Image source: Pixiv by yanmar
This post is part of a Team Blue’s first Round Robin, in which members try to post something regarding the given topic.
I’m also doing this to ease my mind after so much coding. ~_~
The collaboration of a group of individuals, the size of which may vary from 2 to any (reasonable) amount, in order to post and maintain a single blog. That’s team blogging in a nutshell.
Team blogging has become quite common in the anime “blogosphere”, with popular ones like Riuva. Panther’s own blog is also another example, though it’s more of a oh-I’m-looking-for-co-writers-for-my-blog rather than let’s-form-a-team thing. In the case of the latter, a group of (otaku) friends gather to create a blog dedicated to their ramblings about anime/otaku culture in general.
That brings me to my next point. Why form a team blog? Some form one (typically) to share the cost (or to mooch off the richer ones) of hosting a customised blog, complete with domain names and such. Others form up to alleviate the “weight” of keeping the blog active, e.g. posting regularly. Distributing the “load” among several people can bring about the illusion of constant activity.
In other words, they’re too lazy/busy to handle it themselves.
There are also other advantages to consider. Consider a team otaku-themed blog with 3 members. One person could focus on anime, another on games, and the last on figurines. The blog could then proudly claim that it’s covering 3 aspects of otaku culture, thus attracting more visitors, etc. Also, the more members you have in your team, the greater your coverage can be. Behold the power of diversity.
Then there are the risks behind forming a team blog. Let’s face it, it’s not easy finding a team of people able enough (as in free and not so damn lazy) to post. The majority of the members of a team blog have to be active contributers, otherwise the blog will either revert into an individual point (which defeats the purpose), or die away completely. :/
Image source: Pixiv by つむつむ
Take for instance, a certain blog B, which is made up of writers C, D, E, and F, with C heing the leader. Let’s say F enters National Service, and therefore cannot post. E goes into depression due to work issues (e.g. overdue assignments), and therefore cannot post either. D goes into an indefinite hiatus for no apparent reason (e.g. can’t be arsed), and eventually C gets sick of being all alone, and leaves, and the others follow suit.
Result: Completely dead team blog.
There are, however, many examples of team blogs that are still alive and kicking now. As I’ve mentioned before lot of people are following the trend of forming team blogs, especially since most people now are much more disciplined (and yet somehow too damn lazy to start blogs of their own). There’s somehow so much future behind forming a team blog than “roughing it out” and taking on the responsibility alone.
But then again, Kyouran Kyōdai is (technically) a team blog. Fariz and I joined up for a special reason: We’re brothers with very similar interests. We blogged about the same things before the merger, and it felt kinda silly posting about the same thing on two different blogs. Of course, I’m now the less active of the two here, though I have been contributing behind the scenes. I provide a lot of material for Fariz to post, and he (somehow) manages to post every single day/night.
Special case, I know, but it just proves a point: It’s just so CONVENIENT. And it is because of this conveniece that team blogging will be the future of anime blogging (or at least become really popular and common). Maybe it’ll reach the point where we look at individual bloggers and go “Wow I wonder how he/she managed that himself/herself”.
Well, that’s the end of my RR. Granted, it’s not the best essay I’ve written, since I’m exhausted from staying up late last night (apparently that can have a delayed effect on you), and I hoped you enjoyed it (as if).
*yawns*
Well, then, back to normal life.
5 Responses to “[Team Blue] The Future is Anime Blogging?”
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Wow. You’ve changed my opinion. These risks are so apparent that they don’t come to one’s mind.
Sometimes it happens when you try to mantain a blog by your own… it goes to hiatus.
http://kazenomise.net/ appears to be down :s
I think the act of convenience is one of the key motivations in starting a new team blog. Of course, if your end result is not to be a Danny Choo, RandomC or even a Sea Slugs Anime Blog level of popularity, the act of convenience to form a team blog works. It’s a good way to share ideas out and have fun with a buddy of similar interest.
However, according to the topic, I presume the title seems to indicate some sort of success or sustained interest in team blogging that results in team blogging becoming the dominant voice within the blogging community. I cannot see that, at least in terms of the anime blogging genre. Since anime blogging is a casual activity (with little monetary returns unless you are DC.com or perhaps even Sankaku’s porn), there is little motivation to be successful. Moreover, anime blogging is more about the views of an individual, and dilution of personalities within a blog is a major issue in any blog. If you notice, the most popular blogs out there are solo blogger predominately, despite the growing love for team blogs.
There must be a reason why team blogs, despite the various advantages, have not seen that meteoric rise to success as yet.
Very interesting read. Both you and Impz have provided much insight about the mechanics of Team Blogging, and it has indeed been an enriching process for me. There is still much to learn for me…
I can probably relate to this a little better than the general people who does team blogging, seeing that I maintain one myself.
Yes, the risks are high, but the benefits it brings are worthwhile. While team blogging can be considered as a convenient thing, there are much risks to be considered.
However, I think Team Blogging is still rather fine, since I’m never sure that I can handle things myself. There are specializations in certain areas, and I doubt I can ever handle everything on my own.
Well, other than that, it’s quite interesting to have these thought provoking posts. I look forward to the next one!