Things I learned from my 9 years as a “domain blogger”

When I started Acro.net as a domainer’s blog in 2008, little did I know it’d continue for this long.

Producing creative content predates my early domain blogger days by almost two decades, as a journalist for computer and subsequently Internet industry publications.

Blogging, however, is an entirely different beast, that requires some other type of motivation. For example, at a certain time in my life, I produced Greek blog content to help me retain my connection to my language and heritage.

I recently expanded on this subject, in an article titled “Just how hard is it to “blog” about the domain industry?”

Over the course of the past 9 years I learned a few things, blogging about the domain industry, social media and technology rather inconsistently – because that’s what blogs are, reservoirs of thoughts, opinions and other information, shared at a time that the writer feels like sharing.

I’m sharing some of these things below, without any particular order, or explicitly placed bullet points. This is not a manual about blogging, after all.

Blogging can be random, or triggered by particular events, news, or other happenings. There is no specific reason to blog or not blog about something, and any such rules are made to be bent.

A blogger does not owe anything to others, because it’s a personal digital diary that exists to share particular content of its creator’s choice. It’s like a canvas to be painted by the digital artist, as they please – not a made-to-order landscape.

Readers may or may not like the content. They are free to leave and never come back, as a blog is – usually – free to read.

Therefore, my shortest response to those who dislike what I write about: I will refund the money you spent to read it.

Domain blogging is essentially an exposure of one’s activity to matters related to the domain industry. Time and again, I’ve made my positions public, sharing my own views for industry subjects that I feel like sharing.

Not all information is publicly shared, simply because blogging is not a documentary, it’s a voluntary release of personal and professional activities that requires no vetting or approval by others.

The best time to blog is when there is nothing to blog about. Thoughts flow best when there is no demand for a particular subject, and when there is that’s called creative writing – not blogging.

Not everyone likes long words, or phrases, or eloquent descriptions or positions on a subject; then again, not everyone likes Giorgio de Chirico paintings. He didn’t paint for an audience, either.

I keep my blog ad-free, and that’s because I want it to be a personal repository of thoughts, ideas and challenges I face, or of specific successes and other anecdotes that I can share. It’s not meant to be an exhaustive, autobiographical index of my personal or professional achievements and failures.

See you tomorrow, or next week, or next month. There is no set time for blogging, then again one might blame Facebook for that.