A BLOGGER'S DILEMMA

Most bloggers crave for a high number of visitors. But how “high” is enough? Tens of visitors a day? Hundreds a week? Thousands a month? Or a million at all time? A couple of months ago, I was one of those who were so obsessed with such numbers. First thing I would do when opening my page is looking at my blog’s stat counter, and rarely did I find any encouragement from the figures I saw. I would frequently Google for “how to drive huge traffic to your blog”, and most likely install one app or another that claims to do wonders to any aspiring blogger who is craving for more visitors to their blogs. However, the changes were hardly noticeable.

I believe I was not the only one doing that as evidenced in several blogging forums where many people seemed to be as troubled with traffic as I was. However, I gradually started to realise that before thinking of a million visitors I had first to be satisfied with the fact that someone out there bothers to visit my blog, regardless of their numbers. I also started to absorb a bitter truth that a blog like mine focusing on events and news analysis and commentary could hardly compete with photo-blogs, especially as majority of Tanzanians, arguably, seem to be fond of pictures than words. After all, they say a picture could speak a thousand words!

So I am done with the “traffic mania” but here comes a new headache. Originally, my blog was created to serve as an archive for my articles which appeared in a number of Tanzanian newspapers. As some of these were not available online, the only way for those who couldn’t buy hard copies of such papers (for example those living overseas) was for me to put my articles in the blog. Unfortunately, some people were not happy with my articles and ordered me to stop writing. I therefore had to look for ways to keep my blog alive as its function as an archive for my articles became extinct.

The blog then became a place for news and event analysis with some commentary where needed. I should confess that I initially didn’t like doing that as I felt I was trying to become an expert on other people’s written work (in the case on news commentary).I also felt like underutilising my skills because most of I was now doing was copying and pasting other writers’ articles and analyse their contents. For someone who is fond of writing comprehensive article, this new approach was like jumping into someone else’s ride when I was capable of riding my own.

Back to my new “headache.”I have been introducing my blog to most new people I meet, most being non-Swahili speakers. As I have not been capable of finding an app which translates a Swahili blog into other languages, these new visitors usually end up complimenting about how my blog looks but not its contents.

As I am planning to transform my blog from one which primarily focused on local (Tanzanian) affairs to more international issues, I feel I am obliged to take my non-Swahili speaking readers into consideration by coming up with more English posts than before. I understand that by so doing I am likely to lose readership from some Swahili speaking readers but it’s a balancing act I deem necessary for my blog to establish a strong online presence and wider/diverse readership.

A couple of months ago, a fellow blogger, Mzee wa Changamoto, commented on one of my posts in which I discussed a “blogger’s dilemma”: should a blogger write about issues that his visitors expects him to, or should he just stick to what he feels relevant to write about? Neglecting a balancing act, is blogging about things you want your readers to read or what your readers expect to find in your blog? In his view, which I still find relevant, Mzee wa Changamoto who blogs from the US, and a regular commenter on my blog posts, a blog is a personal publication, and should therefore take personal outlook in its contents and perspectives, while keeping in mind readers’ expectations. Briefly, he thought it’s all about what a blogger wants to write about.