A Trend

Something I've noticed over the years, is that some bloggers - the popular ones - get book deals. More and more, you'll see a blogger mention they've gotten a book deal, that they can't believe it's happened, and so on and so forth.

The run up to the book is a flurry of activity for the blogger, with their posts slowing down somewhat while they write their "story" or whatever it is they are doing. Most posts seem to concentrate on the book itself. Then the book is released, and the blogger mentions it, where he/she will be appearing for signings, how it's doing and so on...

And when the dust settles... Now, I can't put my finger on it, but that blog changes. It goes from being a single person writing about, well, whatever the theme is on their blog, to all sorts of stuff. Sometimes, they hardly even talk about the original purpose of the blog at all.

I'm not going to name blogs, but in the last couple of years, I've noticed at least four bloggers that have become published authors and pretty much stopped with their usual blogging. A couple have gone very political, topical... Another has taken to publishing random stuff about the state of the country, or just posting random links to news stories. The actual content has all but vanished - the reason I was reading is no longer there.

I imagine it's because all the stuff they would be publishing is now being saved up somewhere for Book Deal #2.

Then there is the other kind of "changed blogs", the sort that have gotten so popular, that they have various adverts, worry about page rank, and a lot of their posts suddenly become One Big Advert for various products and stuff they have been sent. You might still get the content on there, but it's Ad Post Post Ad Ad... All with flicky flashy banner ads and stuff in between.

It makes me a sad panda.

I unsubscribed from six blogs this morning. I love bloggers for who they are, the people aspect of things, not to see the latest products here, or a political rant there. I subscribed to their blogs because what they had to say was interesting, moved my mind, made me think, or showed me an altogether different life.

Now they are just more grey noise in a large field of grey noise.

PS: If I ever become a World Famous Blogger And/Or Author, please kindly take this post and ram it down my throat to point out everything I've said. I like who I am, I love what 0ddness is.

PPS: If you want to send me a Large Electrical Item to review, then please feel free ;)

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6 Responses to “A Trend”

debbie said...

Just to comfirm I have no book deal, and nor can I write,, just not alot to update with yet,, but soon will

Anonymous said...

Hi Dan, I found you via Geek Mama and really enjoy your blog. I like your funny, emotionally intelligent take on life.

This post hits the nail on the proverbial head - says it all. No need for me to add to it, just to say I like it.

I'm adding you to my blog roll to get my daily *fix*.

Sage said...

I tend to agree with you, books change blogs irrevocably.. me I'm not looking for a publisher to set up a deal just to enjoy myself and have fun with what I am doing.

Mrs. S. said...

Oh crap! This post made me do a quick check of your links to make sure I'm still there!! Whew! Thank goodness I'm not popular!

Gina said...

I used to read a blog about a writer who was trying to get a novel published. but it wasn't just about that, it was about his day to day life. Then the book got published,.Then he made his blog private - i thoink he was worried about her new found "fame". Then he closed that down as she moaned he didn't have enough readers (wtf). He has got a new blog and although he hoped we would all link to him, he wouldn't be linking to us, only a few specialised blogs....yep its a case of when good bloggers turn bad.

Dan said...

Deb: You can write fine, so shush :P

Scatterbrain: Welcome, and thank you :D Glad you agree with what I've said - though agreeing with me is the start of a slippery slope ;)

Sage: Welcome to you too :) Good luck with getting a deal, I hope your blog keeps it's character :D

Burg: Don't fret, I've not removed any links, just subscriptions in reader, and I still read you (when you publish!)

Gina: I know what you mean - the "popular" blogs turn into a clique and ignore the normal small people that have been there for years.