Discussions
Which is better, funny or serious?
Posted by iratedog • 10/13/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blogging, funny, serious
I want to know, is there a market for serious, informative blogs? On The Irate Dog it seems all posts about serious subjects like the environment, politics etc. get much fewer readers than the more light hearted ones.
So - does anyone look at blogs for information (on subjects other than blogging itself) or is the blogosphere dominated my lolcats and failblogs?
User Comments
-
I tend to gravitate towards serious with a dash of humor. Or is it humor with a dash of serious?
Either way, laughter always works. (Even when trying to communicate a serious message.)
Clear as mud, right? :-)-
haha, thanks.
-
I fall between two stools on this one in that I *try* to be funny and end up with a lame half-funny half-serious tone that does nothing for nobody! But in general I'd say funny. Life's about laughing!
-
-
Funny.. always! -
I tend to look to blogs less for information, because when it comes to solid info, there are other sources I feel overall more confident in-- online encyclopedias, news sources, etc.
I would look more for information on a blog if it had an openly personal spin to it-- where the value there to me would be more in the personal experience-- how someone handles a common situation-- rather than truthful information itself. -
nice and good one! -
I believe if one can use a little humor to make a serious point readers or listeners will retain more. I tend to be more serious than funny but I am trying to find a balance. -
There are no serious subjects, only people who take themselves too seriously.-
good one! -
haha, very good.
-
-
For facts and news, I go to trusted news sources. I guess I'd go to a blog to learn something that the blogger was expert in, but in general I like humorous blogs. -
What are you doing to promote them? -
My two most-visited posts (both in the 60-70,000 visitor range) were about a child who was molested on a schoolbus in Ohio and why middle-schoolers shouldn't be able to obtain oral contraceptives without their parents' knowledge. The first is on my webzine and was written by Gerri Elder (but before she became a social media goddess, so that wasn't a factor); the second is on one of my blogspot blogs.
-
For me it's less a question of funny or serious and more about whether the writing speaks to me. This is surely a cliche, but it needs to be real, somehow. I need to get a sense of the actual blogger.
Of course, I am also often interested in specific questions, specific content, but then the humor/seriousness dichotomy doesn't enter into it either. -
Hard work is what gets your blog read, whether it be funny or a serious one.-
That might explain my miserable stats of late.
-
Newbie blogs tend to look for the magic elixir of traffic without having to put in much effort at all, when really it is a lot of commenting, twittering,, stumbling, broadcasting and a smidgen of luck that gets any consistent results.
Also the fact that you may find that subject interesting, but to others it simply bores the pants off them. I have learnt that lesson
-
I'm not fishing for views here. I learnt the power of twitter today with the Trafigura scandal - I did some digging of my own, some investigative reporting, advertised it with the appropriate tags, and voila - the highest view count in a day ever. I know how well twitter works.
-
-
funny!!! i like getting laugh. serious people are boring for me. -
I prefer funny, but that's just me. -
Also if more people say Funny, does that mean you will try to do a 'funny' blog?
-
Make it seriously funny. I'm serious! -
I think they both have their time and place. -
Where are those readers coming from?
-
Funny -
Funny.. -
I'm always serious. Always. It's important to have standards. Mind you, I'm a compulsive liar so I wouldn't take anything I say seriously. -
a bit of humor definitely keeps em entertained and in the conversation -
I don't look to blogs for invaluable sources of information - I go for entertainment or spins on reality. That's why I try to keep my blog light-hearted.... I don't take life too seriously even though I have a serious career so who wants to read a depressing blog every day or a bland one....even if I were to write about interviewing skills, i'd be adding humor to it so it's not a boring read. -
It depends on the type of blog, there are blogs more funny, and others that speak about serious subjects, so, it's not a question of what it's better, both of them are important.
There is a place for serious and funny blogs! -
Tongue in cheek is best, but tongue in other places draws the most traffic.-
Long time no see!
Glad you haven't lost your edge.
-
-
My posts are a hodge-podge of serious parenting strategies and funny kid stories. It works for me because my readership is mostly parents in the trenches of parenting... sometimes we just need a laugh.
If you're looking to establish a readership, you could ask yourself who would be interested in reading your opinions? Then find popular outlets where those readers participate.
Good luck. -
Well, first of all, yes, there is a demand for serious. But there is not a demand for "information" the majority of the time because people will usually turn to more established commercial and governmental organizations for such.
What there is, however, a demand for is value-added analysis and discussion (the good kind of serious) where you look at information and speculate, ask questions, consider implications, editorialize off of other sources, bring up points and commentary that the regular news organizations may have missed. You know, editorials as supposed to articles. You can actually get quite a bit of readership that way.
You need to consider your reader and what they're looking for, and usually it's not an expository data dump because they can find a better, bigger, more reputable and professional data dump somewhere else, and usually for free. What they're looking for is what it all means and a good discussion.-
Well said.
-
-
I do serious/funny just depends on what happed here that day. I post recipes and information about the farm and the animals we are raising. -
-
Neither does being a maroon.
-
-
it depends on what i'm writing about, but no matter how serious i always try to add something in there that's not SO serious - not always funny, but definitely always something lighthearted so it doesn't get too depressing...-
Yep, I do the same thing, but I am certainly not trying to sugar coat things for anyone else or dumb it down. I could start lolleg jokes or something though? heh
-
-
Both can be done well as long as their is passion or a "voice" behind the message.
Boring news or stuff written to be funny but really isn't makes life on the web dreadful. -
I get serious when discussing humor. I treat many serious discussions with humor.-
Same here. People who do the exact opposite annoy the piss out of me, though.
-
-
I aim to be humorous, but I often end up, unintentionally, posting stupid drivel. Its ingrained. Whatever, it doesn't get me much traffic.
Add Your Comment
Login to leave a message.
