John's Corner - New Life

(UPDATED: December 13, 2012)

Anything and everything is what my blogging work is all about. Recently, I've realized that most of my posts on John's Blog Space could be better suited for other blogs and for other such niches. So some posts are being deleted and/or replaced. This "John's Corner" is a confessional of mine. It is a confessional regarding certain topics and such I've posted on John's Blog Space. As I have somewhat applauded the aspect of reaching 1,000 blog posts (officially), there are some things I want to discuss regarding my epic posting of blog topics here on "John's Blog Space." Anyone who probably have read my blog for a long while may have seen me post all kinds of topics. There were various blog posts previously on JBS that were either deleted and replaced, or deleted for good. As I kept adding "spaces," I've started to call all of my blogging work as my "blogging universe." I have been pleased with everyone who entered my orbit.

Even though I've posted on lots of topics, I have found great importance in letting certain past topics and poorly-viewed posts to be better suited elsewhere. I want my posts to thrive in other blogs with more concentrated audiences. So I felt the need to make other blogs while also updating previous poorly-viewed and poorly-involved posts. But in the past, I hated the notion of being a niche blogger and making niche blog posts. Eventually, I had to make these niche blogs and niche blog posts if it meant making them more viewable and more useful to a better audience.

So begins my confessional...

LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S):

DEC 13 2012 - added more material, completed an incomplete paragraph

--- Why Didn't I Think of This Earlier? ---

If you know the history of "John's Blog Space," you will know that basically began life as a Gran Turismo-themed blog. I was running out of topics to feature, so I wanted to discuss all sorts of other things instead. Not many people started to care about "John's Blog Space" until I eventually started discussing fashion. Most of my top ten most-viewed posts all-time on JBS have either been about fashion or have elements related to fashion. Here is a look at my blogging journey by topic.

John's Shop Space.

Because of the workload I've endured in posting fashion material, I felt the need to start a new blog because I thought people would probably think I'm trying to make money rather than post quality material. So I started "John's Shop Space." I am too cheap to set up a proper online store (and have to deal with any sort of fees to keep one going), so JSS was both a store AND a blog. It was ONLY meant for directly offering material to my readers that they may be interested in. So no comments were allowed for any post.

John's Gran Turismo Space.

I wanted to start a blog in the future about the Gran Turismo series. What happened? I started one- "John's Gran Turismo Space." But wait- didn't JBS start out a GT blog? Yes it did! So I started what I didn't want to start long ago! I still get a good amount of traffic to JGTS as it crossed the 50K view mark not too long ago.

StyleSpace, by John B. Marine.

I felt like a huge percentage of my readers and visitors came to "John's Blog Space" for fashion-themed content. I initially did not want to start a fashion blog because I am not qualified or educated enough to discuss fashion, and I don't consider myself truly adept to discuss fashion on an acceptable level. What happened? I started another blog- "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine!" I made all these posts and these topics to try to get fans of my work to appreciate my fashion-themed discussions. I still try to post material to my StyleSpace blog based on blog posts from JBS, but I also have created exclusive posts for SS that have never been discussed anywhere- including JBS.

There were two reasons why I chose "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine" (or "StyleSpace by JBM") as its official name. The first reason was because I didn't want to have two blogs called JSS. I could have called StyleSpace as "John's Style Space," but that name would conflict with "John's Shop Space." I wanted to stylize it as "StyleSpace."... which leads to my second reason. There was another blog called "StyleSpace," so rather than complain for naming rights, I simply took my name and applied it to my fashion blog. Hence... "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine."


It took me some time, but it was up to me to determine whether or not to start new blogs to try to draw more specific audiences. It even took me a while to try to generate decent audiences for each blog other than JBS.

--- Why NOW? ---

So why did I start two niche blogs, knowing I don't want my material to be niche-related? You could say I've posted certain topics on JBS just to gain overall attention. Why not treat my audience to a variety of topics? I have always been careful selecting both topics and words for my blog posts. I don't post anything "because I can." I post topics because I know someone will probably look for something online and want something of quality to fulfill one's needs. A lot of people basically take the Internet as looking for fun and entertaining material rather than anything useful or engaging. People would want to see the latest viral videos and memes than quality useful material. I am not hating viral videos or Internet memes, but I just think while entertainment is good, don't forget about the wealth of information and quality of expressed opinions online.

The Niche Factor.

I always felt that those who stick to certain niches or categories have a more concentrated audience. However, certain blogs have to remain to and continually stick to a certain topic and context to remain viewable and enjoyable. I have always had a tough time committing to one specific topic or genre because I want to discuss many things. I don't want to be about just one thing. That's why I always adjust my topics. I try to adjust my topics to provide something a bit unexpected while also providing the same quality commentary and material to my audience. I will mostly blog about anything that I think I can positively contribute to the Internet and that I think can be of use or enjoyment. So a blog about fashion and photography would NOT benefit if one blogs about political topics.

You Don't Know What You Want, Do You?

In the past, however, I probably- and maybe honestly- didn't know what it is I really want to bring to the blogosphere. Am I trying to generate as large of a reading audience as possible, or am I trying to post material that will be useful to many people? That is a question I sometimes ponder almost any time I post a blog entry. I do not consider making individual blogs unless I feel my work can be better suited and concentrated for specific audiences. It would be pointless to start a blog about something if you aren't willing to discuss something to a great extent. A blog is a commitment. Do not start a blog about anything if you aren't committed to make it about something you feel passionate about to discuss and continually discuss. Since many people know my main blog, I have to use this blog to try to get people interested in my other material.


Long story short... I have feared being some sort of niche person. That's why I didn't start JGTS or SS any earlier. I would hate the notion of being a niche blog maker to where people would regard me as just being about certain topics. Also, I felt like making niche blogs and niche blog posts means I'm constantly under pressure to continually provide quality material on specific topics rather than express my mind freely about anything. That's why I love posting about almost anything on almost any topic. I want the least pressure against me to blog and continually blog. Another lesson to learn is that blogging, like life, is a work in progress. You eventually change things up in real time to adapt to new situations and take on new challenges. It's life.

--- Moving Towards the Future...

I guess I will let you in on a few things. Consider this a public newsletter regarding my blogs and latest blog posts.

• I am not sure what I want to do with "John's Shop Space." This was my alternative blog for JBS because I feared people think I blog only for money. I created JSS mainly to offer my commentary while also offering material online that may be of interest to them based on material I've posted online. I may either close JSS or re-design JSS. I've used JSS recently to do product reviews, mostly tech reviews.

• "John's Gran Turismo Space" may feature some extra content besides Gran Turismo and Tourist Trophy. I may consider discussing motorsports there without making JGTS too much into motorsport. JGTS is supposed to be just about Gran Turismo and Tourist Trophy. The only time I really mention real motorsports is when I am discussing making the game series better by taking insight from real-life motorsports.

• "StyleSpace, by John B. Marine" will remain my fashion blog. I just need to get more traffic going so it can become more relevant than it is. That's why I am using my main blog (JBS) to hopefully feed more traffic to SS, especially those who love fashion. SS is still a fairly young blog. I do hope for great things for it. Whether or not I see those "great things" depends on how many people perceive and accept StyleSpace.

• After starting four blogs (five, including a private blog I've created for experimental purposes), I am thinking of maybe starting a site- not another blog- using Google Sites. Its concentration will be solely on racing games. I do sort of fear that it may lead to me making ANOTHER blog. I don't want to start a new blog unless I feel I absolutely have to in order to provide quality content in yet another field of study. Maybe I have a successful site, or maybe another blog. Name and such for it have not yet been determined.


And about John's Blog Space? It will continue to be my main blog. I may have not discussed fashion in a while on here, but I won't entirely abandon fashion, and I don't intend on deleting all of my fashion topics to be on StyleSpace. Even though I've posted a lot of blog posts on a lot of subjects, I feel some of my lowly-viewed blog posts could be better suited to other blogs and to other audiences. That's why some of my posts, especially of certain topics, are deleted from JBS and posted elsewhere with updated versions. I am just trying to extend the life of my posts so that nothing is completely gone forever.

(UPDATED: December 13, 2012)
I am also considering a new theme to "John's Blog Space." I am not sure if my new theme will include a layout change, but I am not really sure how to implement the new theme I am considering. "Sea of Stars" is the current theme. More info to come when I do come up with something interesting.





If there were a moral to all of this reading, here it is:

Do not start or support anything you are not willing to commit to.

And this has been my confessional. So even though I may be nearing 1,000 posts officially, I am not ready to surpass this post total until I feel like all of the posts I've done are of any use. I don't want to just trash everything that hasn't resulted in views. I save copies of my blog posts on my computer to be edited and enhanced. If I feel a certain blog topic could possibly be better suited for a more specific audience than for my world audience, I will post that entry in another blog so it can generate more attention than it probably ever did on JBS. It is all about extending the life of my blog posts along with keeping my audience(s) happy. Some posts on JBS will be deleted over time so that I can maximize the potential of my posts actually being viewed and enjoyed to some extent. Some posts simply just haven't resulted in as many views as I thought they would get. I can only do so much. The success of material lies in the hands of readers like yourself. Considering I've done over 1K posts for all of my blogs (including this one), I can only maximize the potential of posts that still have some sort of relevance and use. If I can stretch out a topic's usefulness and relevance, I'll do all I can to make it happen.

I guess it goes to show how much I care about blogging and how important my posts are. I care so much that I want all or almost all of my posts to still mean something even months and years down the road. I try to get as much usefulness out of my blog posts as I can. No post ever is useless because I believe in posting material that I think WILL be considered useful or entertaining. I do not post anything out of boredom. Anything I create is created because I am confident enough in what I type that it is worth putting online and worth being enjoyed by a worldwide audience. If I didn't have this level of dedication, I probably wouldn't have the audience and support my posts usually get.


It was a lot of reading, but you made it. Congratulations! Thank you for reading!

"Like" me on Facebook, Follow JBS, and/or Contact Me via E-Mail!
Subscribe to John's Blog Space (JBS)	Subscribe to John's Shop Space (JSS)	Subscribe to John's Gran Turismo Space (JGTS)	Subscribe to StyleSpace (SS)