Post What You Want, When You Want, How You Want

Blog Stuff

Nijay Gupta just posted about his notice of the decline of biblioblogging (to be honest I stopped reading a number of blogs a long time ago so I haven’t noticed the same) and offered some thoughts on the reasons why this might be as well as some recommendations of what he’d like to see on blogs.  Here’s his third recommendation:

3. CONSISTENCY – Some good bloggers seem to be hit or miss on actually blogging about the New Testament. Sometimes we see humorous posts about the news or random thoughts. I think (and I know some will disagree with me) that biblioblogs need to be more consistent in content. That doesn’t mean it has to be all serious – blogs are fun precisely because we can be more casual and goofy. However, I get frustrated when I see a feed-reader for biblioblogs and none of the posts are about Biblical studies!

I’m one of the ones who disagrees.  I say post what you want, when you want, and how you want.  I prefer blogs where people are consistently themselves.  Now if the NT (or OT or whatever else) is all that occupies your mind then by all means write about it!  But if you are interested in other things and you feel like they’re worth talking about then by all means talk about them!  I don’t get frustrated when I see someone consistently blog about biblical studies or anything else, but I do often get bored, hence the removal of dozens upon dozens of blogs from my Google Reader.

B”H

30 thoughts on “Post What You Want, When You Want, How You Want”

  1. Yeah, but this causes a dilemma in that I subscribe to certain blogs because of their biblical studies / theology or whatever content. That’s why for pure biblical studies I’m going to value The Sacred Page or Darrell Bock over some other sites. They are almost always quality posts and on point (Nijay is that way as well).

    I don’t have time for my Google Reader to have 200+ unread posts a day, because the types of blogs I read usually have long posts and sorting through the posts alone can take time, ya know? Thus, even if I think you might occasionally have a gem (take Jim West or James McGrath who are pretty frequent bloggers), I don’t have the time to sort through the other stuff each day.

    But with that said, I enjoy certain blogs who post all sorts of stuff. In my organization scheme I long ago moved yours from “biblical studies” to “general,” but I read yours because our interests are similar and I enjoy the discussions in the comments.

  2. Kyle:Once upon a time I subscribed to blogs just because they were “biblioblogs” but the ones that I stuck with were the ones who wrote well, or made me laugh, or gave me stuff to think about. I love The Sacred Page but honestly don’t even think about the fact that they’re pretty consistent in their posting on biblical topics. I just really like how those guys write and what they have to say. These days I look to books and journals for pure biblical studies and blogs for entertainment like I do with television or music.

    Oh, and as far as my own blogging goes, I crave conversation. I’m happy to post about a new pair of socks and talk about it with 5 or 8 people over a few comments then to write the most insightful theological or biblical post and hear crickets chirping because no one wants to talk about it.

  3. I agree with you Nick. I read blogs written by people whose blogs I have come to enjoy. That may be a NT issue or it may be some other random thing that happen that day. I don’t see any reason why people should limit their blog to one isolated topic if they have more to say.

  5. I think having an NT focus versus an OT focus factors in as well. Since I mainly focus on OT, biblical theology and apologetics, it affects what I read. There is a serious lack of quality OT blogs. This means you are limited in what you can subscribe to and thus get a mix of the wheat and the chaff.

  7. Brian; Exactly!

    Esteban: Don’t tease us!

    Kyle: Very true. There’s also a lack of quality apologetics blogs too!

    Ari: Never! But funnily enough, all the MMA blogs I read consistently post on MMA news and issues.

  12. Nick, I think that the variety in blogging is great, although most blogs that I follow at their core are biblioblogs, including yours. But when I’m not sure about a movie I check your blog first to see if you have seen it and what your thoughts were, because we like the same sort of movies. I don’t always blog on specific bible topics, sometimes I am just being reflective, and want to express myself. I do that for various reason, one I know there are many younger readers than me and I hope that they can learn from my experiences, and for those my age or older hopefully I inspire them. Like you go to bible college and don’t put it off like I did! ;-)

    I do think that some post should be well thought out and biblically focused, which do take more time and discipline something that I am working on myself. But you do enough of that on your blog, and for me Brian has been doing a really great job, and I do need to step it up.

  13. Ah, so a double standard for biblioblogs :p
    I used to be very much involved in hurting myself getting hurt losing braincells martial arts and Muay Thai. Actually sparring is far more fun than watching/reading about it, especially when you have done it with two world title holders.

  14. Before I even knew what biblioblogging was google would often bring me here while I was in search of book reviews. It was amazing.

  15. Robert: Yeah, most blogs I read are biblioblogs as well, although the best of the bunch are those that branch out and discuss theology, life in general, movies, music, food, etc. I think that’s why you’re a good fit at Near Emmaus. It’s a diverse blog and you bring something new to it because of your life experience. BTW, I was never sure that mine was a biblioblog. I’d say the emphasis has always been more on theology than biblical studies although these days it’s not really on either. ;-)

    Ari: We used to box each other when we were kids and I much prefer watching to doing. Getting punched in the face was never something I particularly enjoyed. ;-)

    And Google is amazing!

  16. Nick,

    I really like the variety, I like getting to know the people that I blog with, it feels more like a community. Like you although we never met I think of you as a true friend, as a matter of fact I often refer to certain bloggers as friend in conversations that I have.

  18. Nick,

    I can understand what Nijay is saying but man, that’s a lot of pressure! I don’t have that much time to always be posting stuff related to biblical studies that is engaging and at the same time fosters discussion. I suppose for those people who biblical studies is their bread and butter, that might not be that hard… but for the rest of us who’s still trying to get there or never intends to get there in the first place, post whatever you want!

  19. I completely agree with you. Blog what you want however often you want. And don’t apologize to anyone about your blogging habits.

    I hear Nijay’s concerns about biblioblogs, but that’s part of the reason I don’t identify my blog as a biblioblog, theoblog, church blog, or whatever. I don’t want to feel the need or expectation to blog about any one subject more than the other. I wanna blog about whatever.

    I think most of the connections to other bloggers I’ve made came from discussions over more light hearted topics. That’s where you find out how cool someone actually is. (Heck, we met because of our mutual interest in 90’s rap.) Then you can discuss other topics like the bible and theology much easier, and more in depth, and even disagree without catching feelings. I’m much less likely to want to have a discussion with someone about the Bible or theology (especially if it’s a controversial issue) if we don’t also have other topics we can discuss. Otherwise they just seem like another random person on the Internet.

  20. I like the different conversations blogging affords and I read the blogs that make me laugh or think or say, “Ron, come here! You gotta read this!” It IS that community that’s so important – The friendships made.

    I love the biblio- or theo-aspects of a blog, but I’m just too eclectic in my interests for that to be a sole draw. AND I really like to get to know the people I read as multi-dimensional beings not just for biblical studies. I’ve dropped blogs from my reader just because I never got a feel for the blogger as a person. I can get information I need or want from a well-defined search.

  21. Bitsy said, “I’ve dropped blogs from my reader just because I never got a feel for the blogger as a person. I can get information I need or want from a well-defined search.”

    Exactly!!

  22. Bitsy is correct. There is a community aspect to blogging that I think we should just acknowledge. I read certain blogs because I like that person’s blog. If I really, really, really want to do research on something I will go to the library or if I am going to be digital I can Google it. Blogging is more than just sharing information.

  23. Mike: I guess my main point is be yourself and write about what you like. Why get pigeonholed into only posting about the Bible if other things interest you?

    Bryan: Exactly. I got into blogging because it seemed to be a happy medium between my homepage (at the time) which no one could comment on and chat rooms which went too fast and didn’t promote the best types of conversation. I figured the blog allowed for good conversation and initially I was able to discuss biblical and theological things that my “real life” friends just aren’t interested in. The funny thing is that I’m also able to discuss things like music and movies that my friends aren’t interested in. That’s why I like diverse blogs; I’d get bored just discussing the Bible and theology.

    Bitsy: I couldn’t agree more; the community is key! And I suppose that’s kind of Nijay’s concern in his post. He’s looking for a certain kind of community: an academic one. Fair enough for him but I’m more interested in people being themselves (all of themselves, not just the academic part).

    Brian: Exactly! You can learn a lot from blogs but let’s be honest; who really looks to blogs as a main source of information?

  24. I think that Nijay has a more narrow group of people in mind when he refers to “bibliobloggers.” In his first post (linked to in this one) he makes reference to full time students and teachers, a description that doesn’t apply to many of us. In his follow-up post, he notes the SBL connection, again, something that wouldn’t describe many of us.

    So, it seems to me folks like me and you (Nick, maybe others commenting here) aren’t in his mind as he’s writing this. Not sure if it makes a difference, but determining the intended audience is a necessary step in exegeting blog posts… =)

  25. Danny: You’re right about the intended audience but that’s a problem all its own (at least in my mind). The idea that a ‘biblioblogger’ is either a full-time student, or teacher, or both and must consistently blog about biblical studies is simply untenable from my perspective. David Alan Black is a true blue scholar of the Bible who has taught for years and published voluminously yet his blog is one of the best in the business because he really puts himself in it. Is he to be disqualified as a ‘biblioblogger’ because of this? I don’t think so and I suspect you’d agree. Thank God we’re free to read what we like, when we like, and how we like!

  26. I do agree with you. I think what it comes down to is this: what Nijay wants is the informal conversations that happened at SBL-like conferences only in the blogosphere. Apparently, he’s not getting it. I think it’s because most blogs are not written by people who go to things like SBL. They’re written by people like me and you, who are interested in blogging about biblically related items, but also have other interests. (With that said, I rarely blog about personal items on BBG; my wife and I have a family blog for that. Maybe I should open up a bit more, though…)

  27. Danny: I suspect you’re right. And don’t worry about opening up more; you’re already personable enough in the stuff you write now. I understand not wanting to mix real personal things into one’s blog. I don’t post pictures of my daughter or nephew or get too into things going on with my family because you never know what kind of freaks and weirdos are reading.

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