Actually, since I'm coming up on a year of this blogging nonsense, and the new season is about to start (and the weather is being bipolar again) I though it'd be a nice time to reflect.
The toughest thing about writing a blog is knowing your audience.
Am I writing for a Cardinals fan who doesn't need to hear me prattle on about the box score because (s)he was watching the game right along with me?
Am I writing for a fan of another team who is just trying to keep tabs on the competition?
Am I writing for a casual fan who doesn't care about stats but rather is simply looking for entertainment?
Am I writing for a Cardinals fan removed from the area who is trying to stay connected with Cardinal Nation?
The answer is yes... and no.
I'm writing for Cardinals fans and baseball fans and sports fans because that's what I am. But I'm not writing for one constituency in particular, and I'm not catering to any specific audience.
When it comes down to it, I write for myself.
When I started "blogging", it was a way for me to keep a personal record of the games and happenings that I was most interested in. When I decided to publish my thoughts on the internet, I didn't have the vaguest idea what blogging really was. I'd read blogs and even had a few favorites, and I would comment here and there (mostly anonymously), but I was too shy to try and publicize myself. (I'm still fighting that personal demon, although I'm getting better.) I certainly didn't realize what a community it is.
Now that I have a year of this blogging stuff under my belt, I have a better idea of what's going on. I'm glad when people let me know they enjoy what I've written, but I'll keep on writing for myself because if I tried to narrow my audience down to one (or even a few) particular group(s), I don't think it would mean as much, and it certainly wouldn't be the same blog.
So if you've come here looking for something Cardinals-related that I don't offer, please check out the Cardinals blog list in my sidebar. There are a lot of really good, really smart, really funny bloggers writing about our team (along with a smattering of other topics), and each one offers something completely personal and completely unique. I try to keep my list as up-to-date as I can, but it seems like there are new blogs everyday.
If you're a Cardinals blogger and you're not on my list, it's really nothing personal, I just don't know about you yet.
The other blogging "neighborhood" that I've just recently started to take notice of (and shame on me for neglecting it so long) is that of the female bloggers. There are ladies writing about the Cardinals, baseball in general, and nearly every other team out there. Yes, guys, women can appreciate a nicely turned double play just as much as you, and from what I can tell, there have been female fans of baseball as long as there's been baseball. It's amazing to me (when I loiter about on other ladies' blogs) just how passionate and interesting their ideas are. I don't have a lot of real-life friends who are baseball fans, and so I may occasionally forget how large a group we are, these "babes" who love baseball, but it most definitely is not a group that is going away.
Side note: You may notice that I don't have the girls separated out from the boys over in my Other team blog list, and that's because I can't decide if it's insulting or not. I once heard someone say "Either women are equal to men or they're not," (as in, you can't have it both ways) and I'm hesitant to start that avalanche. After all, I'm just here to talk about baseball. (Hmmm... I like that. I'm just here to talk about Cardinals baseball.)
Anyway, I also wanted to say thank you to anyone who has read or is currently reading my blog, even if you don't like it or don't agree with me. It's been a fun year and I've had a great time writing and doing projects with the UCB, and I'm looking forward to another great season of blogging and baseball. Stay in touch! (Even if you'd rather remain anonymous.)
