My Personal Blogging Rules

I've already expounded on "Dino's Blogging Rules," which I consider to be pretty basic, general rules that most other bloggers would do well to follow. Here, though, I'd like to briefly discuss my own personal blogging rules.

First, I'd like to define the processes of how I make a "rule" for myself.

I learned a lot when I was unwillingly thrust into the dating pool about eight years ago. Things that most people learned in their teens and twenties, I was floundering around figuring out for myself in my forties. It wasn't fun, but it was instructional. I started out with as few constraints on my dates as possible. Am I really so shallow as to refuse to date someone who smokes, or someone who isn't Jewish? I asked myself. Not wanting to answer, "Yes," I'd go out with just about anyone. Once, that is. And I learned the hard way that I really didn't like kissing a smoker. And that not having to explain all about Purim or Passover was more comfortable than I had realized it was going to be. So in essence, I discovered my rules by breaking them, and realizing that I didn't like the results.

My other model for "rule-making" came from residency training. The second and third years of Family Practice training involve rotating through the offices of various specialists. in addition to increasing clinic responsibilities for your own patients. (Despite Sid's dim view of it, FP training makes you an expert in outpatient medicine and office practice.) I spent lots of time with lots of different doctors in lots of offices. In addition to learning orthopedics and neurology and pediatrics and everything else, I got to see how they treated patients (as in how they talked to them -- or not; how they scheduled them and saw them on time -- or not) and how they ran their offices. I was able to form opinions on what I liked and what I didn't like; what worked and what didn't work. So that when I opened my own office I designed my systems with an eye towards what I called "patient-centered care" that bears a striking resemblance to what's now being called "customer service."

At any rate, I've read enough blogs to get a sense of what I like and what I don't. These are the kinds of things that I've been trying to incorporate into my "personal blogging rules" (although I also reserve the right to bend or break them as I wish.) So here they are:

1. No commercials
   
2. Comment rarely
3. Blogging about blogging is boring
4. It's more about the writing than the readers

To elaborate:

• No Commercials

Although I have a couple of self-published books available elsewhere on the internet, I prefer not to trumpet them front and center (or top and right, as would be the case on this template.) This is only partially because I'm enjoying my anonymity, but mainly because I prefer to avoid any form of commercialization. I'm even toying with the idea of removing the "Blogger" logo from my sidebar. I know when I see another blog peppered with ads and sponsors, it renders the content potentially just a tad suspect to me. (Note emphasis.) For what it's worth, I prefer not to have even the hint of intellectual dishonesty possibly inferred by commercial content.

• Comment rarely (on my own blog, that is)
  

This is a rule I got from Miss Snark. Granted she's at the thousand-hit-a-day mark now, but I've been following her almost from the beginning. Even then, she didn't get involved in the discussions that blossomed in her comment trails except to insert a short, snarky comeback from time to time. When there was a particularly interesting comment or exchange, she'd pull it up into its own post and comment on it there for everyone to see. I liked that, and so I try to emulate it. The way I (and Miss Snark) see it, it's all fodder for the blog.

• Blogging about blogging is boring

This is one rule I've already bent and regretted with regard to the sitemeter. As soon as I got it I began getting all impressed with myself; checking it multiple times a day, noticing spikes when I got mentioned somewhere else, and so on. I quickly got bored. Likewise I began noticing that other people's posts about their hit counts and "blogiversaries" were boring; at least compared to all the other really cool things they had to say. It struck me as meaningless navel-gazing that I didn't find very interesting. So I decided not to talk about it; at least not on the blog. I admit I brag about my blog to my family and (some of) my patients; then again, I talk about my patients and my family -- and all kinds of other things -- on the blog, so I guess it all evens out.

• It's more about the writing than the readers

This is the real reason for this post. I don't want the kind folks who nominated me (and may vote for me) for Best New Medical Weblog to think I don't appreciate their esteem. I am truly flattered. But I'm not doing this for the awards. The acclaim and recognition are very nice, but I know myself well enough to be aware that the quest for these things could easily overwhelm my original blogging intentions. And I don't think I'd like myself very much if that happened to me. I write/blog because I want to. I'm thrilled to have my opinions respected -- even when they're disagreed with -- but just getting my words out there has to be enough for me. I'm content with my small circle of readers. If it expands, wonderful. If not, fine. It's very important to me not to get all caught up in my blogging wonderfulness.

Please understand that nothing I have said above is to be construed as an adverse judgement of any other blog or blogger.

I do not think less of others who choose different rules for themselves. Heaven knows cyperspace is big enough for all of us. I am well aware that others feel very differently about things like awards and sitemeters and hit counts, and that's fine. "Live and let live" is an axiom just as applicable to the virtual world as to the real one. But I did want to explain myself a bit more clearly, and to express my appreciation to my new blog friends for enhancing my life by validating my small contribution to theirs.