After four and a half years of inconstant operation, I’m wondering what to do with this blog. At its height, the blog had a friendly and intelligent community of regular readers, a fair bit of google juice, a perfect number of daily hits, and a wonderful network of impassioned fellow bloggers.
Now? Not so much.
And it’s all my fault. I first let the blog slip in the Spring of 2006, when I decided to take time off from it to finish my doctoral dissertation. That worked out well in the sense that I finally received my degree, but the blog never really recovered from that six-month hiatus.
I started the blog up again just as I went on the academic job market, which was probably a bad idea. And the blog has suffered — few new posts . . . . obituaries, of all things, languishing on the front page . . . . tumbleweeds blowing through the comment sections (though certain posts continue to resonate) . . . . WordPress upgrades ignored . .. . . well, it hasn’t been pretty.
“Lusting to be Lost” by mdumlao98But here’s the thing: I miss blogging. I miss the friends I made here, the dialogue I had with readers, the emotional and intellectual connections that I had with fellow bloggers . . . . and, most of all, I miss the writing. I miss sharpening my prose on a daily basis, playing with language, attempting to improve my skills.
As much as I’d like to return to doing what I used to do, however, many things have changed. The time I used to have while I was writing my dissertation has evaporated. My new job, which I started last fall, is great, but it’s time consuming — I’ve got a fairly heavy teaching load, but I also need to produce research for tenure. Although I still have family in Philadelphia, the new job brought me up to New York City, which means that my relationship to the amazing network of Philly bloggers has changed.
But the biggest difference is that I’m no longer focused on what used to be the primary subject of this blog: politics. I still care about it (Go Obama!), and I still read political blogs, but at a certain point, I became so sickened by the inexorable cycle of disappointment and frustration in recent years that I stopped believing in the power of the people to effect real change. And it’s hard to blog when you don’t have that faith.
I’ve become interested in an entirely different set of blogs and issues. Nowadays, I’m likely to read teaching blogs written by fellow academics or technology blogs written by instructional technologists. In my reading, at least, I’m moving from the realm of political blogging towards the realm of edubloggers, and I’m not sure how much crossover there is between the two camps.
So, here is my problem: I want to blog again, but I don’t know where to do it. I could start blogging again on The Tattered Coat, and there are certain ways in which that idea is attractive (see my notes about google juice above). However, I wrote this blog semi-anonymously, and I’d prefer to write my new blog under my real name. If I started blogging here under my own name, I might feel that it would be necessary to delete some older posts — an idea that bothers me. And I wonder whether it would be wrong, somehow, to re-purpose links given to me for political content that will be largely absent from the new blog.
And yet, I would have a hard time letting go of this blog, because giving it up would mean letting go of all of the meaningful connections I made here in the past.
So I find myself at the impasse that has kept this blog silent for months on end: I want to go forward, but can’t find the way.
25 Comments on "The Death of The Tattered Coat?"
Cole Camplese:
I struggle with the notion of jumping to a new domain about every year — I am there again. I’d keep this space going and move it forward. Part of the power of a blog is to help us hold onto the things we’ve been thinking about over the long haul. If you are uncomfortable about using this space with your real identity, then you can delete some old stuff, leave those posts marked “Anonymous” , and start moving forward. Of course you’ve sort of exposed your identity by writing this post, so it is up to you. Not really much good advice there I am afraid.
Matt:
Thanks for your thoughtful response, Cole — I appreciate your advice. I’d certainly like to keep this thing going.
Another reader who saw this post today emailed me privately to recommend that I simply start up a new professional blog. The fact that the first two responses I received offered sharply contrasting advice epitomizes the impasse I mentioned above.
I look forward to hearing what others think . . . if this blog still has readers!
yoko:
If you want to blog under your real name, I would suggest starting afresh as well. You could always have a link to Tattered Coat (amidst other links if you want to preserve some shred of anonymity here), although getting the word out to your current audience is a little tricky.
You could keep this blog up for people to read after you leave, should you choose to do that.
Matt:
Thanks, Yoko. The more I think about it, the more I agree that starting a new blog is the way to go. There is a certain manic energy (desperation?) one has when one is starting from scratch that is necessary, really, to building up an audience.
Perhaps I’ll do this: start a new blog under my real name; announce it via email so that regular readers here can follow me over if they choose; cross-post here about cultural topics; post only here about political topics; and live a dual-blogged life.
It could work!
Thanks for the suggestion. I hope that all is well with you.
Melissa McEwan:
I have no advice to offer, but I just want to let you know I’ll follow you wherever you decide to blog. :-)
Matt:
Thanks, Liss — you’re the best of the best.
upyernoz:
as much as i like the tattered coat, i also think that if you want to blog about different subjects, using your own name, it’s probably better to start a new site. once you become non-anonymous, you can’t really ever go back to anonymity.
leave this blog up, and not just to keep the archives around, you can always come back here and blog anonymously if you want. and you should privately email all your friends and admirers from tatteredcoatland to tell them about the new site (hint! hint!).
and, of course, you are always welcome back in philly. drop us a line if you’re gonna be in town and have some time to waste.
Matt:
Thanks, Noz. If I didn’t have you commenting here and nudging me to blog again, I don’t know that I would have come back! Thanks for your support.
It looks like a consensus is starting to emerge. I’m down with that, even though I don’t love the idea of spreading things across multiple domains. It’s probably the smart thing to do, though.
And, of course, ever since I wrote this post, I’ve been dying to write about politics. Figures.
If I were blogging politics today, this is the first post I’d point to. Everyone should read that and the Moran link.
Tony:
A new phase of life deserves a new site, but you should be proud of what you have done on the Coat and leave it up if possible. I miss your “voice” and am interested in higher ed, so please let us know where you land!
Matt:
Thanks very much, Tony! It happens that I’ve been thinking about you, as I just followed Albert’s example and bought a Yashica 35mm Electra rangefinder. Something about being on a New York street seemed to necessitate a rangefinder . . . . Haven’t had a chance to get out and shoot with it, but I can’t wait. I hope that all is well with you.
UnleHorns:
Best wishes with whatever you decide.
Have you heard about MLS coming to Philly? I’m on the board of the supporters club. Check it out: www.sonsofben.com
Take care of yourself…
Matt:
Thanks, UncleHorns. And no, I hadn’t heard about the MLS team — that’s excellent. Love the logo of your group.
Daniel Rubin:
How about a new blog, under your name and the nifty The Tattered Coat brand. As I learned, don’t look a gift brand in the mouth.
Mikhail Gershovich:
Solution to your problem: “The Cattered Toat.” See? That wasn’t hard.
Kyuboem:
Hey Matt, just wanted to say it’s good to see a new post here… only to see that this might be the end! Just let me know what the new address will be… want to keep up with you.
Matt:
@Daniel: Good to see you around these parts, and thanks for that suggestion!
@Mikhail: I like the way you think.
@Kyuboem: Will do, Kyuboem, and thanks for dropping by!
Ottila Jordan:
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while. Hopefully I will see more posts by you, either you start up a new blog, och post here at ‘The Tattered Coat’.
Best wishes
Lizzy:
Matt,
But I see in your post that you have already resolved the problem.
So when you make the jump, please let me know where you land.
Peace Matt.
Suzy:
Well, gee, Matt, I keep checking back here every so often in the hopes that academic life might get its foot off your neck at some point. And what do I see? Sort of what I was afraid I would see, alas.
In a decent world (not even needing to approach perfect) this blog, as is, would only enhance an academic career. However, the academic life is most peculiar, so I do understand that you feel you can’t do TC under your real name. I also feel that it makes sense to have your own academic/literary blog, with your name and the whole enchilada.
Therefore I vote for: KEEP this blog with the occasional anonymous post — by the time they catch up with you, you’ll have tenure and be famous (not necessarily in that order),
AND…
start a new, real-name blog focused on your other interests and have the academic world agog at how QUICKLY that amazing young professor developed a blog that sounds smooth & experienced. And Friday cat-blogging is a totally OK academic eccentricity!
(Do read the wonderful mysteries of Joanne Dobson — a little perspective on the tenure-track life!)
I look forward to reading more of you wherever you are — your presence online has been MISSED, sir, so hurry back!
Jim:
The edublogosphere awaits your presence with baited breath. Actually redbaited breath.
As for switching domains, why? Unless you have another one you are dying to use and would like to start fresh, I think the Tattered Coat has always been about many things, and never just one. This is your archive, baby!
anon:
I think the comment about losing hope about the possibility of political change rings true for many people. Still, the blog was cool and I’d like to know where you end up.
J.Lo:
Matt, as I write this in a sterile hotel in Manchester, England wishing I were at my home in The Hague, Netherlands, I fondly recall banter with you both on the blog and in person. We had some really good dialogue on line and occasionally some really drunken discussions in person at Tangier and Monk’s. I won’t make a recommendation, but I will say that Tattered Coat is a living, breathing thing, and it would be a brave step on your part to bring it forward and acknowledge that it was a part of what you’ve become. Warts and all, as the Brits would say. Whatever you decide, I have a great deal of respect for you as a person and as an author, and I want to know about what you’re doing no matter what arbitrary name you apply. Your contribution has been a gift to me.
Still can’t believe you’re a doctor, though…
Rat Tail:
Refer back,
Push forward.
Pat:
Just give it the f–k up; there are too many bloggers already. No one in their right (or wrong) mind would want to read all that crap. Best you can hope for is a niche.
Best of luck in your further endeavors, or whatever.
karen marie1:
dear matt:
i found your blog and this post by randomly hitting a link at attytood — the name “the tattered coat” appealed to my emotions today, the same emotions you describe when you wrote of feeling “so sickened by the inexorable cycle of disappointment and frustration in recent years that I stopped believing in the power of the people to effect real change.”
if the rest of the content of “the tattered coat” may be judged by your good-bye post, you should be proud of it and yourself.
having an unrelated and unassociated blog shouldn’t even be a question. we are all of us more than one thing. i have three separate, unrelated blogs. one for random stuff, one for strictly politics/government and one for books i read. of course, i only get about 15 hits a day (my heyday was the two months fromlaurelstreet was in business before january 21 when i was getting 50) but i don’t care.
i do it for my amusement and to occasionally write up a little research i have done on a topic i have tripped over and found interesting. (it’s amazing, wonderfully surprising, and sometimes disappointing, what you can learn when you start peeling layers back on things.) i am always thrilled when people come take a look at one of my posts but i don’t post with a mind to driving traffic.
there is nothing shameful in having an anonymously-written blog. do not feel guilty about having both public and private personas.
congratulations on your degree and good luck in your future endeavors.
Comments