Disappointment

July 10, 2009 in Social Media,Theology with 7 Comments

Can I be honest with you for a minute?  I’m a bit disappointed.  Though you would think that an increase in blog traffic would leave me excited, in reality it leaves me shaking my head.

Most of the time, my blog posts have substance.  Though a few, such as “A Waste of 3:41,” “Do you ChaCha?,” and “John Piper and Michael Jackson” were of no substantive value, the vast majority of my posts carry some weight.  In one way or another, they are written to effect change in you, the reader.

A change in action.

A change in thought.

A change in attitude.

A change in direction.

A change in leadership.

However, my latest post, “Caption this and win!,” though it gave me the chance to highlight one of our small groups, brag on one of our small group leaders, and have a laugh at her expense (sorry, Katrina!), it did not ask anything of the reader beyond posting a funny comment caption.  So what’s the problem with this?

This post received over 2.5x the number of hits as compared to my normal posts.

I’m not opposed to bloggers giving prizes away to promote traffic to their blog.  Really, I’m not.  But it bugs me that shallow content often receives more attention than weighty.  An “easy” (fluffy content) read seems to be preferred over a “difficult” (challenging content) read.

I’d like to say that I know the answer to this, but I don’t.  I’m just throwing it out there.

Have you found this to be true for you?  In your blog?  In your sermons?  In your teaching?  In your small groups?  In the daily conversations you have at work?  At home?  On vacation?

Maybe we as a culture prefer comfort over conversations of value.

What do you think?

 

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  • cary branscum

    This one hits a nerve. I have the same experience all the time. The lessons I sweat over, so what? The lessons I toss off get praise. The more indepth a sermon, lesson, small group study, the fewer takers.
    Add time constraints in classes, and groups, and it’s kinda grim. The saving grace? The stuff I think is so deep may not reach people the way God wants, and He uses my other stuff for his purposes. I don’t know, I just want to do the best I can, and give it to Him, but what is that exactly? not always sure.

  • http://mel-dyes-her-hair.blogspot.com Mel Gruver

    I definitely find that when I host my “giveaways” on my blog, most people interact. It is kinda sad, b/c I notice that the more feedback I get, the more often I write things.

    I also think that as a friend from a past life that slightly “stalks” your blog on occasion- I really like the “feeling” of community that comes about by your caption blog. Anyway, I guess this is to say that- I think you are right, BUT I also wonder if people just feel intimidated to “interact” with the weightier subjects. I know I tend to be, as a liberal feminist Jesus-loving Christian woman.

    Peace of Christ to you.

  • http://www.ronedmondson.com Ron Edmondson

    Welcome to my blogging world. Notice the lighter blogs often get bigger hits and comments too!

  • http://www.noelbagwell.com Noel

    I think, in a general sense, people respond to opportunities to engage content interactively. That’s probably one element of the situation you described.

    Of course, winning free stuff is another element. People respond to “free,” like nothing else. There’s a good book on it called “Free,” by Chris Anderson. You can read it online, for free, at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/17135767/FREE-full-book-by-Chris-Anderson

    Good insights to be found, there.

  • Kris

    Life can be heavy and often is. People jump at light-heartedness and “freebies” because they are gifts of a needed deviation from the constant thinking, wondering and worrying we do in our own heads all day long.

    If you provide people with more joy and humor than they normally have, don’t be disappointed that they respond to that, but be joyful that one of God’s purposes for you is appreciated by those around you.

    All of your words are a blessing…even the fluffy ones. And remember that they may provoke thought even when the reader doesn’t give you the affirmation you may be craving that day.

  • http://www.jamrmiller.blogspot.com Mindy M.

    I certainly don’t consider my blog posts to be of a weighty value so I can’t sympathize, but I’ll offer my hypothesis anyways. I think people are lazy. I don’t think we generally like to have to think through a response to posts of substance, especially since once we hit the ‘submit comment’ button it’s not just sent to you, but anyone who reads the post can see our thoughts. And, we may not come across well in written words so our intentions & meaning can easily be misconstrued. Rest assured that does not mean your posts are reaching ‘deaf ears.’ I’ve been challenged.

    Also, maybe people really wanted to win that book.

  • http://www.myspecialks.com Renee Garcia

    Well, my giveaways usually do pretty well, because like someone else said, free is always good, but since I’m not usually serious on my blog, when I AM, I usually get a ton of comments… maybe I need to be serious more often? Hmm… takes too much effort! haha Maybe you gained new readers because of the giveaway though? That’s always a plus! :)