or friends unless it's at a superficial, general level. I'm rather egocentric on my blog, so I only include discussions on family as it relates to me, and these discussions are pretty general. My husband isn't thrilled I have posted his photo on my blog, but he didn't ask me to take it down, either. It's not really that big of a deal.

Now..how has blogging affected my family? Well, that's another discussion all together. Especially when I have blogged on immigration, I have felt the blow back from extremists who aim to shut up opinionated people like me. So I stopped allowing comments except from those whom I have listed as contributors. These good folks aren't really contributors, but they are safe people who can post comments if they wish. With the exception of dear Dive, whom I would consider a blogger friend, no one really, consistently reads or comments on my blog, which is fine with me. Trolls started to get me down, and hubby didn't like that. We both began to feel threatened, especially when individuals began showing up to intimidate me in public places.

Hubby said I should stop blogging about immigration all together because it was attracting haters, particular when I went on angry rants here. He also said he doesn't like to hear what I am blogging about when I am addressing political issues because it just gets him depressed. He has asked me several times not to discuss these issues. Since my blogging is an outlet for my busy mind, I couldn't honor his first request, but I can honor his second for the most part. I occasionally need a reminder, but I don't try to provoke.

We have a half-joke in my house that if we come home to a burning effigy of me on the front lawn, we will know it's because I have blogged on and ranted about immigration and on hate groups and the people the debate has attracted in this geographical area.

My stance on all this has always been, "If you don't like it, then don't read it." No one forces anyone to read a blog, watch television, listen to the radio, etc. If what I say pisses you off that much and it doesn't cause you any harm (especially if you are a public figure), then why should you care that I am exercising my freedom of speech--unless you aim to squelch that?

Of course, as I have said time and time again, the more you try to shut up people like me, the louder we get. All people want to be heard and become angry when someone metaphorically tries to duct tape their mouths. Anger can take on many forms, some violent. I generally don't believe in violence, so my blog is harmless unless those who seek to shut me up feel threatened for whatever reason, and in my case, it's not because I am some politico that has any influence on anyone. Such people are, IMO, petty, childish and, in the case of some extremists I have run across, dangerous.

That said, Technorati can now proudly say it has evoked a blog post about its survey questions. Well done. Your marketing professionals deserve a raise. Or I do. Or both. It would be much easier to give me a raise, though, considering how much I make on my blogging.