Do you blog or post to a forum?

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Lately, I’ve found that it’s more rewarding to post content to TWW than updating my own blog. I suppose because there is more of a sense of community here than in my lonely little piece of the blogosphere. I guess I’m looking more for interaction rather than composition. Nevertheless, I feel a bit guilty over not updating my blog.

So, for those of us who maintain active blogs, what motivates you? How do you keep your mojo moving?

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[Norm S]

I just naturally like writing and posting and commenting on others blog, so mojo has never been as issue, there is always something to write about.

[Konstantinos Travlos]

Ever since I left the site that will be not named, my blog (Leadhead PhD) audience went down. That said I like the blog because I can post something on it and then share it on forums etc, rather than have to do three-four different posts for the same thing. It is also useful as a diary of my efforts.

With Respect
KTravlos

[Mike]

I did a blog once that was a place to simply store my 6mm sci-fi game reports.
However the views were small and comments pretty much non existent, even when sharing on other sites.
However, since doing two main topics here, one for my 6mm sci-fi and one for my new 15mm fantasy, the interest has been much more and those two topics are in the fact the busiest topics on the whole of TWW as you can see HERE.

I find as noted above, having one key place to dump everything is good as you can then share it around and have more people become aware of it and make it their go to place, rather than having several blogs, FB pages, topics etc.
Just have one key URL and point everyone toward that.
Of course, posting all my stuff on TWW and getting people to come here is of direct benefit to us all as it helps grow the community.

[DM]

I do both.

For specific activities, events etc. I usually post on my blog and then put up links on TWW and other sites.

For questions, discussions etc. I usually head straight here or other sites rather than my blog.

[irishserb]

In my case, they serve somewhat different purposes, though they do overlap a bit.   Forums are a social thing, with the focus on sharing thoughts and ideas.  I derive a lot of inspiration from the ideas and accomplishments of others, and I learn a lot about those things which fall outside of my own pursuits on the forums.

My blog is a combination of things.  Mostly, I think it has become a tool for organizing my thoughts, and to help me keep focused on ongoing projects.  My hobby time gets interrupted a lot, and a lot of times I pop onto my blog to get back in rhythm, after an interruption of days or weeks.

It is also easier to post photo heavy things that I want to share, and serves as an online place to store photos that I share elsewhere.

[Cameronian]

Blog as a record of what I’ve done (I’m told can be handy for insurance purposes) if others find it in any way interesting so be it.  Post to forum if I’ve something perhaps interesting to contribute or a pic of figures which may be of interest to other hobbyists.

'The time has come" The walrus said. "To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--Of cabbages--and kings--And why the sea is boiling hot--And whether pigs have wings."

[Hafen von Schlockenberg]

To the topic question, I  would answer “No”, but that would involve me in the Liars Paradox.

Or would it?

Hint: I either always lie,or I always tell the truth.

 

 

[Darkest Star Games]

My blog is business oriented, to keep people up to date on releases and the like, and I do not currently have a personal blog (though that will be changing when I start running a Rogue Trader RPG game as well as getting around to posting our Dark Star RPG I’ve been running).  Like Irish Serb I too go to forums to share and glean ideas, get inspiration, chat, and hopefully help someone else out along the way, and sometimes I even try to advertise for business sake!

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Cerdic]

Like others, I find they are different things.

But my blog is a bit odd in that it is a database of 28mm figures, rather than about stuff I’ve done. The need to update it is out of my hands, in a way. Someone releases a new range of figures and I’ve got new info to post!

So it’s not so much about motivation, more about finding the time!

http://28mmreview.blogspot.co.uk

[Abwehrschlacht]

I blog, in order to keep a diary of my output and games. I then post links, it used to be on the wargaming equivalent of Breitbart, but more recently here. I don’t take part in as much forum activity as I would like, but I am busy as well. I always reply to comments here about my blog though. I’ll average a couple of hundred views on each post, so blogging seems to attract an audience.

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/stormofsteelwargaming

Blog: http://www.stormofsteelwargaming.com

[Darryl Smith]

I blog to three, no four blogs I own. I also have created numerous Yahoo Groups over the years, I host one forum (Korean War), and post to a few forums. I guess I have an illness!

The blogs help me push gaming projects along (a bit), and the gaming forums (and TWW) help with inspiration and ideas.

Buckeye Six Actual
https://checkingmy6.blogspot.com/

[PaintingLittleSoldiers]

I have my own blog but use it mainly as a personal log of what I am doing at the time (as well as hosting photos).

[Mike Headden]

I don’t have a blog, though I have toyed with the idea of starting one. If I ever get round to it I suspect it will be eclectic in subject, erratic in posting and most likely will have a readership of one and that will be the author! 🙂

I enjoy the chance to swap ideas with others on forums to both gain and pass on knowledge, inspiration and bonhomie!

In one of the MMORPGs I played in, another character was asked to give a brief summary of what I was like. Her reply was,”Hind legs, donkeys!” 😀

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike]

I wonder…

Personally I prefer to see everything with less effort.
So a forum post with all the content in the actual forum post will for me, trump a forum post that links to a blog with all the content on the blog.
I am that lazy/busy.

So content here will be more likely to be seen by me than content I have to click on to get to.

On a similar note, I am unlikely to click on a link to a blog that has no teaser pics in the forum to tempt me.
Just a link rarely swings it for me.
A forum post inviting people to go to a blog is an advert for that blog, and for me adverts work better with images.

I hope that makes sense, I have not had breakfast yet and am running on coffee alone..

[A man without minis]

I too use my blog as a wargames diary, thus I post there regularly.

I post to forums infrequently.

[Whirlwind]

Autodidact-O-Saurus wrote:

So, for those of us who maintain active blogs, what motivates you? How do you keep your mojo moving?

Partly I use it as a campaign diary so that is pretty self-motivating.  Otherwise, since I am mainly a solo gamer, it is a way of connecting with other gamers out there.  Hopefully some of the reviews and detailed play-throughs and notes are helpful to other gamers; some of the reviews can also be used as scenarios in their own right, so for a modicum of effort it might be possible to help others.  As a gradual process, I also find it a way of encouraging myself to create prettier set-ups and play and design better games, without getting too precious about it.

I like chatting on forums sometimes, and I feel that they are the natural home of questions and discussions; but reviews and detailed notes on games are better on blogs – so I act accordingly.

I suppose if there were no interest at all by anyone else in any of it, I would still keep it but as a more private campaign diary and notebook (And I do have a private blog too).

[Mike Headden]

Mike wrote:

I wonder… Personally I prefer to see everything with less effort. So a forum post with all the content in the actual forum post will for me, trump a forum post that links to a blog with all the content on the blog. I am that lazy/busy. So content here will be more likely to be seen by me than content I have to click on to get to. On a similar note, I am unlikely to click on a link to a blog that has no teaser pics in the forum to tempt me. Just a link rarely swings it for me. A forum post inviting people to go to a blog is an advert for that blog, and for me adverts work better with images. I hope that makes sense, I have not had breakfast yet and am running on coffee alone..

I’m the same. I always intend to go back and click the link but rarely seem to get around to it. Pictures aren’t a guarantee I’ll read it but are more likely to pique my interest enough that I do.

Also …

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed,
That hands acquire shaking,
The shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. 😀

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Norm S]

I just post links at forums with a description of content – no pictures, I reckon by time I have do a lengthy post and travelled through several forums to put links, then I have done my bit. I am hoping that by reputation, people will want to click on my link. I don’t make any money out of my blog and I know some people really like it, but if others need spoon feeding with an image first, then I’m OK losing them, it makes no difference to me, the material is already posted though they might have missed out, one will never know.

My blasé attitude to this has some roots in the amount of work that goes into a post, but because it is free, it is generally taken for granted. My most recent post is an in depth look at a game system, it is over 5,000 words long, illustrated and played the game 12 time for a proper feel of the system. It took several days to write and edit, a reader would be able to make a buying decision based upon it. As of today it has had 1309 hits ………. but wait for it! ………. just 10 comments have been added, what is that all about?

My next post is for publishing on Christmas morning, it’s honest intent is that anyone who has time on their hands on this day, which is not a great day for everyone, can at least have some new wargame content to read, on a day in which internet content drops to zilch. So far I am at just under 8000 words and will post Christmas morning. My intentions all revolve around sharing and supporting the community … and some will only click if there is a picture ……. really!

I came across this same thing at TMP over a year ago, there was a forum discussion about ‘lazy bloggers who won’t post a picture’! and a few people became rude and the conversation went into decline. I pulled the plug on the blog in dismay, a mistake on my part and re-instated it a few months later, but I have not posted to TMP since.

Now going for a lay down 🙂

 

 

[MartinR]

I do both. My blog is just a diary and a place to post pictures with some captions (which I sometimes then repost elsewhere). Forums are for a bit of chit chat. Although I do respond to blog comments.

I don’t particularly mix the two. If people want to read the stuff I write, then great, but if not I’m not going to trawl round half a dozen forums touting for business. That sounds like hard work.

 

"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" - Helmuth von Moltke

[Shaun Travers]

I don’t participate in forums very much – I see them more as discussion and I do write something as times, just not as often as others.

I do maintain a blog but I post on average about once every two weeks (it would be better to say about 24 a year as I post with an irregular schedule), and have done so since 2009. So it could be said I don’t blog all that much either!   My blog posts tend to be very long and I believe they are there for future reference – I have had people email me about posts from years ago.  I do not think that would happen with a forum post – the latter (and Facebook) seem ephemeral.

I used to post a link to every new blog post in forums but do less of that now as I am far less concerned with ‘hits’ than I used to be.  When I started the blog, I did not concern myself with hits but then after a few years I became a little more concerned and in the last few years have gone back to “if people find it of interest they will read it, else they won’t”.  I started the blog to show in detail rules mechanisms ans that was a gap I had found across the internet.  It is much less of a gap, and I seem to be posting a lot more AARs using my rules.    I would like to go back to posting more rule mechanism posts. Motivation?  I do not question it – part of it is I like to write stuff, the other part is I think at least a few others with be interested and so continue to write.

[kyoteblue]

I don’t blog. Nothing against them it’s just more work than I want to do.

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate the input. Most likely I’ll end up posting here at TWW more often than on my blog. But using the blog as a diary is a good idea. It is, though, more labor intensive than posting here so I’ll probably end up posting links to TWW in my blog to document my larger projects. Sort of backwards from what most of you do.

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[Angel Barracks]

Autodidact-O-Saurus wrote:

so I’ll probably end up posting links to TWW in my blog to document my larger projects. Sort of backwards from what most of you do.

And I will love you long time for it!
I can understand why people could be wary, but I at least am confident that my content here won’t be deleted or altered at the whim of the bloke in charge here  😀

[Radar]

As a new blogger I use my blog to order, store my thoughts. It’s for me. If anyone else wants to look at it great, if anyone finds it helpful even better. One consequence of blogging has been to see my pics of my stuff big! And then the realisation that my thatched rooves are blooming awful. Which in turn led to a thread here, and as a result I hope my rooves are better.

As I have only ever posted questions or answers, never my own content so to speak, I guess my answer is a bit different to the OP’s question.

In my case they now have a symbiotic relationship. I guess now that photo hosting is a little trickier (without stumping up £), this might become more common.

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk

[Who Asked This Joker]

I use forums and wargame sites as a way to stay connected to the community.  I post to my blog mostly as a personal record so that I don’t forget the “great idea” I just came up with.  I am grateful for the commentary I get there from others.  I always happily post links to other sites if I think the post might interest others.

John

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

--Abraham Lincoln

[Steve Johnson]

Both. My Blog for AARs etc and forums to comment on threads of interest, request info etc.

[OB]

I’ve been blogging for nearly two years now.  It’s part diary, part filing cabinet of projects and ideas and sometimes just stuff I find interesting.  I often find the process clarifies my thinking.  I’m delighted that people read it and of course comments are nice too.  I’ve also come to feel that I’m a part of an international war gaming blogging community which is an unexpected bonus.

Belonging to a properly moderated Forum is good too and of course there is a cross over between the two.

Just on the photo hosting thing I can now upload pics direct from my computer to my blog.  Presumably as a consequence of a windows 10 upgrade.  I’m guessing this will become standard.

OB
http://withob.blogspot.co.uk/

[Author]

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