Instead of offering my view on this, I thought it’d be fun and interesting to open up and let you be the authors of this post.
So, writing versus blogging – is there a difference?
Over to you.
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This is my take:
I think of blogging as someone at a party that speaks and everyone listens. Then people start jabbing away.
I think of writing as a book club of people that analyzes what you say.
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Many people view blogging and writing as the same thing. After all, isn’t blogging just an extension of writing? You write an article and transfer that to your blog – that’s just writing then, isn’t it? Or is it true that blogging is completely different from writing in that it offers a more personal voice?
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Blogging is digital collage. You can express yourself through different forms of media which includes writing.
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This is my take:
I think of blogging as someone at a party that speaks and everyone listens. Then people start jabbing away.
I think of writing as a book club of people that analyzes what you say.
Ok, you pretty much made me have to participate in this! It’s an interesting question but for me it is very simple. Blogging is a form of writing. All blogging is writing, not all writing is blogging. Simple.
But….
What kind of writing is it? Well that depends. Blogs come in all forms but the I maintain that they must have the written word in them to be blogs. If not, they are something else such as a vlog (video log). In school children are taught different styles of writing: persuasive, descriptive, reporting etc. Blogs may take any or all of these forms.
When people ask me what I do I say I am a writer who blogs because blogging is not the only form of writing I do.
Feel free to disagree with me!
Twitter: gacconsultants
Well Danny, from my limited perspective the word ‘writer’ presupposes that there is a certain level of education and professional know how to craft a story.
Blogging for me is an outlet to participate and hopefully contribute constructive business, marketing and life principles, without having to be quote “a writer”.
Cheers to you my friend and hope you have a great weekend too : )
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@worldofhiglet I have to disagree on this one – not all blogs are written – in other words, blogs take on different forms – video blogs and photo blogs and art blogs and so on.
Certainly many blogs use the written word, mine included. Is that writing? Well of course it is!
I am a writer. I don’t write novels (although I have at least 3 beginnings of novels to date!), I don’t write poetry. I write about my thoughts on things. What people do in the comments is also writing.
So blogs and writing – they are the same and different at the same time!
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Blogging is a subset of writing to me. Sometimes it takes the form of extemporaneous writing, sometimes reporting, others, OpEd – whether it’s just posting thought bursts or researching and structuring a post – it’s still writing.
But writing is a bigger pond to me – it covers poetry, playwriting, journalism, creative lying (fiction), detailing past events… I could go on – but you get the gist.
Is someone who blogs a writer? Yes. But they aren’t a *professional* writer unless that’s how they make a living.
There is nothing wrong with amateur status tho – it has greater depth and breadth of application.
Ooo, this is almost philosophical, and I like it.
I think this question, Writing vs. Blogging, is very subjective.
Where one person could be a “writer” in order to bring in a pay cheque, another could be doing the same just for hobby or personal interest. Same could be said about blogging.
But is a writer a writer, because it’s their profession? Or are they a writer, because that’s what they do.
I think another comparison would be with a print journalist and a blogger. I’ve met both, and having spent a short time working in print media I can say that there are journalists who are not writers.
Then comes the even bigger mystery now, what is a blogger? Now with micro-blogging platforms like twitter – are we all bloggers? Are we all writers? Yikes!
I think that largely it’s the intention of the individual who puts their fingers to keyboard that determines their “status.”
Perhaps in another 100 years we’ll have school kids reading the classic literary works of Danny Brown, from Press Release PR.
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I guess I slightly disagree with Humby as I have my own personal blog that can be described to the party analogy, and I also have my virtual book club – but I don’t consider that writing, nor do I consider myself a writer. Though, I believe that there are some people who have read both of my sites and would disagree with me.
I do think that Worldofhiglet has a point though – all blogging is writing but not all writing is blogging. My husband is able to do both blogging and writing, and he excels. Me on the other hand, blogging I can do with my eyes closed as I feel it’s more of an opinion. Similar to writing a book review, it’s done in the format of stating what the book is about, followed by my opinion of it.
But if you give me a blank page and tell me to write a story – I panic and draw blanks. And THAT is why I don’t believe that I am a writer.
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Blogging is digital collage. You can express yourself through different forms of media which includes writing.
Blogging, in its traditional usage, is a text-based means of communication. Any form of text based communication is considered writing, so blogging is writing. Furthermore, I don’t believe the standards for good writing change based on the medium they use. What happens, however, is that the experience of writing, and what it demands from the reader, changes immensely based on the medium. There are some core values of writing behind all forms of textual communication, but the purpose of writing in one’s life changes with each new medium. Blogging is the latest in these trends.
I’m a writer who has to write both articles and blogs, so I hope to be able to inject a bit of a unique opinion into the blog post here.
The main difference between the two, IMO, is that when I’m writing an official news article, I am unable to put my opinion into the article… when I write a blog on the other hand, it’s clearly noted as a blog, and my opinion is all over the place.
The only thing I don’t like is that bloggers are getting media badges to a lot of tech shows, and they aren’t held to the same rules and responsibilities that we have to deal with. I won’t give out specific examples, but anyone who follows tech shows probably can think of a couple fine examples of how bloggers can screw things up for regular journalists.
But I appreciate bloggers, but wish they would handle themselves with a bit of professionalism.
Cheers!
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Thanks for all your comments so far, guys – good to see such a varied collection of views on blogging/writing.
Interesting to see that some bloggers don’t consider themselves writers – I think that would be one area where I’d say that all bloggers are writers, regardless of writing “adequacy”. However, I also see why this might not be the case – which is what makes each view so interesting.
@ Jason. Ha, cheers – I can but hope…!
Wow… very interesting views here.
Mine is that blogging and writing are both technically “writing”, however, blogging is more… writing as you would talk. Whereas, writing you generally analyze it after it’s written.
Hi Danny… interesting question you pose here.
Myself, I have never been a “professional” writer, and I am just getting into blogging. For me, I am not so sure I see a difference.
Blogging in most forms all starts with a thought and putting pen to paper, or keyboard to screen. No matter how you shake it, you are writing… authoring content for the web.
So when you say writing vs. blogging, can you have one without the other? Sure you can “video blog” now… and I suppose one would not constitute that as writing, unless you are scripting it out ahead of time.
I suppose the distinction for me would be professional vs. non professional. Paid vs. not being paid for your written word on blogs, in magazines or for a TV sitcom or movie.
Sure, there are a lot of folks who may not agree… some who have had professional training etc… but I am just answering the question as asked.
- Doc
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I think blogging is a genre all its own. Just as writing copy wouldn’t be attempted the same way a historical romance would, a blog gets its own special voice and cadence.
That’s just MHO, though…
Writing is the “tool” for both bloggers and writers, but they use the tool differently. One main difference I see is that a writer is in complete control of the content – it’s flow, it’s direction – and they are the sole authors of the thoughts contained in the piece. A blog is a conversation that is initiated by the blogger (aka the “Party Giver” to borrow from @humby), but once the thought is put out there the content and flow is driven by others who enter the conversation.
Also, a blogger intends to initiate and/or stimulate thoughts and ideas, but they don’t necessarily have to be able to complete the thought or idea on their own. This post is a great example of that. A writer intends to tell a story or develop an idea. They have to be able to initiate the thought, tell the “story” (or develop the thinking) and draw the conclusions. They have to make all of the writing hang together cohesively. A blogger gets to see where it goes. So writing to me seems like a different craft.
Do bloggers sometimes write that “complete thought”? Sure. But in blogging brevity rules and completion is not required – you just want to fuel a conversation. As a writer you are the only one talking and if the conversation isn’t interesting people stop listening.
In the end I think blogging is making one of the essential goals of a writer, to captivate readers, a lot harder. The desire to interact is an itch we are becoming accustomed to scratching!
So now I find myself asking was I just blogging or writing? I say blogging because I am still in the inquiry – opinions yes, but conclusions not yet! What do you think?
While I haven’t begun to blog yet, I have already differentiated writing and blogging in my own head.
I see blogging as a subset of writing – a platform in which to concisely present a point of view, and as many have said, to elicit opinions.
When I think of writing in broader terms, I find myself splitting it into what I do for pleasure (poetry, personal correspondence) and the PR writing I do professionally. They are separate and distinct from blogging as far as I am concerned.
As for why I have not blogged…well, that’s a sore point for me. I find I have been blog-shy, thinking that there are already so many great bloggers out there, and is there room or even a need for another voice.
But I have decided I will take the plunge, largely due to what I have learned through the Twitterverse. Let’s just call it a before New Years resolution. Wish me luck:-)
Twitter: iGoByDoc
Hi Danny… interesting question you pose here.
Myself, I have never been a “professional” writer, and I am just getting into blogging. For me, I am not so sure I see a difference.
Blogging in most forms all starts with a thought and putting pen to paper, or keyboard to screen. No matter how you shake it, you are writing… authoring content for the web.
So when you say writing vs. blogging, can you have one without the other? Sure you can “video blog” now… and I suppose one would not constitute that as writing, unless you are scripting it out ahead of time.
I suppose the distinction for me would be professional vs. non professional. Paid vs. not being paid for your written word on blogs, in magazines or for a TV sitcom or movie.
Sure, there are a lot of folks who may not agree… some who have had professional training etc… but I am just answering the question as asked.
- Doc
iGoByDoc´s last blog post..Twitter Elf Christmas Disco Performances
The difference is software. Period.
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The difference is software. Period.