Splotchy: What is your blog?
BeckEye: The Pop Eye
S: When and why did you start blogging?
B: I started blogging in June 2005. I always wanted to be a writer but I never had the discipline or patience to make a career of it. And I was always concerned that doing it for a living would suck the fun out of it. Blogging gave me an excuse to write everyday and the opportunity to have my ramblings seen by people other than me and my friends/family.
S: Did you stop blogging?
B: Yes.
S: When did you stop blogging?
B: My last post was May 23, 2012.
S: What were any factors that contributed to stopping?
B: Social media was an easier way for everyone to share their thoughts with the world. It felt like blogs (other than the biggies) weren’t really popular anymore. My readership and engagement had fallen quite a bit since the “glory days.” I used to do American Idol recaps that got a huge amount of attention. But by my blog’s final year, I was lucky to get one or two comments on a recap. It just felt like no one cared about any of my thoughts on pop culture anymore, and that includes me! I had been freelance writing/blogging for a couple of entertainment sites, one of which was a straight up gossip site. I remember one week having to write five or six different posts about the Sandra Bullock/Jesse James divorce scandal. Things like that really got under my skin and burned me out on the pop culture/entertainment world.
S: Do you ever miss it?
B: Yes, sometimes. I definitely miss that huge spike in traffic during AI season! There were some great things that came out of the experience, like getting to do a guest post for the official Project Runway blog, and covering the Walking Dead attraction at Halloween Horror Nights (that included a free trip to Florida and dinner with Greg Nicotero). I also miss the camaraderie between folks in the blogging community.
S: Do you think you’ll ever pick it up again? Why or why not?
B: I doubt it. For one, I lost nearly all of the Photoshops I created for my posts in a Google/Blogger syncing debacle. I’m still not over that! I lost some of the artwork for my template too, so if you look at my blog now it’s in a generic format and all the pictures are missing. I suppose I could fix that if I really wanted to, but I just don’t see the point. It’s a lot easier to communicate with people and put stuff out there on social media. And most of the friends I met through blogging are Facebook and/or real life friends now, so I don’t feel the need to keep doing it to keep that sense of community alive.
S: How do you feel about social media? Does it give you the same feelings as blogging? Why or why not?
B: I don’t think sharing on social media gives me the SAME feeling as blogging. Pretty much everyone uses social media but not everyone had a blog. It took a little more effort and attention for someone to seek out and read a blog, whereas it’s the easiest thing in the world to scroll through your FB or Twitter feed to see what everyone’s thinking. But I think social media’s daily presence in our lives actually can help create a tighter-knit community.
S: How do you feel about the state of the Internet in general? This is a very broad question, so feel free how to answer as you see fit.
B: The Internet is just the best and the worst, isn’t it? It’s so great to be able to have information on demand, connect with people, discover new things, see all the amazing content that people create, or just waste an entire day watching dog videos. But the flip side of that is the proliferation of “fake news,” “alternative facts,” and all of the arguing and division that comes along with that. Everyone thinks they’re an expert. Everyone thinks they’re a content creator. You used to have to have an original thought in your head to attract an audience. Stealing material used to be considered bad. But no one cares about originality or talent anymore. Nothing is real. Everything is recorded. Everyone is performing. It’s frustrating, but if you can navigate through all the nonsense and know which platforms to avoid, the pros of being online outweigh the cons.
***************
Thank you, BeckEye, for these wonderful answers!!