The Hype & Hot Air of Blogging

I feel a rant coming on...

At this point in my life, I can say with some confidence that I know a thing or two about blogging. In addition to having written over 1300 posts in the past 4+ years, I read quite a few blogs each day. Most of the posts I read regularly fall loosely under the category of Christian Blogs. Lately I have been wondering to myself why it is that some of these blogs seem to pass by mostly unnoticed by the online community while others seem to explode, sometimes turning the authors into "stars." There seems to be little rhyme or reason. Then my wondering turned into a tweet- "It occurs to me as I read today that blogs are like stocks. Some are WAY undervalued, while others are nothing but hype & hot air." Today I'd like to explore that thought just a little more...

Among the blogs I read daily (or however often they post) are several by well-known authors. These blogs get thousands of hits each day, often with hundreds of comments. And some of them are very deserving of the attention. Writers like Rachel Held Evans, Shane Claiborne, Donald Miller and Jon Acuff seldom disappoint, either with content or style. There are others, however, whose popularity confounds me. One of the nicest compliments I ever received was from a college English professor in a congregation I served, who upon hearing me preach said, "That was excellent! Not only did you say good things, but you said good things well!" Some of these "famous" writers do neither, and they do it on a regular basis. I am not speaking of point of view; there will and should be differences there. I am speaking of writing with creativity and saying things that make a difference. Far too many famous bloggers seem more interested in selling their books or lining up speaking engagements than in communicating through their posts- which is fine if that is their goal. What I don't understand is why the online Christian community glorifies these efforts with seemingly universal approval and overwhelming support, when there are far more excellent and meaningful blogs going completely unnoticed.

Let me give you an example. As you can imagine, I read a lot of posts each day that have to do with one of my passions, youth ministry. There is one particular blog I have been reading most every day for several years now. It is always honored as one of the top student ministry blogs on all the lists that worry about such things. It is written by a veteran youth pastor who seems to be dedicated (I do not know him personally) and gifted in his ministry, and his readership is quite large for a Christian blog. His blog links are often retweeted by others on Twitter and lifted up as something we all need to see. I read his posts as often as I can in the hopes of discovering something I have not yet seen, because from what I have read so far...the blog sucks! The writing is stale with the exact same format every day, and the content, while sound, never explores new ground or pushes anyone outside of the box. It simply makes 3 points each day that have been made hundreds of times in hundreds of other places. And yet this blog is lifted up as high quality Christian writing that will be of help to those in ministry. Meanwhile I read numerous other "unknown" youth ministry blogs from people I have connected with through Twitter that are far superior in every way, but because the authors are not "connected" much of the world doesn't know they exist. This is true throughout the Christian blogosphere, not just in student ministry. The best posts I read each day are from writers who wonder if anyone is seeing their work, but who persevere anyway. Or who don't. Many fall by the wayside. And it frustrates me to no end that we can't seem to get their amazing work in front of a larger audience.

I have tried to get the word out over the past few years, publishing lists of my favorite blogs with links and encouragement (see Bloggers You Should Know), but the simple truth is I am not "connected" either. If my analogy is correct, and blogs are like stocks, then what we need are some high-powered sales people pushing these great writers to the front of the line. A shout out from the aforementioned Jon or Rachel would do wonders for these struggling yet gifted writers. A mention from any Christian leader with tens of thousands of Twitter followers could change the tide. So much of blogging popularity seems to be about knowing the right people instead of being about having the right stuff. And readers are missing out on some life-changing writers because there are no brokers to champion their work.

Please know that this is NOT about this blog. My writing is all over the place (sports, personal stories, entertainment, spiritual...I lack focus!), exploring different topics for different audiences on a regular basis. I don't know SEO from SRO. For the most part my posts are about my faith and life, and not controversial or slanderous- things that seem to attract blogging fame. I write for my own enjoyment and am happy when anyone reads along, and to be honest, I have far more readers than I ever imagined when this endeavor began in 2009. But if you want to read some wonderful posts from deserving writers, check out my friends Brent Bill, Amy Nabors or Jason Huffman. Check out the great blogs Love Woke Me Up This Morning or Extraordinary Living. Seek out the writers who are interesting to you. And when you find them, spread the word. There are many who deserve to be heard. And some very famous ones who are just full of hot air. That's one man's opinion...

Because of Jesus,