Writer or Blogger?

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   MissEposted 14 years ago

   As a member of HubPages, do you consider yourself to be more of a writer or a blogger?  I'm just curious.  Usually when I tell people about HubPages their first reaction is, "Oh you have a blog?  That's nice."  What's your opinion?

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      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Writer.  I have a bunch of blogs, but I'm more writer than blogger on them too.    HubPages is really a bunch of articles under each Hubber's profile; and although people can write about anything they want to, each Hub is its own separate thing (some more "essays" than articles; some more a collection of information than either)......    so writer (Hubber in the case of HubPages)    With my blogs, my aim was to start them as a writer, posting a bunch of writing; and then "expand" them to be more "conventionally" blogs.

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      advisor4qbposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with Lisa.  I am a writer on Hubpages, but I also have a blog at narcissismblitz.com (as an example of a blog, but you can have a blog in lots of places.  I created that website, but I didn't bother putting google on there yet or amazon)!

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      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Miss E, something about how friends think....   
      
      I used to do newspaper writing as a freelancer, and one paper and I had a weekly feature with one of the newspapers.  One feature, for example, was on teen suicide.   I hadn't seen my girlfriend for awhile and she said, "Are you still writing  your LITTLE STORIES?"      
      
      THEN, because I didn't go to an office full-time between 9 and 5, and instead uploaded my writing to the papers from a laptop, I had relatives and friends who said I "never worked".    (Sometimes you have to straight your friends and relatives out.    )

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         MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Ah!  That's crazy!  LOL!  Then you are for sure a writer.  Very cool!

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      samboiamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I can only speak for myself. I am not a professional writer or poet. I couldn't diagram a sentence if my life weighed in the balance.
      
      I consider myself a blogger. Not a very good one but one that does enjoy what he does. With that being said, there are many excellent writers on Hubpages. These individuals are definitely more than just bloggers.

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         MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Hmmm... so maybe it's a little of both here on the Hub?

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      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Funny, this is what my latest Hub is about.  HubPages is not a blogging site.  So we are not bloggers.  We write articles. So we're writers.
      
      I do have blogs though!

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         tony0724posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Right on ! My self esteem just elevated exponentially !

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         MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Glad to help!

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            Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Glad to help with what??
            
            As regards scores - here's how they work:
            
            http://hubpages.com/hub/Hubscore

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               MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Glad to help with tonys elevated self esteem I suppose.  Not that he needed it.   10 fans my butt.  I think that's a great idea for a Hub Marisa.  I've read about hub scores, but it has been a while.  Maybe I should go over it.  Mine's been dropping lately!   Thanks for the link!

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Ah that's the trouble with forums, you can get confused who's answering who!

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                     MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     So true.

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      cosetteposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      as a member of HubPages? i would say blogger, even though these aren't blogs.i am a writer outside of HubPages, so to me there is a distinction. this is just speaking only of myself and how and what i write here, of course.
      
      
      i have seen some incredible creative writing by hubbers like Dohn121 and some highly well crafted & professionally presented work by hubbers like WordScribe and some stunning poetry by hubbers like tantrum and others who i can't think of right now because i'm exhausted that makes me consider HubPages a writers' community. definitely.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I understand why you feel like that, however I do think it's important to be careful describing it as that, because you may attract people to sign up to blog on HubPages, when that isn't what the site is for.  Which isn't fair to them, because they'll be disappointed in the result.

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      Edweirdoposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Back in 2004 I decided to drop everything in my life and travel around the world (long story!). Before I left I signed up for a website so that I could keep an online journal, and told everyone about the "blog" I was going to write while I traveled.
      
      Every time I used that word I had to explain what it meant!
      
      Now it seems as if everyone has a blog, but I consider myself a writer, not a blogger. Even when what I was writing what was then called a "blog", I still approached it like a writer.
      
      I suppose it's the difference between a "journal" (blog) and what I do here, which is writing "articles". Though, at least in may case, I try to use a journal-style voice to write informative article-style content...

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2. 78

   MissEposted 14 years ago

   I totally agree.  I guess I should say aspiring writer?

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      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I call what I do on here "online writer in my spare time".  I figure most people on the Internet know what that is, and people who know me what the "deal" is with something like HubPages too.

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   tony0724posted 14 years ago

   In my profile I state that I am not a writer I am just a guy with an opinion. But Hubpages has certainly made it imperative for me to Improve my writing skills. Now after a little over a year in a half here I have almost 10 fans ! So I am making some progress !

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      MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well your hub score is great for only having 10 fans!!!

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         tony0724posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         There could be some hope !

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            MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Hope?  I've only had 93 as my highest score and I have quite a few fans.  You must be doing something right!

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         Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I just clicked on Tony's name out of curiosity.  He's got over 400 followers.     (Apparently, he's not just a guy with an opinion, he's a jokester.     )

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            tony0724posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Lisa I must confess I have moments !

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            MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            LOL!!!! That's hilarious!!!  Great undercover work detective!

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   tony0724posted 14 years ago

   Miss E I just tend to poke alot of fun at myself. I try not to take all this too seriously. If I worry too much about my hubscore and my google earnings that takes away the fun of this whole endeavor for me. And this should be an enjoyable process.
   My earnings might get me a pizza and a beer right now. But like you myself and I am sure most others here I think we all do this because we love it !

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      MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      RIIIIGHT......your earnings....so you have "10" followers and your earnings could buy you a "pizza and a beer" I assume you mean they could pay your monthly bills.   Hehehehehehe....it's all good.  I'm not the most serious person either!   I would like to beat my highest score however!

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   samboiamposted 14 years ago

   After reading many of your responses it is clear I am a blogger among writers. Is that kinda like "a boy among men"
   
   

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      MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I feel kinda stuck in the middle.  I don't feel like I've REALLY published anything for money, but I'd also like to think my articles are a smidge more than just a blog.  Not that they're in any way thought provoking.    Well, I had to think to write them.  Which is why I'm here.  My brain needed the work out!  Oh, and I'd like some shopping $$$.

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         MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Oh, and I'm not a man.  LOL!  Just thought I'd add that.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I don't think "just a blog" is a fair statement. 
         
         Shadesbreath is talking about something different - the difference between a hack writer and a literary writer, perhaps. 
         
         I think it's important to make the distinction for other reasons,not because blogging is somehow something "less".  A blog is a collection of short, punchy blog posts.  They can be information-rich or just chatty.  A really good Hub is at least 400 words of worthwhile information.  Both can be well written.

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            Shadesbreathposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I agree.  I wasn't saying blogging is something less.  I was pointing out that, the way I was reading what came prior, there seemed to exist within the question and the answers, a lesser value in the concept of "blogging."  There are some great writers blogging.  I guess what I was getting at was what it means to be a writer to each person matters more than what medium, venue or application one writes in.  I've read artistic personal ads in classified sections of newspapers. I've read marketing and advertising copy that is GREAT writing, barely not art, perhaps even destined to be counted art in generations to come.  I've also read garbage with a hard cover that called itself a book.
            
            I guess my point is that the question seems to devalue being "a blogger" where I think the real question, rather than creating an "either-or" scenario, becomes one of what it means to write.

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   Shadesbreathposted 14 years ago

   I think the nature of the question opens up a deeper idea about what it means to BE a writer.  I'm not making evaluations, here, only observing, but the "blogger" option appears to be weighted as something less (less intense, less focused, less skilled, less practiced... less something, but seems to be "less").
   
   Writing is for many a deeply personal act, a therapy or a confession.  For some it's a way to sell something, a religion or an idea.  For others, it is merely a verb that describes the act of putting down words to communicate an idea, be it for hobby money or amusement.  For others, it is the means of creating art, which is close to being "a deeply personal act" but that, at least some could argue, is NOT the same as making art(I would agree with them). Which is not to say that none of these things can overlap, whether intentionally or by accident. 
   
   Anyway, an interesting question.  One I wrestle with every day.

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   pooja0908posted 14 years ago

   i am also a hubber as well as a blogger nothing strange in it

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      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The question was, if you're writing on HubPages, do you call yourself a writer or a blogger?   I'd say writing on HubPages isn't blogging.  You may do both, but in different places.

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   cosetteposted 14 years ago

   i was only talking about myself. i'm sure my humble opinion isn't going to sway anyone. oOo, were it so that i had such power, muwahahahaha.....
   
   seriously though, the question was asked, i answered it true to my feelings and said we dont write blogs here and i also noted some exceptional WRITERS and i dont know how better to express my opinion without being offensive to SOMEone so i think i will just go to bed. 'nite

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      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Cosette, sorry if I offended you - that certainly wasn't how I meant it. I hope you're not thinking that your Hubs somehow aren't worthy of being called "writing", because they clearly are!

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   cupid51posted 14 years ago

   I would love to be called a writer! But I'm not sure really! The idea of blogging is not really clear to me! I have started a blog where I used to put the links of my hubs, I don't know whether it is right or wrong!

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    Urbane Chaosposted 14 years ago

    I'm a writer.  I publish articles outside of hubpages and get paid for it.. And, I publish articles here and get paid for it - although the two payment methods differ.
    
    Everyone in here is a writer, in my opinion.  A bloger is someone rambling about some nonsense that maybe one in a thousand care about.  A hubber is someone who takes what they write seriously, because they want to inform people of something And get some kind of compensation for it.
    
    The final word: Keep writing, leave the blogs to the amateurs.

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       Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I publish articles outside HubPages and get paid for it too, but I see what I do on here as separate from that.  I'm a writer when I do "real work" and an "online, spare-time, writer" when I'm on here.  I guess I'd compare it to, say, a dentist who has photography as a serious hobby.  A full-time dentist and part-time photographer.
       
       These days a lot of blogs aren't just ramblings, though.  Businesses and professionals have blogs.  There are professional bloggers with a real following.   I don't think all bloggers should be written off as people who aren't writers.

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          Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I agree. I feel that the difference between writing articles and blogging is in the length of the post.  Other than that, there are bloggers who are good writers and bloggers who aren't.

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    Falsor Wingposted 14 years ago

    I'm a writer, I only recently started blogging purely as a means of helping my writing endeavors. that said I can't decide whether I think the blog format/lax rambling demeanor is helping me or rotting my brain. If spelling, grammar, and intelligibility are required I think you qualify as a writer. blogs can have those things but they aren't really game breakers.

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    Research Analystposted 14 years ago

    The lines has surely become blurred due to the media bringing attention to blogging and many big brand corporations now have blogs where people can stay informed of things happening within the company, I have noticed that most bloggers have a specific cause that they enforce with their blogs, such as health care reform or green living issues.
    
    And then with journalism changing and many who once wrote for major magazines and newspapers are now writing for electronic news outlets and specialty blogs, so as in regards to hubpages, I think it can be a blogger and a writer.

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    MissEposted 14 years ago

    Wow!  Those are some great replies.  Maybe it's a little of both.  I wasn't saying that blogging is less.  Sorry if it came out that way.  I just think that blogging is more like a continuous entry, like a journal.  Writing covers a variety of subjects and each article has a definite end and beginning.  I think maybe recreational writer would be a good way to describe it?  I feel like professional writer would be pushing it.  If I sold an article to a company or wrote freelance I think that would be on a different level than HubPages.  Hmmmmm....thanks for y'alls impute.  I was just curious as to how other hubbers described what they do here on the Hub to others.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       That's exactly my take on it - and in fact, you inspired me to write a Hub saying exactly that! 
       
       
       
       But that I don't agree with!  There is certainly a big contingent of "recreational writers" on HubPages but there are also several professional writers, writers who aspire to be professionals, and writers who have reached a professional standard even though they don't call themselves that. 
       
       I think the very fact that a writer joins a site to earn money from their writing, means they're trying to get to a professional level.

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          Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          For me, even though I'm earning, and even though I separate my "real" writing from my HubPages writing (and wouldn't call myself a "professional writer" as it relates to the HubPages efforts); there's a whole lot of my writing that I wouldn't call, "recreational," either. 
          
          A lot of the stuff I write on here is stuff I write from motives other than "recreational".  I don't flatter myself into thinking I'll accomplish my aims, but a lot of the stuff I write is writing I'd call my "try-to-make-a-difference" writing.  I feel as if I have the "luxury" of being able to write, and I'm not above trying to use that as a way to "try to change the world" (in some tiny way).  Some of my HubPages writing is "just doing what I enjoy doing", but a lot of it, now that I think of it, is what I might call my "altruistic writing".  So, when it comes to that kind of writing I do on here, I don't even think of it in terms of being any kind of writer at all.  It's more about (please overlook this seemingly lofty and pretentious choice of words, because I'm more humble than this) writing out of a wish to do/write something worthwhile "in this world".   I also have my "history" writing, which is writing that I think someone (even if only my great-grandchildren) will read one day and get an up-close-and-personal glimpse into life as it is today.   
          
          I do that same thing so many writer-types do, which is to imagine making just one person feel a little better - and making the writing worthwhile (at least to me and that one other person).     I don't know....    it's separate from "professional" and separate from "recreational" -and just a thing in itself.
          
          These "other" kinds of writing, and this "other kind of writer" I am, are the things that make me kind of smile, or else kind of make my heart pound a little, when I think about them - and maybe that aspect of writing is, to me, too special and valuable to try to label it.   The monthly Google deposit, or things like the freelance article on choosing a car stereo system, just don't matter much to me; when I think of this "other" aspect of writing.     (Well, those things do matter to me - but no more than, say, an envelope-stuffing job would - I want/need the earnings and don't mind working for my money, but that's it.)

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          MissEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          There are definitely professional writers on here!  I was referring to myself.  I don't feel like I'm on that level.....yet.  Maybe someday.

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    Rafiniposted 14 years ago

    I didn't have to join HubPages to tell me I'm a writer, lol.
    
    I'm also on blogger, shetoldme, facebook and MySpace, but haven't quite figured out how to use them yet...I mean, I know how to create a blog and such stuff, but I don't get it.  What's the point?  Besides backlinks and social networking, etc.  lol  I'm thinking I'll get it soon enough, though.

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    pooja0908posted 14 years ago

    i am hubber and blogger both

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