Slashdot Mirror
Columnist Turned Accidental Baseball Blogger
Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "Wall Street Journal Online tech columnist Jason Fry started playing around with a New York Mets blog almost a year ago. In today's Real Time column, he outs himself as one of the writers behind Faith & Fear in Flushing, and writes about the stress of blogging: "The downside of being a blog writer? Being a blog administrator. I also wasn't prepared for how much work blogging was. Baseball already took up three hours a night; now it took up four -- at least. Blogging about a thrilling extra-inning win was easy; blogging about a dull-as-dishwater loss wasn't. And with more and more people reading us and commenting about our posts, blogging sometimes became a duty; we wrote at least one new entry for 190 straight days, including ones when one or both of us was tired, on vacation or not particularly inspired."" Heh. Boy, does this refrain ever sound familiar.
Outsource!
I'm sure there are people in India happy to blog for $1.73/hr.
Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
Do what the slashdot editors do -- just use the same posts over and over with slightly different headlines.
The bill for all the laxatives required to spew that amount of verbal diarrhea.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
No one realizes just how much work goes into any "hobby project website" until they start doing it themselves. Recently, I was elected into one position in a hobby association, dumped into the "webmaster" position, and also administer the forum software. Man, was it easy to be on the other side of the table when all I had to do was read what others posted. I had no idea how much work content, coding, and administrating is/was.
Then you have to deal w/the users of your website. Drama, questions, problems, bugs, whatever. Ugh.
I'm already burned out from that one particular project and I have my own website, other websites, and real life I have to deal with. I have gotten to the point where at least three days a week are "offline time". I sit down with a book and headphones or do something w/the wife or whatever.
I have talked about making your hobby your job and the problems that causes. Looks like other people are learning about it too.
And with more and more people reading us and commenting about our posts, blogging sometimes became a duty;
Only in your own friggin' heads.
I have a blog that's fairly popular (not the link here and I'm not posting it). Sometimes, if I go a while without posting, I get comments, some quite nasty, asking why (or just complaining that) I haven't posted recently.
My thought is, "Pay my rent and then we can talk about my responsibility to write this damn thing." I write when I'm in the mood and I don't write when I'm not in the mood. If people can't deal with that for free, then they can go find another blog.
Any responsibility these guys feel to doing this daily is of their own making. If they're not getting paid for doing it when they don't want to do it, then they're morons. If they ARE getting paid, then they need to stop whining.
wrote at least one new entry for 190 straight days, including ones when one or both of us was tired, on vacation or not particularly inspired.
*whiners*
I guess this goes to show people will read anything reguardless of the quality of content. Hell, your reading this.....
Am no fek Buddhist, but this is enlightenment.
Stop blogging then, wouldn't that be the best solution? No one will care if another blog disappears and even if they do, who cares?
Blogging is hard? Compared to what? Watching TV? Digging ditches, cleaning septic tanks, plumbing, and about a million other jobs are much harder than merely posting trivial and useless opinions on fluff topics.
Get real.
I was wondering how fast someone would post a "blogging=crap" comment.
Third post -- not bad! And you even managed to use a metaphor that fit in with the pejorative!
Just write when you feel like you should. Write only when it means something to you. Don't try to write for the sake of an audience. If you get bored with it, do something else. Or write about different things. Baseball audience doesn't want to hear about your views on music or politics or curling? Well too bad for them!
I write in my own personal blog every day of the year. I hate it when people whine about this. And stress? I shudder to think what would happen if these people ever got real jobs.
28:06:42:12 - That is when the world will end...
Keeping that stream of blog posts coming is a lot harder than most people think before they actually try it.
In that, blogging is no different than any other kind of content creation. Especially non-profit content creation.
What makes the difficulty surprising, I think, is how many people don't seem to have it. You look around in blogville and see all these people posting at least once a day, and a lot of them have large readerships. But if you look closely you find that a lot of these folks are doing one or more of:
If none of those apply to you, that leaves the not-so-simple task of regularly trying to write something interesting and suitable for at least amateur publication. Anyone who ever made a zine or a comic will tell you it's a very hard habit to get into. But with blogging, you have the hyper-productive blogs in front of you, and the blog companies telling you how easy it is, and you dive in expecting it to be cake.
And then there's the whole templates-and-hacking issue, at least if you don't want the blog to be ugly. Yep, lotsa work.
This Like That - fun with words!
Professional columnists and cartoonists sometimes prepare a few submissions ahead of time. Thought-pieces, retrospectives, discussion of long-term trends, etc. don't depend as much on timely, up-to-the-minute news. If nothing timely inspires an entry or exhaustion strikes, then post one from inventory.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Then get paid for it.
If you want to blog for the fun of it, don't take it so seriously. If you miss a day that's just too bad. If you regret missing a day, that's fine.
If I'm on vacation and miss blogging for a few days to a week or two, too bad. And if people complain, let them pay me to do it daily.
Boy, does this refrain ever sound familiar.
Well duh, Hemos. Advise the man on the way to deal with "new article" monotony: repost previous game recaps. Dupes 4tw.
RW
They use Brasky's foreskin as a tarp when it rains at Yankee stadium. Stick that in your blog, Mr. Fry.
-BB
About the same time they recognize the death of Apple -- uh, I mean BSD -- wait, the web -- OK, how about e-mail -- oh, nevermind.
Yes, anything you write about more than once on the internet, and OMG suddenly it's a Blog!
blog this! blog that! blogs about blogs! It's not a webcam, it's a still image blog! Hey look, it's not a directory, it's a file blog! Apache logs, nope, they are web blogs!(get it?).
Yes, 2005's the year where suddenly EVERYTHING is redefined as a freakin' blog. Maybe 2006 is the year we go outside.
A couple years ago I was asked by some pet supply business in California if I wanted them to market my Pet Foil Hat Technology in their magazine, and I'd mass produce them. Since that certainly takes a lot of the fun out of it, I declined, even though I stood to make a little money out of it, and maybe gain some more fame. But it just isn't worth it if fun becomes work, just for the sake of money.
I feel the same about my blog. I have [probably] enough writing talent to be a somewhat popular blogger, but I'm just not going to get that deep into it unless I'm willing to take on the pressure of performing nightly. Writing. Performing at writing funny, or entertaining stuff, I mean.
If I had some of my more web-savvy friends help out, I could probably whip up a random-blog-post generator, that would automatically update my blog with random crap if I didn't meet a posting deadline. The public might catch on though if I was writing about the need to conserve energy, and the news just announced cold fusion was made possible.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Where else holds a World Series for a game only played in one country?
How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
"why do you call it football when there is no goddamn kicking in the game?"
You kick the ball when making a punt , attempting a field goal, starting the game or half by kicking off to the receiving team and after a touch down you kick the ball to score an extra point.
For more information about the game please visit http://www.wikipedia.org/ or visit this link.
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
Two, you dumb shit, unless you think Toronto is in the US.
ASSHOLE!!!
posting trivial and useless opinions on fluff topics
Like dismissing an entire medium* on Slashdot? That takes a lot of work, doesn't it?
Sure, those jobs are a lot more physically difficult (with the exception of watching TV). But anyone who spends time programming, writing websites -- heck, just writing -- should recognize that mental work takes effort too. And yes, there are a lot of "fluff" blogs -- probably the majority, though that just reflects Sturgeon's Law.
Posting fluff is easy. Keeping a schedule, or trying to write something more than "OMG my team won/lost/tied!" takes time and effort, no matter what the topic.
*IMO, "blogs" are simply a subset of the web, and the label has more to do with the structure and management tools than the actual content. So I don't consider blogs to be any more or less important than the rest of the web.
(And, of course, baseball is played in many other countries, even if the MLB doesn't have teams in them.)
From my experience, the length of most blog's entries are inversely proportional to the number of entries.
* First post: On and on about the blog
* Second: On and on about response
* Eighth: Voicing opinion on some overplayed incident
* Twelveth: Searching for new topics
* Twentieth: "Anyone reading this?"
* Twenty-fifth: "Sorry all but I'm going to have to stop the blog. Work's really busy now. Look for me to come back soon!"
I've been running a blog for over 4 years now (it may be in my .sig, I forget now), and sometimes I post every day, sometimes I've even gone 6 or 7 days without posting, but it's still there, and people read it, and sometimes they complain, but really, what does it matter?
I've got the content there, I do it for myself, and if people read it, they read it. It's not like it's paying my mortgage, or even for my bandwidth.
Trolling: For those days when blogging is just too hard.
More power to you Philip J.- er, Jason Fry! God speed and God bless and stuff.
Flamebait? Yeah, sure, why not?
"we wrote at least one new entry for 190 straight days, including ones when one or both of us was tired, on vacation or not particularly inspired."
Heh. Boy, does this refrain ever sound familiar.
Oh yeah, sure. With the exception of Taco's diatribe against Blizzard last week, how much content do Slashdot editors* write in a week? Maybe 50 words?
* for all values of editors = submission moderators
Have fun: Join D.N.A. (National Dyslexics Association)
You saw it here first. ©
"Where else holds a World Series for a game only played in one country?"
Your point is valid (I think it's your point)... don't call it a World Series if only American and Canadian teams get to compete.
But, then again, don't call it a World's Fair if it's only held in one city/country.
And, of course, baseball isn't played in Japan, in Korea, in the Dominican Republic, in Venezuela, in Cuba, etc.
The fact of the matter is that "World Series" is a legacy name, that was created when baseball was really only played in North America... as such, it really was a world series. I think they should open it up to other leagues now, or stop calling it the WS.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
They do have real jobs. As is made quite clear, this is something they do as a hobby. You know, something they do outside of their normal work.
Let me guess, you were just too fucking busy at your "real" job to actually read the summary and the articles before posting, right?
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
Heh. Boy, does this refrain ever sound familiar.
That's probably because it's a dupe.
"he CHOSE to administrate the blog, deal with the comments, etc."
There, I fixed it for you.
PS, you don't get to whine about something you choose to do. That makes you a crybaby (and deservedly so).
The fact is, it's the World Series, and the World Championship of Baseball because the finest baseball players are competing. Not because we're arbitrarily excluding other countries. The best players from other countries come here to compete-making it truly a World Series.
The same could be said for American football, except that there is much less international interest. Which makes it the world championship of American football basically by default, because no one cares.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
My wife asks me why I do it. I tell her that it's therapeutic, that it's interesting to me, and that I enjoy it -- most of the time. She thinks I am crazy. Maybe so. But at least I am having a good time doing it.
I think everyone is being awfully hard on these guys. Trying to come up with something interesting and worthwhile to say on a repeated basis is a hard thing to do. Sure, there are no major repurcussions if they slacked off and didn't update as often, but they made a personal commitment. They decided to do it, and they did it. I think that is pretty impressive when compared to the majority of projects that I see. I think that calling them whiners is a bit harsh, definitely derogatory, and by saying that you don't have to post, you're just pushing them to give up on their commitment. Instead, it appears that they put in some work and thought, and they pulled it through, without giving up. Unfortunately, for their work, they've become whiners.
In my opinion, the whiners did a fine job.
-Da3vid-
Not yet. Wait until we find your weapons of mass destruction.
Laws are for people with no friends.
Why, these guys double post all their stuff as well?
I read on /. (so it must be true) that the World Series is named that way because it was originally sponsored by the World News paper.
But, according this it wasn't:
http://roadsidephotos.com/baseball/name.htm
I don't know what to believe, but please, just continue beating up on Americans. We like it.
It's not a "World Series" in the sense that teams from around the world compete for it, but it is a competition between the world's best players. There are very few teams in the world that could beat any major league team in a best of 7 series, let alone the World Series champion.
"You kick the ball when making a punt"
So why not call it Punting?
No one realizes just how much work goes into any "hobby project website" until they start doing it themselves. Recently, I was elected into one position in a hobby association, dumped into the "webmaster" position, and also administer the forum software.
Translation: I became an officer in my WoW guild, and volunteered to run the guild forums!
=P
I think since I started "blogging," I might have posted 80 articles, and that has been more than a year ago. So out of 365+ days, I post maybe once or twice a week on average.
/. more often. If I don't have something I feel is worth saying, I don't say anything.
I could have written more often, but then my blog would quickly degenerate being from a semi-serious source of information on various topics (ranging from book reviews to rants about spam blacklisting services, probably my most popular post ever by number of comments and search engine hits) to being your classic LiveJournal angst-and-drama-fest.
You won't find a post about what I had for breakfast on my blog. I think if I forced myself to post every single day, the quality would go way, way down. So, I completely agree. It's best in the long run to post when you have something useful to say, otherwise hold off. Incidentally, it's also the reason I don't post comments on
picpix image polls. create - share - vote. fun!
So why not call it Punting?
In casual, face-to-face converstations amongst football enthusists it is. However, in the media or on the web it is not as often refered to as such, probably so misunderstandings don't occur.
Is better than blogging for a team like the Royals or Pirates. Their season is over around June. At least the Mets were in contention until August, have exciting players and play in NY.
100% Insightful
I didn't know slashdot had editors.
Name calling aside, I have to agree. I'm a huge (American) football fan, but I think the name does lead to some confusion especially considering that the rest of the world has an international sport called football (American soccer) which has undoubtedly been around longer than American football. However, the name will never change. Like the Imperial system, we will only give it up when you pry it from our cold dead hands. I also think that calling it the World Series is kind of dumb, but again it is tradition. I also cringe whenever the winner of the Super Bowl, NBA Championship, or World Series is called "the world champion".
Not to get off topic, but I just don't understand the whole hooligan thing. Here in the U.S., the worst we ever get is tons of students rushing the field after a big win. At worst, one or two die when the goal post is torn down and smacks them in the head, and this happens VERY RARELY. Over in Europe, it is actually dangerous to go to a game. I don't know how frequent this is as I don't live there, but it seems like there's always a huge brawl between fans of opposing teams. It also seems like the fans quite often throw things onto the field (the incident of the guy getting hit on the shoulder with a flare comes to mind). Also, a big match being played in AN EMPTY STADIUM?!?!?! I cannot fathom that ever happening here. Although a few years ago we had that incident in Cleveland where the fans started throwing bottles onto the field, but again that is very rare. It's almost as if being a fan of a team over there is like being a follower of a religion. What the fuck could a guy say to you at a game to get you into a fist fight?! I can understand defending yourself, but the big brawls are inexcusable.
His complaint that he feels a duty to post is like the many people who complain that they loathe cell phones because they "have" to answer whenever someone calls. The answer to both is easy: If you don't want to, don't. If you don't want to be interrupted, just ignore your cell phone. Heck, turn if off for a few hours. Sure, some people will complain, "You didn't answer." (If it's your boss and you're being paid to be on call, perhaps he has a point.) Tell them you were otherwise occupied, that this will frequently happen, and they should accept it. If they continue complaining, tell them off; they're the one being rude.
The same goes for your blog. If you don't have something to say, don't. Many of my favorite blogs post irregularly at best. But when the person writes, they've got something interesting to say. I'll happily take two months between posts if those posts are great. I'd prefer it to something pointless daily. If someone politely requests you post more often, again, just explain that you don't have anything to say. Many complain they hate visiting daily waiting for something new; suggest that they try an RSS reader which will alert them to new content. If they're rude, tell them off; you don't owe them anything. (Again, if blogging is somehow your job, the requirements change. But that's not really the point. Lots of people have to do their job when they don't want to.)
Search 2010 Gen Con events
Oh and why do you call it football when there is no goddamn kicking in the game?
We asked ourselves, "how about calling it rugby? Nope, sounds like something the British do to sheep."
How hard it is to a) write that witty but nonsensical comment at the end of the submission, 2) press submit.
...but "blogging" has a nasty sound to it. Let me demonstrate:
"Wall Street Journal Online tech columnist Jason Fry started playing around with a New York Mets blog almost a year ago. In today's Real Time column, he outs himself as one of the writers behind Faith & Fear in Flushing, and writes about the stress of blogging: "The downside of being a blog writer? Being a blog administrator. I also wasn't prepared for how much work blogging was. Baseball already took up three hours a night; now it took up four -- at least . Blogging about a thrilling extra-inning win was easy; blogging about a dull-as-dishwater loss wasn't. And with more and more people reading us and commenting about our posts, blogging sometimes became a duty; we wrote at least one new entry for 190 straight days, including ones when one or both of us was tired, on vacation or not particularly inspired."
...where could I go to receive ads from the WSJ about someone posting unedited stuff on a webpage about baseball...? Now I know: Slashdot! By the way, does anybody like know where I could get ads about gossip on Jennifer Lopez? OMG PLEASE POST THEM HERE!!!
>>WTF could a guy say... Obviously you've never been to a Steelers game.
But seriously, when the players are professionals the fans are much more detached (well the sober, reasonalbe, USofAlien ones are anyway). When the players are the fans' little darlings fights break out all the time, and have for at least 40 years.
Yes well, they only kick the damn ball a couple of times during the whole game. It's like calling baseball "buntball".
Favorite quote: "
You wouldn't call it batball either.
You're funny! I like this guy.
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.