Today’s writing prompt for this month’s NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) challenge theme of Connect is another very thought-provoking question that made me dig a little deeper, past my initial response and into a feeling of uncertainty. I’d love to hear your viewpoint on the subject – and, truth be told, am curious to know if you struggled with your own answer to the question.
Would you rather be equally loved and reviled with many readers,
or would you rather have a small, core group of supportive readers?
With the outpouring of issue-related, emotion-stirring blog posts (and their resulting comments) I’ve been reading over the past several weeks, this sort of question has actually been on my mind a lot… and in a way, the answer at which I arrived is somewhat troubling.
See, my immediate instinct is to choose the latter – a small, core group of supportive readers – which is, in fact, exactly what I enjoy at Alphabet Salad. My readers are without fail kind, encouraging, and positive. My words have never attracted nastiness or trolls, and even when someone may have had a dissenting opinion and chose to share their thoughts, they have always expressed their disagreement in a respectful way that fostered discussion.
And I must say, I like it that way.
Yet isn’t this the safer, more comfortable option? A cop out? Doesn’t it suggest that in order to build and maintain such an audience my posts must be, of necessity, bland and non-controversial, saying nothing of consequence and therefore sparking no intense feelings, whether of love or of hate?
Then again, perhaps there is room for a blog like Alphabet Salad – a place of friendship, support, and community… a safe space… a quiet oasis in the noise and clamor of the issues-based blogosphere.
I’m not sure.
I can see both sides of the question, and though I know what I prefer in terms of my own blog’s readership, I honestly haven’t come to any conclusions as to whether safe, comfortable, and non-controversial is the most effective use of this platform.
What do you think?
What kind of readership would you prefer for your own blog?
Please share!
