Yesterday, in a fit of bluntness, I let loose on Twitter an idea I’ve been simmering for a long time.
If you’ve disabled commenting on your blog, I’m gonna go ahead and say you’re not a blogger.
I had a conversation with my friend Scott about it. And a bunch of people responded on Twitter. And I talked about it at work with Zak.
@meagangracie asked, “how would you classify @mimismartypants then?” And I replied, “As a writer.”
I mentioned Seth Godin, the master of profoundly stating the obvious*. He has a tremendous impact on conversation in the marketing and publishing worlds, but he’s pretty much inaccessible. How would I classify him? As a writer. (And as a speaker and a consultant and whatever.)
Blogging is about conversation, and not just the conversation a blogger might spark elsewhere. It’s about a conversation on that writer’s blog. Put another way (or perhaps a different way; I’m still working this out in my head): a blogger is a participant in conversation, whether it’s a conversation they start or simply join in on. Just starting it and walking away or watching silently from the sidelines is simply not participating.
What do you think?
* I say that without sarcasm. There’s a true talent in conveying such things to people, and he really, really has it.
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