I don’t know how many blogs are out there, but I know it’s in the millions.
I don’t know how many topics there are to blog about, but I’d guess that’s in the millions, too.
Can you imagine if the world wide web limited the amount of blogs allowed for each topic? 
Fortunately they don’t and we’re free to write about anything we want.
Hence, we find many bloggers publishing posts on the exact same subject.
Just like I do.
Today’s Lesson
The last thing I planned to do was have a blog about blogging. After all, when I started there were already hundreds (or thousands) of blogging blogs out there.
Thinking back, I could have kept this blog private since I was just writing down what I was learning, but at the time my thoughts were, “What the heck. Make it public. Maybe I’ll get a visitor or two.”
And eventually I did.
When that happened, I felt there was no turning back.
So there I was, blogging about blogging; a topic that gets written about so often, I sometimes felt I was beating a dead fish.
I realized I needed to approach blogging about blogging from a different perspective, and since I’m not into writing a lot of “How To” blog posts, I knew I had to do kick it up a notch. Experiment. Take a risk.
So what I’ve done is made this blog about you by asking you how you feel about different blogging topics and how you view things in blogosphere.
You share your perspective and those who visit and read the comments, learn from many bloggers, not just one.
In some ways it doesn’t matter what I write; I’m just the conduit which leads visitors to your view point.
And when they arrive, lessons are learned, connections are made and I no longer feel I’m beating a dead fish.
I see that as a win-win.
Today’s Assignment
Do you think some topics get beat to death by bloggers?
If you’re blogging about the same topic as others, how do you keep your content fresh and original?
Care to share?
![]()
P.S. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support and thoughtful comments. This blog wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for your loyalty which is something I truly appreciate.






Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford & I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 


I enjoy reading other blogs, seeing what changes bloggers are making to their sites and watching the growth of my blogging buddies.
I like to see other bloggers succeed and it thrills me when I see comments stacking up on their blog posts.
I know the blog author is ecstatic, but sadly my name isn’t always in that list of commenters.
Sometimes, time is not on my side.
Today’s Lesson
I wrote a blog post in 2008 which discussed blog etiquette. One of the items I included in the list was,
In the beginning, I did that. Religiously.
Each time someone commented on my blog, I visited them, subscribed and reciprocated with a comment, too.
The number of blogs in my reader was growing and I began to spend more of my blogging time visiting and commenting.
As I added more bloggers names to my “New Blog Of The Week” series, my reader began to bulge with new blog posts. (The series ended with 90 bloggers being showcased.)
More times than I can count, due to time constraints, I would “mark all as read” and start fresh.
When following blogs in my reader didn’t work anymore, I switched my tactic and went back to trying to visit everyone who commented on my posts.
Unfortunately I couldn’t keep up.
I had broken my own rule, and I felt shame.
I felt like a hypocrite.
If I knew then (when I wrote the blog etiquette post) what I know now, I would have worded that differently, or added a disclaimer* and said, “if time permits”.
It’s not that I don’t care when you post something new, it’s that my time is needed elsewhere.
Thus, if you don’t see me commenting on each of your posts, know it’s not you. It’s me.
You’re never far from my thoughts, and fortunately I know right where to find you.
That said, I understand if you’re in the same position and don’t have time to read my posts and/or comment here.
Today’s Assignment
Do you reciprocate each comment you receive on your blog?
When time is short, do you skip commenting or have you found a technique which allows you to do it all?
Care to share?
*I’ll be adding a link to this post.