I’m so going to blog that – lanyard from the late lamented SOBCON business blogging conference (photo by Sheila Scarborough)
This question came up in a Facebook discussion … what IS the difference between a writer and a blogger?
As someone who has been a blogger since early 2006 and a writer before that, here was my answer:
A writer writes.
A blogger:
- Writes
- Shoots photos
- Shoots video
- Operates online publishing software like WordPress
- Knows how to distribute and promote his/her work via email, social media, and savvy SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)
I’m proud to call myself a blogger.
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When I shared this post on Facebook, one of my friends and fellow writers felt that I hadn’t given proper credit to all that goes into good writing.
She noted that “It is difficult enough these days to receive respect for any sort of intellectual work. Perhaps you did not intend it that way, but to me your words come off as disparaging the work of those of us who are known as writers….Perhaps we could agree on ‘differences of gifts but the same spirit’?”
Here’s my response, so the discussion doesn’t get lost on a social media thread instead of being anchored to the original post, Old School style…. 🙂
I responded,
“When I started out as a freelancer in 2006, I learned to introduce myself as a ‘writer’ because no one seemed to know what to do with a ‘blogger.’ There was very little appreciation of the skill set involved in blogging/online publishing, and the demands have only grown over the years (I never thought I’d have to figure out how to shoot video or become a much better photographer.)
It’s a little better now, but many of those who do not publish online really have no idea what goes into it, so I decided to lay it out as simply and clearly as possible.
Anyone who appreciates writing knows that a TON of work and skill goes into that simple sentence in my post, ‘Writers write.’ I did not want to get sidetracked into that; I wanted instead to shine a light on all the other things you have to do in order to really rock online publishing, as opposed to pure print work.
There was no intention to disparage anyone, although if any pure-print writer still has his/her nose in the air about blogging, I’m happy to tweak that nose. 🙂
I do love to see print writers and book authors like Susan Orlean, Anne Lamott, and J.K. Rowling show their stuff online, and especially on social media, where their writing skills and turns of phrase really shine in pithy updates and spontaneous conversations that haven’t been run through an editor.”