Blogging in outer space

I sit alone in an empty room, assisted by the gentle hum of the fridge and the passing of traffic.

No, this isn’t the opening of a novel but the poor excuse for a blog, from a man with nothing better to do. This morning’s theme is – how to increase one’s presence on the web. How do I, the lowly blogger with an audience of one, generate interest in my narcissistic ramblings? The answer, it would appear, is to post more frequently. The more content I put out there, the more feedback I’m likely to receive.

Right! But what happens when one blog takes days, sometimes weeks to finish? Am I to spend all my time frantically searching for new ideas to post before midnight – or do I pack it all in and crawl wearily off to bed? I’m beginning to understand the journalist’s fear of deadlines. Except, of course, in this case there isn’t one. Well, only the one imposed by me.

One sure way of increasing interest in your blog is to comment on others. Spend a few hours trawling through the thousands of sites out there. Leave detailed messages, extolling the merits of your fellow bloggers work. You can be as inventive, witty, contentious and interesting as you like. All in the hope that someone might respond.

Great! But what happens to your unfinished masterwork while you’re out gallavanting round the search engine? More joyless editing. More tortuous sifting through the draft column. I, for one, like to see the finished product – even if no-one else gets to read the bloody thing!

So, perhaps this blogging lark takes a combination of different elements to make it a success. There’s the work you put into it for a start. Then there’s the more practical considerations. Who are your target audience? Do you have a particular message or recurring theme? How much time can you put aside in the quest for blogging immortality?

I’m like a spaceman, drifting aimlessly around the earth’s atmosphere. Every so often I send out an electronic signal, in the vain hope that it might be picked up by intelligent life (Sigourney Weaver in Alien?). For days, nothing comes back. Then, miraculously, I get a transmission. Earth calling blogger – ‘Read your post with interest. Must be tough out there, hammering the keys in cyberspace, but do keep at it …

Thanks, bud! I will keep at it. And why? Because it’s what I do.