The Blog Nobody May Read

I had a thought last night.

Actually, that's not quite true.

I had a thought, and then I had another thought about that thought, followed by a question about the second thought, which led to another question...

You get the picture.

My brain was doing laps.

🐭💨

And somehow, I ended up thinking about blogs.

More specifically...

Who actually reads them?

The Blogger's Wonder Circle

Here is how it started.

I need to write another blog.

Okay.

What should I write about?

That's a good question.

What do people want to read?

Hmm.

How do I know what people want to read?

I could look at what people are searching for.

Good idea.

So I look at Google.

Then I start looking at keywords.

Then search results.

Then website statistics.

Then Google Search Console.

Then I start wondering why some of our pages are getting impressions but hardly any clicks.

Then I wonder whether people actually read the blogs they click on.

Then I wonder who these people are.

Then I wonder where they came from.

Then I wonder where they go afterwards.

And somewhere around this point I realise...

I was supposed to be writing a blog.

The mouse is still running.

🐭💨

So, Who Reads Blogs?

This is where things get interesting.

Do you read blogs?

I mean actually read them.

Not the first two paragraphs before deciding you've found what you need.

Not scrolling down looking for the answer.

Not reading the heading, deciding it sounds promising, and then disappearing.

I'm talking about sitting down and reading the whole thing.

Because I think most of us are guilty of doing the quick version.

We search for something.

Google gives us a page.

We open it.

We skim.

We find the bit we want.

And off we go.

Which makes me wonder...

Who are all these people writing thousands of words on the internet?

Oh.

Wait.

I'm one of them.

🐭

And Then There Is the Blogger

Let's talk about the other side.

The blogger.

The person sitting at a computer thinking:

"People need to know about this."

So they start writing.

Then they rewrite the opening.

Then they change the title.

Then they decide the title isn't quite right.

Then they wonder if the title has the right keywords.

Then they add headings.

Then they remove a heading.

Then they find a picture.

Then they wonder if the picture is the right size.

Then they read the whole thing again.

Then they find a typo.

Then another one.

Eventually, after a surprising amount of time, the blog is ready.

Publish.

There it is.

Out in the world.

And now we wait.

Does Anyone See It?

This is the part I find fascinating.

You publish a blog and, in your head, you've put something out there for the world to discover.

You imagine people finding it.

Reading it.

Maybe learning something.

Maybe enjoying it.

Maybe even thinking, "That was actually quite good."

Perhaps they'll leave a comment.

Maybe they'll share it.

Maybe they'll click through to another page.

And then you look at the statistics.

Three people visited.

😂

Who were they?

Were they real people?

Was one of them me?

Was another Google?

Did someone accidentally click it while looking for something completely different?

We may never know.

And that's when the wonder circle starts again.

🐭💨

The Strange Thing About Likes and Comments

We also seem to expect some sort of reaction.

If someone likes a social media post, we see it.

If someone comments, we see it.

If someone shares it, we know about it.

A blog is different.

Someone can read the entire thing, think it's wonderful, find exactly what they were looking

for and then...

leave.

No like.

No comment.

No little message saying:

"Hello. I was here."

Nothing.

The blogger is left sitting there wondering whether anyone actually read the thing.

Which means there could be thousands of very thoughtful people quietly reading blogs all over the internet while the bloggers are sitting at home wondering if their article has disappeared into a black hole.

And Maybe That's the Point

Perhaps people don't read blogs in the way we imagine.

Maybe they don't want to become part of the conversation.

Maybe they're looking for an answer.

Maybe they're researching something before buying it.

Maybe they're learning how to do something.

Maybe they're comparing products.

Maybe they're trying to solve a problem.

Or maybe they simply stumbled across something interesting while falling down an internet rabbit hole.

We don't always know.

And perhaps that's okay.

Because a blog isn't necessarily a conversation.

Sometimes it's more like leaving a little note on a very large noticeboard and hoping the right person eventually walks past.

Which Brings Me Back to the Beginning

So here I am.

I started with a question about blogs.

That led to questions about readers.

Which led to questions about Google.

Which led to questions about statistics.

Which led to questions about whether anyone actually reads blogs.

And then I realised...

I was writing a blog about wondering whether anyone reads blogs.

😂

The mouse has completed several hundred laps by now.

🐭💨

And I think I've finally worked something out.

Maybe the point isn't knowing exactly who will read it.

Maybe the point is putting something useful, interesting or occasionally amusing out there.

Someone might find it today.

Someone else might find it six months from now.

Someone might read the whole thing.

Someone might read three paragraphs.

Someone might read the title and leave.

And that's okay.

Although...

If you've made it this far, I would quite like to know.

Because now I'm curious.

Are you actually reading this?

And if you are...

Hello. 👋

I think you've finally found the mouse.