Blogging was where it all started for me. I started this blog all the way back in 2005, sharing stories and adventures as a university student in Perth, Australia. Little did I know the blog would go this far, as I dived deeper into the world of photography, and it has opened so many doors for me over the years. As I got involved with Olympus on an official capacity, and subsequently left, and then started my YouTube channel, the attention was taken away from the blog. It is no secret that YouTube pays a lot more than blogger, when it comes to ad money, and it has become a sustainable source of income during the dark times of Covid/Lockdown. YouTube was the sole reason I survived the pandemic. It was no coincidence that I poured my heart and soul into growing my channel in the past 4 years, and only recently I have surpassed 75k subscriber count on YouTube, which was no small feat for this Kuching boy. Nevertheless, the blogger in me is yet to give up on blogging!
The peak of blogging days is over.
Blog is somewhat a thing of the past. That is a hard truth, but the truth, nonetheless.
Do people even read blog anymore these days? Is blog still relevant? Is it foolish to maintain this blog, to continue to write and update new entries?
With the rise of short form videos, such as TikTok and Instagram reels, the attention span of how people consume online content has changed so drastically, I could barely keep up with the trend. I don't even have TikTok, and I don't post on Instagram reel. I don't even understand how Instagram works in general.
In fact, I prefer writing over making videos, and that is not a secret I keep. Writing is so much more enjoyable, and I can edit and re-write paragraphs without much consequence (before publishing).
Imagine, having spent 4 hours shooting talking head videos and all the B-Rolls, only to realize I made some mistakes and I have to go out again just to reshoot and correct those mistakes. It is just too much work, and we have not even started talking about the video editing work. Post-production would take a few more hours. I am not really complaining, in fact I am very grateful for the opportunity on YouTube, as the platform allowed me to reach a wider audience. It was a new challenge which I accepted, and it has allowed me to acquire new skills, and grow as a photographer and content creator. I have learned so much over the years making videos on YouTube. In some ways, it has helped me to become a better photographer too.
I do admit, it takes less work to write than to make videos, that itself makes writing more fun.
Strangely, I still get quite high pageviews, even after all these years of blogging. Last month I had 150k page views on this blog. That is impressive considering how little effort I put on this blog these days, compared to my peak blogging days in the past. Considering the huge traffic coming in, it would be a waste to not keep this place updated. That reason, plus I do genuinely enjoy writing and posting photos in a blog format, I do want to keep this place alive, and continue blogging.
What do I want to accomplish with this blog?
Honestly this was a question that I never answered when I started the blog. Then the blog shifted form into a photography blog, and I still did not have a good answer of what I want to do here. All I did was sharing fresh photographs week atter week, and along with the photographs, I shared some thoughts and experience making those images.
It was never about chasing numbers, or fame. I acknowledge this blog has achieved some success over the years, gaining international viewership. I never blogged for attention. I already have enough drama in my life. I don't need to add any more from my online presence. I also did not use this blog as a tool to boost my photography business, though I must say the branding did help to some degree. When people run background checks on me and find that I have this blog, that added much weight to my credibility as a photographer. Also, being around for more than 10 years, consistently pushing new content also helped with client confidence in hiring me.
That does not mean I have no direction or purpose for this blog. I will continue to write and share my thoughts about photography, along with new photographs, but more on a personal level. On my YouTube, it has become a money-making machine, where I do need to find a balance in pleasing my audience vs making the content that I want to make. Since this blog brings so little income in terms of ad money (yes it still brings a bit of money), I can say things more freely here, and be myself. The freedom is fresh, and I crave to have that to express myself more, without constantly worrying about losing the audience, or if the audience does not like what I have to say.
My name is Robin Wong, and I am a photographer and blogger from Malaysia. This is not going to change, this blog is here to stay, for better or worse! More updates coming for sure. Stay tuned!
Please support me & keep this site going:
Hello Robin,
ReplyDeleteI only read your blog from time to time, but it was my primary source of information of M43rds camera stuffs, especially on Olympus stuffs.
Maybe this blog could become like your personal notes to share tips, ideas, feelings, or express anything related to your photography journey. So it doesn't have to be aimed at any audience. Maybe just for yourself as the main audience?
Write what you like and what you want.
Anyway, keep on creating.
Cheers,
AR
Thanks for being here, appreciate the support.
DeleteMoving forward, this blog will have less heavy content, some will be photography related, some will be just my diary/journal documenting a bit of my life. This will be going back to basics on the reasons I started this blog in the first place - to share a bit of my life.
We definitely appreciate that you keep blogging, Robin. I watch many of your videos on YouTube and have commented on them, too, but blogging goes at a different pace to video content. Even though people may rudely complain when encountering articles that are longer than soundbites, it is completely possible to read such articles in chunks or to quickly skim them, whereas videos demand much more of the viewer's attention.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like to watch videos all the way through when the creator has put in as much effort as you do. Otherwise, it seems impolite to skip through, not to mention that people doing so will easily miss many of the things being covered, only to bring them up in the comments, of course. But to focus on a video for its duration demands a time commitment and good viewing conditions. For me, at least, there is more flexibility in reading a blog.
I write blog articles myself, spending quite a bit of time even on the shortest of them, seeking to ensure a level of readability and coherency. Nevertheless, I can imagine that preparing a video entails another level of work. For me, the audience size doesn't matter: what matters is the occasional high-quality conversation about what I have written, and I appreciate such interactions considerably.
In any case, I hope that however you wish to communicate, it brings you as much satisfaction as it does to your audience.
Thanks Paul for the support and I appreciate your opinion.
DeleteI started with this blog, and I will continue to write, though the direction will take a less heavy approach. The video production will continue as it generates much needed income.
I will continue to keep my blog updated, some will be photography related, but also I am going back to basics on how I used to share bits and pieces of my life here.
Or some random thoughts and happenings around me!