Why blog? Broomhead’s survey answered

Aichan in Morning Musume, January 2008: Who can resist this kind of charm?

It is surprising to see Broomhead, whom I consider one of the most prolific and knowledgeable bloggers out there, wrestle with the question: “Why am I doing this?” That is why his survey is well worth answering. I just regret not finding out about it sooner.

I’ve decided to tackle every question, and place these answers here on Radreview, the best venue for this type of discussion. As always, I try to be as truthful as possible even if it does not appease the masses.

To wit:

Berryz Kobo, January 2007: What a staggering young talent.

Goals:

Why do you blog? It provides an instant entry into discourse about seldom-discussed topics, such as Japanese idol music.

What long-term goals do you hope to accomplish, if any at all? It would be nice to make a living online somehow. Blogging and video clips are the dominant means of communication and the oens drawing the most attention. Basically, it’s blog or die as the 21st century unfolds.

Where does your blog fail to meet your goals? My three blogs – Radicalipton’s Blog on Vox, Radreview on Bloggerparty and YankeeOtaku, also on Bloggerparty – are not updated nearly enough. Most successful blogs are updated many times a day, with short posts. My psts are way too long and I realize this. However, some topics need the full treatment because Japanese idol music if woefully misunderstood by most of the Western world.

If you do have goals, what will accomplishing them do for yourself? This is a big question. In short, I want to gain a wider understanding of people internationally, and how to contribute to a joint understanding of cultures.

What do you want to gain out of blogging? A creative outlet? Praise from others? Personal satisfaction? Money? Frankly, I have no real idea. Perhaps, simply communication with others.

Do you feel that your blog should meet a requirement for amount of entries? Do you feel any particular entry should be a certain length? I used to think that only well-thought-out essays would be best. I’m now of the school of thought that brief posts, with some kind of sharp slant one way or the other, are best.

For any particular entry, what motivates you to start and finish blog posts? Often I’ll dream about something, wake up and post it. That happened with the recent “High-King” news in which Saki of Berryz Kobo and Maimi of C-ute – a dream match in my mind – suddenly became reality. Another example is my most recent Vox post on Miyabi and the boyfriend issue; I have more to say about it that simply complaining about it.

Do you actively consider long term goals for each individual post? No, I don’t think that far ahead, and prefer to be spontaneous and honest.

Ongaku Gatas: Whoever heard of singing soccer players?

Subject Material:

What do you blog about? Japanese idol music. Everything else is dull in comparison.

Would you be keep a blog even if it wasn’t about the subjects you tend to cover? No, I would not. Everything else is either overcovered, or so mundane as to be uninteresting.

Do you write about the material to promote it to others? Yes, I use YankeeOtaku to promote not only my other two blogs, but other bloggers. It’s a crowded world out there, and there has to be a way to set apart nyour blogs from others.

Readership:

How much do you care about readership? I used to care a lot, but not any more. Remember, Shakespeare’s contemporaries thought him to be an idiot. Beethoven was thought to be a blithering, deaf fool when the composed the Ninth Symphony based on a kid’s fairy-tale jingle. Now both are godlike. In time, I think people will see Tsunku in a similar light. But right now, if it’s only me caring and reading, so be it.

Does it satisfy you to know people are reading, even if they don’t comment? Comments are just an added bonus. If nobody commented, it wouldn’t bother me at all. Those that do comment usually have something great to say, and I appreciate any and all feedback.

What effect does receiving a comment have on you? There’s at least someone out there that “gets it.”

Do you write with a particular audience in mind or an unspecified general audience? Why? I wrote for no specific audience.

If you write for a particular audience, is it International Wota? If yes, why? Yes, I try and build most blogs for the International Wota audience because that group tends to be more enlightened and less infantile than most readers.

Community: (The International Wota section)
If International Wota didn’t exist, would you blog? Yes.

When IW covers an entry of yours, are you encouraged to blog more or less? More. Usually, a lot more.

When IW does not cover an entry, are you encouraged to blog more or less? Less, but I try and find better-quality topics to regain the IW audience.

How often do you read other blogs? As much as I can. In this subject area, plenty of people have plenty of knowledge about Japanese idol music and I an eager to learn as much as I can.

How often do you comment on other blogs? As often as possible. At one point with YankeeOtaku, I was averaging three blog critiques per day, but I’ve slowed because many topics not circulating around IW are about subjects – doramas, fiction, Japanese theater and TV shows – about which I know little.

If another blog covers a topic that you wanted or wished to cover, do you still blog about that specific topic? Why or why not? Yes, because I might have a larger perspective worth adding to that subject area.

Rika of V-u-den, January 2008: It doesn’t get any better than this for fans.

Commitment:

How serious is your attitude towards blogging? Do you consider it just as something to do for fun? I am very serious about it. It is a big part of my life. As I get older, I am more aware that none of us has a lot of time on this earth and we have to make the most of it by sharing our innermost thoughts on important subjects. It is also fun.

How often do you blog? How often would you like to blog? Daily unless I get tied up with other activities. I miss it if I do not.

What priorities do you or have you put aside in order to blog? Why? Communication with people in my immediate geographic area. I hold my blogging colleagues in much higher esteem than many of the idiots I have to deal mwith any given day in my real life.

Do you see yourself blogging in 6 months? Why or why not? Yes. I will never stop and will try and develop more of an ability fir it.

Personal:

Would you say you blog for yourself? Yes.

What is your feeling after posting an entry? Is it relative to the time and effort you put in? I feel like I’ve really said something important. As you can probably tell, I put everything I’ve got into every word. That putys off some people, but I have to get what I need to say out of my system. Otherwise, why blog?

What needs does blogging fulfill? It expands my awareness of other people and keeps my mind off negative aspects of life.

you consider yourself a writer? Yes.

Do you consider yourself good at writing? Good at blogging? Yes on both counts, thbough that opinion is not openly shared by my blogging peers.

How much of your personal life do you share on your blog? If none, why do you leave this out? I’ve shared quite a lot, and leak out more as time goes on. Want my resume? Just Google “Gerald Carroll” and there it is, for some reason. I am a granddad, twice over. That’s also in my posts. There’s a lot of me in these blogs. A lot.

This is Radicalipton signing off – for now.