"Blogs Aren't Legit Writing"
Saturday March 22, 2008
I recently had a couple readers forward me a small rant from someone stating that blogs aren't legitimate writing. This person indicated that blogs were basically a way for people to see their name in print, and nothing else. I think this was the attitude of "if anyone can do it, than it's not legit."
The thing is, everyone can blog. But, everyone cannot blog well.
What makes a form of writing legit? I've heard people say that if you're paid for it, you're therefore a professional. I've been paid for blogging in my writing career- some very lucrative, TYVM. And, despite the informality of a blog, I've written some decent pieces in blog form.
Do you view blogging as legitimate writing? Why or why not?
Comments
“The thing is, everyone can blog. But, everyone cannot blog well.”
Ouch! The nice thing about blogging is you can go back and change things after publication!
Rather than using two sentences to assert that no one can blog well, I suggest,
“The thing is, everyone can blog, but not everyone can blog well.”
All writing is legitimate, whether done as a communication tool or as an art form. Whether it is competent writing depends on the skill with which it is done under the rules and conventions by which we agree to judge each genre. Poetry and journalism can hardly be judged by the same standards, yet each is “legitimate” writing and an integral part of our literary culture.
Professional writing is generally writing done for compensation, or in expectation of compensation, and a professional writer is one who is, or intends to be, paid for his or her efforts. But professionalism depends as much on the degree of one’s commitment as on the level or consistency of remuneration one receives for one’s work. Writers can’t be licensed like other professionals, and, while some segments of the writing profession have their own accreditation processes, writing is, and is likely to remain, an area in which nearly anyone can compete, professionally or otherwise.
Blogging can be anything from occasional blabbering to a regularly published electronic newsletter filled with facts, opinions, and sometimes even breaking news. It is truly democracy in action, as it is fast becoming an alternative to the more costly and labor intensive, and thus more exclusionary, print and electronic media. Matt Drudge started out as a blogger, and many of today’s most popular bloggers are highly skilled columnists whose forum is a high-revenue, wide-read medium that doesn’t leave ink on your fingers.
Judging the legitimacy of someone’s writing, or of a writing genre or medium, is like judging the legitimacy of one’s religion or political belief system. You can challenge the facts and underlying logic, criticize the form and content, and even say it’s socially or intellectually irresponsible; but you can’t say it’s not legitimate, because free expression is among the most fundamental underpinnings of a free society, and there’s no accounting for taste.
I agree not everyone can blog well. However, when it is done well, it is like a column — only more alive!
Legitimate: in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles
If Shakespeare wrote his plays on cocktail napkins they’d still be Shakespeare’s (a rose by any other name…). Whether it be personal blog or a New York Times article, the “legitimacy” of the piece lies in how well it fits our “standards/principles” of what journalism should be. But that’s a whole other can of worms…
Basically, I see this as an issue of semantics as to what “legitimate” refers to rather than a “legitimate” argument against blogs.
Blog content writing is legitimate writing. When your content is for keywords and someone is paying for expertise in a specific form of writing and word count.
Having written over 200 such posts (word count minimum 176) in a span of roughly three and a half months, and making in excess of $800, is it legitimate? I say yes. Not everyone has the desire or ability to do this type of writing. Create a fresh keyword headline, create a percentage keyword body, using correct grammar and punctuation; how many people can, or want to do that? Only a legitimate writer does in my opinion.
Gosh, some folks are rather, um, anal aren’t they? I say, who cares? What makes it legit? Or, what makes it – what IS the opposite? NON-legit? HA! Write what you want. Express yourself the way you want to. Write as if it were an intimate conversation…legit? I never gave that a thought. Get paid? Not get paid? Write because you want to. Because you need to. Because you can’t not write. Who gives a rat’s a33 whether someone judges it to be legit. If I write it, and I think it’s “legit” it is. Do what you want. You can blog for free. A paycheck never made anything ‘legit.’ It does make it a source of income, though, and that’s nice. But, legit? Gimme a break. Do what you must. Above all, enjoy it. All writing is legit…it’s a form of art, and art is whatever any artist says it is.
I agree that anyone can write, and they prove it every day with good and bad writing. The best feature of the blog is that search engines find it and point to it.
People will see the quality of your writing and some of those people might be editors looking for writers. A good site has blogs as well as longer, better written articles.
There are plenty of blogs out there there that are the proverbial “rant”, but more that are informational and well-written.
I work on three different blogs doing roughly 15 or more posts a day. I think that’s writing. I know that not every one has the knack for it. But it’s great that everyone can try.
It also makes me wonder why I went ahead and got a Journalism diploma when in fact it doesn’t matter if I have one or not online…
I definitely think blogging is a legitimate form of writing as expressed by some of the wise opinions here. It is how you approach the work you do. For so called third world countries, social media like blogs have served to really get the word out and make a difference on socio-economic and political issues.It has also revolutionalized minds and ultimately nations. Again, like someone pointed out blogging could be professional or just plain blabbering about nothing. I choose it as a medium to make change and keep it more on the porfessional side. Feel free to visit my blog http://www.ladybrille.blogspot.com
I think it entirely depends on the blogger and their skill level. If a blogger is a good writer, then a blog is a legitimate form of writing. Blogging is just another medium for writing to be used and perfected to convey ideas, inspire others and make money.
I teach my kindergarten students that the purpose of writing is to communicate your thoughts, feelings, and news to another person. I’m not going to stop someone in the middle of a conversation and tell them that their sentence structure is incorrect or that they have used the wrong word. I’m not going to ask them if they have a worthy reason for speaking to me. Communication is all we have to separate us from darkness- get a life people! You obviously have too much free time to devote to nonsense.
First, always consider the source. For someone to make this comment, I would first ask, “Who says so?”
Second, it is never about the form the writing takes, but the quality of the writing in that form. Yes, anyone can write, but not everyone can write well.
I have 12 books in print and I blog just about every day. It’s a way to keep the juices flowing, but it’s also a legitimate form in and of itself. Anyone who thinks otherwise is, of course, entitled to their opinion, but I think he or she will find that serious writers object fiercely to this absolute. Almost nothing is absolute. Certainly not brains, as the critic you mentioned so brilliantly illustrates.
Jae Baeli
Writing is writing. Some blogs will be good and some not even worth your time. Is blogging legit? Well,the good ones certainly seem to aquire an audience. What more do you need to prove their legitimacy?!!
I used to think that receiving a check for my writing meant it was legitimate writing. However, blogging IS legitimate writing in any number of cases. First, you have this particular blog post. That we’re commenting shows we’re reading it and reacting to it. Allena does get paid to put this stuff up here (and friends, when was the last time any of us wrote something that was error free, eh? Ease up on the grammar critique). I write a blog about writing issues. It’s been a source of work for me in a few cases. I don’t get paid to write it, but it’s legitimate. Why? Because I’m a professional writer? Because it’s offering a service? How about just because it is? Would you say that the blog of a nationally published author is not legit? Then explain Jennifer Weiner’s blog and Tess Gerritsen’s blog. They’re not paid to write those, yet those blogs are certainly legitimate writing avenues for them.
It’s true many blogs aren’t written well. That doesn’t mean one bad sentence makes the entire site invalid. We all make mistakes, and we do so in print sometimes, too. Blogs being more immediate forms of publication make them more prone to error, in my opinion. Not too many of us sit here typing with an editor to correct our work. To say that blogs aren’t legitimate is akin to saying YouTube doesn’t show videos.
Allena, I’ve posted about this on my blog today. A little link love for you!
http://loriwidmer.blogspot.com
Know what I find interesting? The person who lambasted Allena here for having an unworthy post made a spelling error – proof positive that none of us are perfect, nor should we put ourselves out there as such.
Of course blogging is legitimate. It’s writing that entertains and/or informs.
It has a place in our landscape, just as magazines and newspapers have their place.
People write blogs. People read blogs. People pay people who write blogs. In our society anything done legally for money is by its very definition legitimate, correct? I think the better question is “Is blogging good writing?”
We all know that people pay people for crap writing everyday. I mean really, did you see the movie “Xtreme Primate?” It’s a totally horrible movie about a snowboarding chimp, but the screenwriter got paid didn’t he?
Just because you earn a living at something doesn’t make what you do worthy of high praise. I mean John Grisham sells millions of books, does that make him a good writer? On the other hand, just because something is popular and loved by the masses doesn’t make it any less literary. I mean there’s a reason regular folks like Shakespeare – you don’t have to be a literary scholar to enjoy humor, a well-written lines and a lovely story.
Blogging is a popular literary expression of today’s modern times. But high art it ain’t. And that’s OK too!
Wow. Well, we are all reading this, and correct me if I am wrong, but we are also reacting to it. I’d say blogging is legitimate.
Cut Allena some grammatical slack. She’s busy. If she can write a post like this and get us all to react to it… I’d say she is one fine writer, er, sorry Allena, blogger.
Right on!
Accountability is crucial. Many blogs, especially most of the political ones, allow anyone with ten fingers and half a thought to make a comment with no recourse. Any opinion or presumption can be cast as fact and there are few retractions or corrections (but plenty of flame wars). The fact is, I consider blogs legitimate writing but I do not consider it journalism.
No no, don’t cut me slack! I should know better to proof before I hit send. I do need to slow down sometimes. My newsletter went out at nine Easter night, and I really wanted to get this out there despite the holiday. My bad. Sorry it took me so long to say THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS:) Long, busy day! Thanks!
Ok, I’ve had time to read through and synthesize a bit. Forgive me for my own mealy-mouthed position, as I really just wanted to get the discussion out there on a deadline, and it looks like that certainly worked out.
However weak, I do wish to assert that legitimacy is, in my opinion, given mostly by the aspect of payment. I’m sorry that’s not a vaulted, ‘writerly’ opinion, but my feeling is that currency is the only medium that “we” all agree to having some value, right? That’s why we trade in it, right, because we agree as to its value?
I guess with my reasoning, then, things like PLR articles, 500 crappy SEO articles, etc, are all “legit” too. These are all things which I’ve seen ardently argued about. I recently saw an article in some magazine…Byline I think?… about genre fiction versus literary fiction, same story, same argument… which is legitimate/better/more valuable.
Like someone above said, the question cannot be wholly answered without some agreement as to the the definition of it.
Saying that it’s the almighty dollar does make me uneasy, don’t get me wrong, but I cannot think of anything else on which we could rest as an uncontested value.
For those curious, the author of the mini rant/email who said blogs were not legitimate writing and basically for self-aggrandizement was a published novelist.
If blogging was not a legitimate form of writing there would not be so many people getting paid to do it. (For those that don’t even know people actually get paid to work for companies and organizations who need qualified blog posters.)
Put another way, I believe that blog writing is just as valid of a form of communication as a newspaper circulation as well as radio, television, and internet broadcasting.
Along with that, persons who set up their own blogs are considered to be “publishers”. There is, of course something to be said for the quality of blog posts, and even blog comments. The better quality the blog the more readership and participation from an audience.
Blog sites are run the same way websites and various forms of media are run-to attract viewers. They are also meant to encourage people to become involved in their communities.
Adding to that, the competitiveness of the blogging world adds a spark of motivation in writers who want to make a mark in the world. A blogger has just as much of a chance at creating a great blog as television or internet broadcasters do of creating high-rating programming.
The best blogs are those that attract the highest audiences. The best bloggers know how to create a blog site that ignites participation from people form all over the world.
Sure blogging is a very legitimate form of writing. For many personal life coaches like myself, a blog is a must! Are there some poorly written blogs? Why, sure! Just as there are well-written books and poorly written books, there are some good blogs and not so good blogs; whether they actually produce a profit has absolutely nothing to do with the legitimacy of anyone’s writing.
Writing is and has always been by and largely judged on the basis of it’s quality. Now, of course there are those people who are very particular about where something has been published and if it was for pay, etc. etc. However, with the internet these ways of judging writing is archaic and way outdated.
If one arm of the logic is that “The thing is, everyone can blog. But, everyone cannot blog well.” I feel the argument falls short. Lots of PAID writing is not well written. Blogging is perhaps more legit than the infinite number of newspaper articles that are unfortunately not even read in entirety EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. If someone reads the writing, it is legit. The stuff that is not legit is the stuff that doesn’t get read–kind of like if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it happen? P.S. I don’t mean to discount journal writing as it can be what gets the juices flowing. However, I consider that more of a tool of the trade…
Writing and blogging is legitimate it’s some of the people passing them off as writers who aren’t.
Please pardon my typo. I meant to say,
“Writing and blogging are legitimate. It’s some of the people passing themselves off as writers who aren’t.”
Do you have a link to the “small rant” you mention in your first paragraph. I’d love to fully grasp what your emailers are referring to.
Thanks,
Deb
Hi Deb Ng, I saw your reference to my article at your blog freelancewritinggigs.com. Unfortuantely, this wasn’t a public post that she put up, it was an email forward of an email. That’s why I am being vague, it wasn’t mine to give out. Heck, it probably wasn’t even my readers to give out. Sort of an “what do you think of this email” To aid in the discussion, I did put up some details such as that this person was speaking from the standpoint of a published novelist with a website…. Kinda gives you an idea where she’s coming from I suppose….She was slightly older lady, over 60, but was tech-savvy I think, as she had an author’s website listed.
@Mel, don’t worry about typos here, I’m full of them, haven’t you noticed my grammatical beating!? Its the nature of rushing…
@Ivy and above-Blogs in general tired me, personally. I found myself writing way too much filler. So I am sure I contributed to the ‘illegitimate’ blogs lol.
Wow the traffic, didn’t know I was going to hit a nerve. Interesting discussion!
Blog writers only want to see their names in print? *scratches head* That idea makes no sense to me, since I write under a penname, and I blog under an intentionally different username. How does that affect the “blogs aren’t legit” argument?
Insults are only as insulting as the insulted lets them be, and in this case, I think the accusation against bloggers stems more from ignorance than anything else, if not fear of an unknown genre whose growing popularity and/or authority the accuser can’t understand.
In all honesty, my parents treat fiction—fantasy in particular—the same exact way. It’s childish escapism, they say, refusing to consider the possibility that it can teach things. (Especially not when you get elves and dwarves and faeries into the mix. “Write something meaningful,” says Mom, when she finds some notes for the book I’ve spent a few years writing.)
And the entire concept of “legitimate writing” is only as strong as the accuser’s definition of “legitimate.” That’s a poor word choice, since there is no objective definition of “legitimate” that can make blogs illegitimate. Someone could say that blogs aren’t “skillful” writing, in reference to those copy-and-pasters, out there, but even that would be a logical fallacy of hasty generalization.
Caradee, Thank you for your well thought out and well delivered response.
You said that there’s no objective definition of “legitimate” which is why I brought money into the deal. (Isn’t currency the one value we all agree on? hmm, there’s bartering and etc, so perhaps not!)
Again, thanks for some great food for thought. Excellent, interesting post!
Blogging is a medium, that is all, and a new medium that is still being defined/explored.
You could almost think of it as similar to photography. When the technology of photography was developed, you can bet painters and portraitists felt threatened. I’m sure they thought it wasn’t a legit medium. But here we are, now, and photography is used for documentation, for news, for history, for art, for personal exploration, for daily snap shots. There are great photographers of world reknown, and there’s my mom who takes birthday pictures.
Much like blogging, it’s all about what you do with it.
Sometimes success in life (as well as readers of blogs, magazines, books or whatever) refers more to what is the real impact of it? Is it simply a place to rant and rave about certain issues or is there some point to the writing? Even the rants and raves can have facts attached to them. It may have nothing to do with money, but a much more valuable commodity — leadership. How many people follow such-and-such blog? Perhaps that is the reason there is money behind it. Yet, there are also blogs with equally solid facts attached to them (I think someone else mentioned above) which is just as valid.
As for the journalistic rant above somewhere, since when is even the published newspaper much into the real journalism anymore? The blog is the 21st century equivalent to the Gutenberg printing press of long ago.
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