Blog Experiment

[Decaf]

I'm starting a new experiment where I put what I write in blog form. I don't know how easy its going to be to get motivated to write on there, but maybe someone has a good idea on how I can make the leap.

http://p-type.blogspot.com/

 

[Kianara]

Oh dear. Decaf is joining the blogosphere. Run!

Actually, I can't look at your blog at this moment, but I will definitely be following it. You always have something interesting to say.

and as for motivation.... Ummm. Yeah I've got nothing.

 

[EloquentBohemian]

I like the skribit box on the sidebar. (...yup, I voted)

As for motivation, my suggestion would be that you could do a series of posts on the breakdown of INTP. Much of your knowledge is scattered around multiple threads here and I think that it would be excellent if it were in some cohesive form.

I have a blog as well, but ya know... motivation..... rhymes with procrastination

 

[Ogion]

Haha, EB, indeed, indeed.

Hey Decaf, i wish you motivation and perseverance

Ogion

 

[Concojones]

Decaf,

I've always loved your posts, so I'm thrilled to see you're starting a blog!

It can't always follow the more 'advanced' stuff you post on the forum, but I can tell from your blog that you're going to make sure everything is understandable. Good!

I've gotta tell you though: if I didn't know you, and read your first blog post, I'd probably think: "bah, another dull blog on stuff I can just as well find on wikipedia or google". Know what goodies you have to offer.

And for that, I have a suggestion (non-binding of course ). Real-life applications of the theory! That's right: use stories of your daily life as a starting point for your posts, analyzing your friends' or your own behavior and linking it to personality psychology. Application is, after all, what we're all after, and if someone can pull this off, it has to be you!

Then there's writing style: there's good and there's great. To see what I mean by 'great', check out this guy's writing. You might think you're a good writer (so do I) but when I see this guy's writing, I say to myself: this really has punch! Learn from that. Another writing tip I like (but haven't tried yet) is reading a written post aloud, to hear if it sounds smooth and rhythm is ok (I believe this one comes from Penelope Trunk).

In response to your question: if your your posts are great and successful, you might find that, somehow, magically, you have plenty of motivation to write! It's just the beginning that's hard, when nobody's found you yet. Perhaps we forum members can make up for that. Good luck!

 

[Decaf]

That introduction is the 3rd of 5 versions I've written so far and I'm happy with none of them. One version even turned into an autobiography. I just can't figure out the tone I want to set.

Damn Fe... I can't set a conversational tone unless I'm actually talking to someone. I don't know if you've noticed but all the threads I've started have been terrible, or at least they feel like it. Maybe I need to turn it into a Dear Abby column for Jungists Course, that's not a good way to cover a specific spread of information for others to re-read.

I'm gonna work on version 6 tonight and we'll see how that goes. After all, if I don't, then I'll never get to lucky number 7, right? Or maybe 13 is my lucky numbers... we'll see

___

Since we're discussing it... anyone have a better idea of what to name the blog? When I first chose P-type I thought it was SO clever. Now I fully realize just how obscure it is.

 

[EloquentBohemian]

Damn Fe... I can't set a conversational tone unless I'm actually talking to someone.

Which supplies your solution. Choose someone you know well and whom you converse well with and write as though you are talking with this person.

Since we're discussing it... anyone have a better idea of what to name the blog? When I first chose P-type I thought it was SO clever. Now I fully realize just how obscure it is.

I think it is unique and clever. The title may prompt people to check out your blog out of curiosity. You do have the description underneath the title which expands on the title.

 

[Concojones]

Hey Decaf,

Don't obsess over the perfect post. I'd just focus on making things a bit more concrete and alluring: 1. your selling proposition (in the blog post) and 2. a different blog subtitle ('desk' ... yuk, theory!)

P.S. this is my personal opinion; use whatever you like and discard the rest. In the end, it's gotta be your blog. And P-type is not a bad title. Is it obscure? OK, probably, since many readers will never get to see your first post (the explanation). But even so, it's a pretty good title. The alternative would be a title that's more geared to market the blog. If you decide to keep the title, you could point out that the choice of the blog name is typical quirky INTP behavior.

P.S.2. I'm off to sleep now

 

[Beat Mango]

Good on you for deciding to blog, I blog and it's fantastic. You'll get a wider readership than posting on a forum, and judging by your posts on here, you certainly deserve that. I use Orble, which is excellent for getting onto search engines and therefore getting your hits up. It's also automatically linked to google adsense.

I struggle with consistency as well (I haven't written anything since joining this forum - what does that tell you!), but even one blog a week is ok, even though they generally recommend writing about three (remember, most blog entries are relatively short news grabs, not detailed analysis, so one quality entry per week is fine).

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

Since we're discussing it... anyone have a better idea of what to name the blog? When I first chose P-type I thought it was SO clever. Now I fully realize just how obscure it is.

What? Was Pness taken?!
Actually you might draw a type of crowd you may not bargain for.

I've started (and erased) 4 blogs over the past few years. Motivation is sometimes the problem but I've found it is a lot easier if you like the subject of any post. One suggestion is to set a pace of post frequency that you think you might keep up with in the long run. If you go too frenetically at first (as our type tends to do) you'll grow tired of it real quick. Also, it lets any readers you may get know what to expect.

Also, do you find Blogger easy to use? I tried it once a few years ago and found it a bit of a pain. I much prefer Wordpress but I'm wondering if Blogger has gotten any easier.

 

[loveofreason]

Is this a different way of approaching that long awaited book by Decaf that we have been long-awaiting?

Congratulations. Perhaps let us all goad you if you ever find the project flagging.

 

[snowqueen]

I have kept a blog for three years now though like BanMan I have hardly posted since joining here - but I think I might plagiarise some of my posts here to keep it going until I regain momentum. I actually don't really write it for anyone but myself though I have a tiny but loyal readership of people I have never met. The best way to get people to visit your blog is to comment on other people's. I don't care if no one visits. I started with Blogger but it pissed me off in the end and have used Wordpress for 2 years and find it much better. It has the benefit of recording the search terms people use to find your blog which is interesting.

I think it's probably harder keeping up a themed blog - mine is fairly random some personal things, some rants (that'll surprise you I know) and some random musings. Oh and a friend posts brilliant film reviews regularly,

 

[Decaf]

Which supplies your solution. Choose someone you know well and whom you converse well with and write as though you are talking with this person.

That's probably a good idea. I'm moving back to Portland where I actually know some folks, so hopefully that will become easier to find.

Don't obsess over the perfect post. I'd just focus on making things a bit more concrete and alluring: 1. your selling proposition (in the blog post) and 2. a different blog subtitle ('desk' ... yuk, theory!)

Yeah, I went ahead and went with version 7. Lucky number after all (I can't promise I won't hate it later, but I won't change it again). I hate selling myself... I think that's the problem. With no content ready written, I still feel like I'm selling myself rather than any idea I came up with. I suppose once I get something written down to speak for itself that feeling will go away.

If you decide to keep the title, you could point out that the choice of the blog name is typical quirky INTP behavior.

I think I'll do that

I struggle with consistency as well (I haven't written anything since joining this forum - what does that tell you!), but even one blog a week is ok, even though they generally recommend writing about three (remember, most blog entries are relatively short news grabs, not detailed analysis, so one quality entry per week is fine).

I could handle 1/week. Hell, I used to write a 2-3 page sermon here every week or so.

What? Was Pness taken?!
Actually you might draw a type of crowd you may not bargain for.

Yeah, I was trying to avoid bringing Noddy over

Also, do you find Blogger easy to use? I tried it once a few years ago and found it a bit of a pain. I much prefer Wordpress but I'm wondering if Blogger has gotten any easier.

Blogger's alright so far. I mostly use it because it links nicely with all my other google accounts. It also uses adsense pretty fluidly, but there are times when the menu system feels clunky and features are light. I think I'll stick with it for now, as I'm sure this isn't going to be the final incarnation of my blogging attempts.

Is this a different way of approaching that long awaited book by Decaf that we have been long-awaiting?

Congratulations. Perhaps let us all goad you if you ever find the project flagging.

Yes, it pretty much is. Although one of my purposes to the book idea to begin with was to help me get into a psych grad program. The book was way too much, but I think this could be just as useful and much more realistic. I'm hoping having some blog followers will help motivate me to continue the work.

I have kept a blog for three years now though like BanMan I have hardly posted since joining here - but I think I might plagiarise some of my posts here to keep it going until I regain momentum. I actually don't really write it for anyone but myself though I have a tiny but loyal readership of people I have never met. The best way to get people to visit your blog is to comment on other people's. I don't care if no one visits. I started with Blogger but it pissed me off in the end and have used Wordpress for 2 years and find it much better. It has the benefit of recording the search terms people use to find your blog which is interesting.

I think it's probably harder keeping up a themed blog - mine is fairly random some personal things, some rants (that'll surprise you I know) and some random musings. Oh and a friend posts brilliant film reviews regularly,

Hmm... cannibalizing my forum posts sounds very attractive. I just wish it was easier to find the ones worth using.

I doubt I'll ever have much of a readership, but the search term report certainly sounds intriguing

Oh, and I'm currently working on a long book report for "Building Blocks of Personality Type" for those interested. I'm moving this weekend too, so expect it no later than Wednesday.

 

[zxc]

Cool as. I'll be paying close attention to your blog

 

[quitejaded]

Oh, damn... good luck. Hope you actually do it. It will probably be tl;dr for me, but I shall scan.

 

[Concojones]

Another tip: whenever you come across something that inspires you (for a blog post), bookmark it in Delicious. No more writer's block!

 

[Decaf]

OK, I'm starting over. I find that I can write books on other people's threads but often feel uninspired starting my own. I have to fight against that at some point, but why take it head on?

Thus Ask An INTP

I'm still fiddling with things, but I'd appreciate if someone can come up with a good introductory question. Any ideas?

 

[echoplex]

hmmm, do you mean something rudimentary, like describing (in layman's terms) what an INTP is? If so, a good intro question might be: How can I spot an INTP? or Do I know any INTPs?

If not, a good question might be Which topics fascinate you the most?

btw, you have a "there" that's supposed to be "their" (couldn't resist)

 

[Decaf]

How can I spot an INTP?

Thanks, I'll answer that one first

 

[snowqueen]

Are you sure you wouldn't like to start again using a wordpress blog platform? It's so much nicer than blogger.

 

[Decaf]

Alright, I'm taking your advice and trying it out. Now that I've disassociated the blog from my personal email there's not much benefit of using blogspot anyway.

So far I like the features, but the interface will take some getting used to.

http://askanintp.wordpress.com/

And looks like I'm gonna have to dig my reference material out of storage to answer these

 

[snowqueen]

I promise you won't regret it - once you get used to the interface it's much nicer and the community feel of wordpress is much better somehow.