The Hook
Well, okay, I took a bit of creative license in the title…
But, watching Arianna last night on the Daily Show with John Stewart (yeah, you know the show) promote her new book (which, if you’re interested, you should purchase… 
) and talking briefly about the key to being successful in blogging is to write about your passions– well, she didn’t quite say it so succinctly, but I could figure out the gist of her claim– I thought, “Hey, she’s talking about life, love, and the pursuit of blogging!”
Which, obviously, ended up as the title of this post.
But right after that, I began to wonder: “If she can put together a book which tells the reader about blogging and how to try to be successful with it, maybe I can, too!”
The Rub
Hmm… all right, maybe I can…
After all, I’ve been blogging for quite some time, especially when you consider my past history of corporate and professional blogs over the years. And toss in the portals and wikis as well, and I’ve amassed quite a library of virtual documents that I’ve produced over more than a couple of decades of development and publishing.
But the problem that I perceive is that, frankly, what is a better platform to inform and educate readers about blogs than a blog itself? If you’re going to assemble all the meaty details about blogging into a single source so that people who are curious about the delivery vehicle and the blogosphere and all things weblog-ish can get to it, wouldn’t a blog (or maybe even a wiki) be the way to do it? Most physical books (as far as I know– except for the looseleaf binder types that masquerade as “bound” books) lack the ability to be continuously updated and corrected. And let’s not forget that Arianna herself already has a blog (actually, she has more than one) and is certainly capable of spinning up several more as needed.
How about a concession, then? Produce a book, and then offer a site with updates. A lot of other authors have gone this route, and it works, after a fashion. Some readers wonder whether the tone of the online text matches the book, which they may enjoy quite a bit; frequently, the sites tend to have additional contributors, which would change the writing style and attitude.
But what would I have to contribute that many hundreds of others have already done or said? Perhaps something less bloggish and more development-ish? An erudite exploration of the bloody innards of the Web services and apps that comprise a blog and its ilk? How to create your own blog from scratch? 
The Conclusion
Me-too-isms abound in the publishing industry, as various people keep trying to cash in on all sorts of crazes and fads. Rather than add to it, I should probably just refrain and stick to what I’ve been doing: just blogging (oh, and other stuff).
