Blogging about space blogging
Published on May 26, 2007 at 11:48 pm.
13 Comments.
Filed under blogging, conference blogging.
We had and interesting Space Bloggers Summit earlier today at the conference. I got to meet Flying Singer there. Jeff Foust was also there, though I didn’t get to speak much with him.
So, why was there a session on space blogging? That’s a good question. The blogosphere has become something pretty well accepted in some circles. There are the power bloggers that thousands, and even tens of thousands, of people read each day. Then, there are the nitch blogger that only a handful of people ever read each week. Some people post only news. Others post various factual topics. Some only expand on what others post. Others only post original ideas. Some write for a general audience, and others write for specialists. Some people post personal things on their blogs, but others never even mention themselves.
The reasons that people blog are as varied as the blogs themselves. Some see themselves as journalists filling a role that the mainstream media is failing to fill. Others simply see what they do as a service for others. Some see what they are doing as a mission to share their passion with the rest of the world. A couple of people seemed quite insistent that they had a mission to promote space in their blogs. Others, just blog because it is fun. Personally, I did it for fun, and then as a sort of social outlet. I’ve met several other bloggers, and have exchanged emails with a number of people through my blog, and I’ve even made a few very good friends through the blogosphere. But, I also feel a sense of duty, since I feel that people expect me to post things. When I get busy and don’t get a chance to post, I sort of feel like I am letting my readers and friends down.
There was talk about promoting your blog, making money with your blog (I don’t even make enough so far to cover the cost of my domain and web host, but that is OK, since I am doing this mostly for fun anyway).
But, bloggers are only half of the equation. There’s also blog readers. Why do people read blogs? Some read blogs to learn about topics that they can’t find in other traditional media, such as newspapers, television, or mainstream online sources. Others read blogs to maintain a social contact with other bloggers. And, some drop into a blog because of a link from another blog. I have noticed a growing number of people coming to my site from web search engines, but that is because I occasionally just post something about some topic that there isn’t much else written about. Most of the people who drop by don’t come back, but some do.
Now, I am thinking about my readers. Who reads my site? I really don’t know. There are a few friends who read my blog (some I have met, some I’ve never met, and some I only know by their pseudonym). And now and then I find someone who is a regular reader that I didn’t know anything about. And the few people that I know who regularly read Astroprof’s Page seem about as varied as they come. So, why do you read my site? What are you getting out of it? I am curious.
-Astroprof
Jessica on May 27, 2007 at 12:24 am: 1
Like I have said once before, I read your blog through the RSS feed in Livejournal. Jenni pointed me at your blog, and I set it up as a feed on LJ just so I could read it.
I read it because you always have something interesting to say. I have been to quite a few of your star parties, though not in a while, so you may not remember me. But either way, I always liked you and how you presented things, and I like how you write about things in your blog. Also, I’m bad at keeping up with the news, period, so reading your blog is a handy way of not getting woefully behind on space news.
Brian on May 27, 2007 at 1:29 am: 2
So, why do you read my site? What are you getting out of it?
You’re an interesting person with a unique point of view. I get the sense that you don’t just like to take pretty pictures of the sky you want to expand, explore and generally see homo sap spread across the galaxy.
I might be projecting.
Different points of view are the reason I read other blogs.
cephyn on May 27, 2007 at 1:50 am: 3
I read because I’m science nerd with a love for astronomy. And I learn a lot from your posts.
Mark Stronge on May 27, 2007 at 4:50 am: 4
I’ve been into astronomy for about 4 years and am chairman of our local astonomy society of which there are about 50 members. Your rss feed / blog is a great way for me to expand my knowledge and read about the latest astro news and what’s going on in the world of space and astronomy. Many thanks for a great blog and rss. I will continue topromote your website through our society.
Mark Stronge
Northern Ireland
http://www.eaas.co.uk
Natalie on May 27, 2007 at 9:05 am: 5
I’m an ex-astrophysics major (still working on my undergrad degree) and a blogger. I don’t remember how I came across your blog, but I added it to my RSS feeds, and it’s stuck around.
Because I subscribe to your feed, it doesn’t matter much to me how frequently you post, though of course I’m always excited to see a new one. You explain things clearly and thoroughly — I always come away from a post of yours having learned something.
Jeff Foust on May 27, 2007 at 9:40 am: 6
Astroprof,
I’m glad you made it to the summit; sorry I didn’t have a chance to talk with you. I do want to note that, in preparation for the Saturday discussion (”Summit” is too fancy a title, but we were stuck with it) we created some resources, inclduing a discussion list and wiki, to plan discussion topics and the like. We decided at the end of the Saturday afternoon discussion to keep them up and running to support more discussion about issues of interest to space bloggers (or people who blog about space, among other topics.) This information is available at spacebloggers.com and it’s open to anyone, not just those who attended Saturday’s event.
AstronomyBuff on May 27, 2007 at 1:52 pm: 7
I love your blog and have been reading it for over two years. I particularly like your perspective on teaching astronomy at the university level.
You strike me as someone who cares about his students and strives to do a quality job at presenting ideas, something more educators should strive for. All too often, professors are more interested in their research than in teaching, and taking courses from such a teacher is stressful and counter-productive. You show a genuine interest in your student’s success and care about the job you’re doing when you teach.
You also offer lots of in-depth posts on astronomy topics, and give historical perspective in many of them.
I don’t really read your blog to get news, although you do sometimes post about those things. I usually get that stuff straight from NASA or the project webpage itself (if it’s a space mission, for example).
I do enjoy your perspective about the news stories though, so I am grateful you post about those things.
Anyway, your blog is one of maybe three astronomy blogs that I consider of the highest caliber. Thanks for your efforts, I read every post.
AstronomyBuff on May 27, 2007 at 2:09 pm: 8
Oh, I and I wanted to add that I particularly enjoyed your post on Virginia Tech. It was a heartfelt and genuine post.
I bring that up because I firmly believe it’s posts like that that bring readers to blogs and keep them coming back.
News and educational posts are great as far as they go, but when you put your heart and soul into a post, make it personal and tell a story, THAT is what captures readers more than anything else.
All of my most popular posts were the personal ones and entertaining ones, not the ones designed to inform or educate.
Readers want what they can’t get anywhere else, and basically, that means they want the blogger, not necessarily the information.
They can get information from NASA or university project webpages, what they can’t get from them however is context, how it affects them, stories, or persepective.
You provide a useful, valuable and unique perspective, that’s why I keep coming back. I know about the missions, the constellations, the stars, dark matter, cosmology, etc.
What I don’t know is what you think about those things and, it turns out, that what you think matters to me, so I keep coming back.
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Kelly on May 31, 2007 at 8:01 am: 11
I read your blog because it is interesting. I’m not an astrophysicist; I’m a mom working on a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics. I like to learn interesting facts, and you post plenty of them on your blog. I read because you write for lay people, and my oldest son, who is 11, reads the posts I call to his attention; usually the ones about what he calls “fun” stuff, planets, stars, nebulae, etc. I enjoy the random posts as well, they are always interesting, too.
I’m glad you write for ordinary people. It’s a nice read.
Oh, I surfed here from Profgrrrl’s site, and I surfed there from Sherman Dorn’s site…these are the three blogs I read regularly; no time for more.
Kelly
Astroprof on May 31, 2007 at 12:21 pm: 12
Thanks for the kind words, all of you. I do like to think that people get something out of reading my ramblings. And, I am glad that different people are reading and getting different things out of what I write. That is what I’d like to happen.
Ed Minchau on June 7, 2007 at 7:17 am: 13
I read your blog because you go in-depth on so many astronomy topics. Some of your blog posts read like a chapter in an “astronomy for beginners” book - but it is good to see things explained so well, even if I already know what you’re talking about.