Some Steemians advocate long blog posts. I have two problems with that.
The more words, the more effort. Right?
Not necessarily!
Do you think it is easy to write a short meaningful blog post? Anybody can ramble on and on, hit send and feel pleased with themselves. Quantity does not always equal quality.
Concise writing is a skill.
Focusing on the core message without unnecessary diversions can be difficult, especially when you are passionate or very knowledgeable about a topic. Just imagine writing a book review, for example. Summarising the main points and adding your opinion in a concise way can be painful when you are really into the book and want to entice other people to read it, too.
Steemians love reading long posts?
This is another claim I have come across every so often. I don't spend much time on reading blog posts. I don't have the time. When I see that scroll bar at the right side of my browser window shrink smaller and smaller, I am alarmed. There are three possible reactions:
- I quit the page and don't bother reading at all. This only really happens with topics in which I am only marginally interested.
- I quickly scroll down to see how long the article is and whether I like the layout, e.g. whether there are a few sub-headings and images. Then I decide whether it's worth giving the piece a chance.
- I start reading straightaway. This generally happens when I am very interested in the topic or like the author. However, if the article drags on for too long, I either quit or skim the sub-headings to find the next interesting bit.
If I want to read a book, I get a book.
I rarely ever bookmark blog posts in my browser. This means that I must be able to read an article in one go. For a slow reader, like myself, concise articles are much preferable.
Books are different. I pick them up and put them down whenever I want. I don't need to stare at a screen either. My attention span and patience for blog posts is much shorter.
Brief and informative. That works for me as a reader. That's what I aspire to as a blogger.