Friday, April 23, 2010

Get Your Slow Blog Button Here!

   Slow Blogging is a term that has surfaced a few times on the internet - maybe you've even heard of it? You can read the original Manifesto by Todd Sieling here, which I find remarkably well stated. Similar to the Slow Food movement, the concept is that some things are improved upon by a slower, more thoughtful approach, and that the opposite mindset (i.e.; fast food) can inspire rather ill consequences for both bloggers and readers. Together, with all of these weekly, daily, and hourly posts, we are fueling a pace to life that feels beyond our control and often times void of true substance.


  
  Of course, Slow Blogging can hold very different definitions for all of us. We might each admire the idea for varying reasons and institute our own pace. Some Slow Bloggers post just a few times a year, others monthly, and some of us can't keep any sort of noteworthy regular schedule. You might feel that within your community, weekly and daily posts are considerably slower paced than your peers - feel free to define Slow however you like. In my mind, it is simply a rejection of any sort of expectation. You are a person, it is your life, and you should share what you like when you like without feeling obligated to anyone - even yourself
   My exploration of this topic has surfaced one constant theme: Slow Blogs have very few readers. This seems to be an unavoidable fact, and it may be enough to make some bloggers steer clear of the whole affair, especially if they are attempting to earn profits through advertising. Maybe in addition to re-thinking the pace of blogging, we could also be re-thinking our methods for gaining value from the blogs we write. Your blog may not earn you any monthly income, but it may eventually assist you in reaching other life and professional goals;  therefore, you might consider keeping it clean - void of fluff, junk, and anything else that reveals you to be a last-minute, I'll just throw something together individual. Just sayin'.
   Something else that I've noticed is that other than Todd Sieling's Manifesto and a NY Times article, there is not a lot of readily available information out there. Unless you search 'Slow Blog' you're unlikely to come across the concept. Although the idea has been discussed briefly here and there, it really hasn't been popularized to the level that I think it deserves. So, my solution has been to create a button that bloggers can publish on their sites, notifying readers that Slow Blogging is a concept the author subscribes to. Hopefully, it will spread from blog to blog (admittedly a pipe dream via my 32 readers) but wish me luck.
   If you would like to publish the Slow Blog button (illustration by Katya Andrievskaya) on your site, simply copy the html code below and paste it on your blog. I will compile specific instructions below the code for anyone who needs more direction. And feel free to share your stories and opinions! I will happily expand upon this post with your words - together we might build something beautiful.

<a href="http://artfulgreens.blogspot.com/2010/04/get-your-slow-blog-button-here.html" title="Artful Greens"><img src="http://www.vtsandwichgarden.com/images/slow_blog.jpg" border="0" alt="Slow Blog Button" /></a>

To publish this button on Blogger, copy the code, and then 'add a gadget' under 'customize.' Select HTML/JavaScript, and paste the code in the box. It is not necessary to title the gadget. Save and view to see your new button.
I am not experienced in other blog publishers, but hopefully we can get the correct information up for anyone who might need help with Wordpress, etc...


A little Wordpress help from Piet, July 13, 2010:

Hello,
I like the idea.... However the button is a JPEG and hence has no transparent background (surrounding) but white only. I made a GIF version with transparent background. The usage is the same in WorldPress.
Is it okay to use it in this way ?

P.s. The GIF is on my site and better for my performance. You can copy it from there if you want.
Thanks, Piet














     

28 comments:

  1. I have at times found myself to be stressing about the once a week posting "obligation" I have set for myself. It's so easy to get caught up in the "when" that I have been pondering the "why" as in, why do I want to post this, why is once a week necessary, and why do I care...really enjoyed reading this. Thanks!

    Christine in Alaska

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  2. I'm in. I love this button, both the looks, and the idea behind it. I follow about 100 blogs, and am profoundly gratefully that only one posts daily. Weekly suits me - I read Christine. BTW I will work this into my next post - Maybe Monday? Diana

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  3. This is so perfect, blogging has become a demanding master, perfection in a post. And it MUST be done each day? Not possible for most of us.

    We seem to be caught up in a "get it out there at all costs" even if quantity is less then quality.

    Count me in also. It might take a few days for me to get the button on my blog.

    Now if only someone could reel in these bloggers that are giving away expensive prizes just to garner more readers. Really, 3 KitchenAid mixers, just for leaving a comment? This is out of control.

    Jen
    Muddy Boot Dreams

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  4. I like this idea and am still contemplating if I "qualify". Right now I'm blogging quite steadily, but there's no telling when I'll get bored with it and slow down.

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  5. I'm so glad that all of you have had such enthusiastic responses - please feel free to spread the word through your own posts and through publishing the button. As far as 'qualifying' goes, I say you are free to define the pace however you like. To me, Slow Blogging is about more than just how often you post, and if you avoid posting whenever you'd like just to remain Slow, well that's no good either!

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  6. I really like the concept - sometimes I do feel guilty when I only post once a week - I could never do the daily thing. I take my time making sure that what I place on the internet is a quality piece. Who knows just who is going to read it in a few months time when they come across your blog through a search engine - maybe a potential follower?

    Sometimes I'm a slow blogger - I'm a working mum - but I'm just oozing with blogging ideas just now as the garden is coming to life over the wintertime but I still won't hit that publish button every day - I am keeping my ideas in draft form and slowing releasing them a bit like a slow release fertilizer!

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  7. I like this button and its message. Currently, I am not slowing down yet. I am a working mum too and have to juggle my time between work, home and blogging. I have a passion for gardening and I love to share knowledge as I learn, so my wish is to post 3 times a week. Quite often, I only have time to post once a week.

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  8. Found you. I like the idea of slow blogging. jim

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  9. i'd love to have the button if you could make it for wordpress and some very simple instructions for very slow computer-illiterates such as myself...thanks

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  10. Very nice...added it to my blog. It's nice to fall back on when I get too busy to maintain a regular posting schedule! :D

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  11. I like the slow blogging idea. At the moment I am posting possibly more than I like but I like to think of slow blogging as the time it has taken me to be out in my garden to come up with the posts. I never rush my garden time so that is my slow bit!

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  12. Yes, it really looks like I am also a "slow to get around to it" blogger. Finally got the button on my blogs...

    Jen

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  13. This is wonderful!! I have become a slow blogger over the last few months (without being aware of the concept) simply because some other activities have taken up some of my time and because I do not want to post content just for the sake of posting...I want it to be something that I beleive my readers will enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing this...I will be adding the button on my blog! :) Nice to have found your blog too...I came by way of Muddy Boot Dreams. :)

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  14. i've always been a 'slow blogger' and didn't know it .. for me, blogging happens when i least expect it .. i've come to call it 'inspired blogging' and moments of blogging inspiration do not come at any set time .. happy to 'meet' you ..

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  15. Nice to have a name for it, I just sometimes don't feel like writing, sometimes I do. I don't like forcing something out when I'm not in the mood just to get something up. So true you have few readers but then I think who am I writing for anyway, I started this more or less as a journal for myself, to see my thoughts laid before so I could sort them easier and then move on. I also love other bloggers who post infrequently, I don't want to spend a lot of time here but when you "get to know" someone you also hate to miss something so here's to more slow bloggers.

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  16. i am definitely a slow blogger...it's easy because real life is so full. i figure it's good if i have time but not worth stressing over, at all, period.
    love the button and have added it to my sight.

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  17. I like the slow blog idea. Quality over quantity appeals to me. I feel that so many bloggers just throw "something" out there daily to keep readers; it is almost a chore to read their blogs sometime, because there's really nothing there.
    If you don't blog daily, or regularly, some people will drop you from their blogrolls. I am the opposite; I tend to be more interested in blogs that DON'T post daily because I figure they post only when they really have something to share.
    I've long called my blogging style "blogging without obligations"; free to blog as infrequently as I wish; follow or not follow as I wish; and blog about whatever I wish. After all, for me, it's just a fun little hobby.

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  18. Hello, I'm adding this to my blog this very minute. I've seen it on other blogs and have thought about doing it but until now, didn't feel compelled to do so. Lately, I've not felt like blogging, or visiting other bloggers. I know it's just a 'phase', because at some point I'll be back into it again with full force! But this concept is really good, and allows me to let myself just 'be', and feel no pressure to blog or visit others. We too often are our own worst enemies when it comes to this blogging activity...and expect too much of ourselves. Thanks for thinking of this;-)

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  19. glad so many of you are making use of the button! If anyone has the time to write up instructions for a wordpress blog, that would be great - please email them to me at artfulgreens@gmail,com...

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  20. Good Morning! Found you by way of Glowing Ember and Muddy Boot Dreams. I love this idea and I certainly qualify. I started blogging in April of 09 and have only 76 posts in over a year. Thank you for making this available WITH the instructions! I am pretty sure I am going to take the summer off and I will explain this in that post. Jan from Thanks for Today says it all for me, especially about expecting too much from ourselves! Thank you again and I will be reading here :)

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  21. I have posted your "slow blog" on my photography blog. Your pipe dream is on the move...I found you via Glowing Embers recent post. As for Haikus I will work on that-Maybe I will just send you a photo- a visual haikus of sorts. Thanks again for the easy to use url.

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  22. Slow blogging - I try to post about once a week and I thought that was fast :) - I moved my blog to blogger and lost a bunch of pictures. I think I will be very slow in getting them up again. But, I do miss them. Great concept. Thanks for sharing

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  23. I've never made a commitment to blog a certain amount of times per day/week/month,etc. I just do when I get time, so this is a great concept.
    And yes, I don't have a whole lot of followers. Mostly this is for my family, to keep up our latest activities.
    Thanks for the button.
    ~a

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  24. Hello,
    I like the idea.... However the button is a JPEG and hence has no transparent background (surrounding) but white only. I made a GIF version with transparent background. The usage is the same in WorldPress.
    Is it okay to use it in this way ?

    P.s. The GIF is on my site and better for my performance. You can copy it from there if you want.
    Thanks, Piet

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  25. Piet,
    thanks for your efforts re: wordpress, etc... I don't mind any outside help, as long as the image link leads back to this discussion. I'll paste your message and your blog address into my original post - thanks again!
    Jennifer

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  26. Nice post. I was just reflecting on the utter vapidity of most blog posts, especially the "twice daily" variety that is like a news blip lost in universal noise of the internet. I can't imagine it's any fun to go scurrying about for a sound bite to please (mostly imaginary) readers, and -- frankly - who cares about a re-tweet of something that will be re-hashed on the 6:00 news? I'd much rather see someone take some time and write something amusing or insightful.

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  27. This is a great post. I have just found your blog and am so glad that I did!

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Please feel free to leave a message. Haikus are always appreciated.

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