Do you need to explain to your blog readers?

Abe Olandres May 21, 2007 · 2 min read

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Around April, Filipino designer and blogger Bryan Veloso shut down his blog. His girlfriend left a one-page open letter in its place suggesting that Bryan is facing some problems and that there are some issues which prompted him to pull down his blog. His readers thought it was another well-pulled April Fool’s prank and days passed by and his site was still offline. It got so many loyal readers worried.

Later, Bryan re-launched his new blog design but failed to explain what really transpired during his hiatus despite the hundres of messages, emails sent to him and people close to him.

Scrivs calls it irresponsible and somewhat egotistic. As always, there are two sides here — one who thinks Scrivs is right and that Bryan Veloso seemed to have played on the emotions of his readers by not really explaining the whole brouhaha and the others who felt everyone is entitled to their own personal reasons however mundane it is an without explaining to the readers.

The question here resonates — are bloggers responsible in explaining to their readers? I would say yes but only to a certain extent and thatdepends on the individual. But that’s a stretch — up to what extent do you need to explain yourself to all your blog visitors?

P.S.
Bryan was also one of our panel of judges in the Philippine Blog Awards. However, we failed to get any note from him and never got his score sheet.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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50 Comments

Xavier · 12 years ago

Thanks designed for sharing such a good opinion, post is nice, thats why i have read it entirely

avodartus · 17 years ago

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AnitoKid · 19 years ago

It is just right and proper to acknowledge the sentiments of your readers. They are one of the major reasons why one keeps on blogging. I guess one word can sum the importance of keeping readers informed on whatever, whenever – it’s called RESPECT. Btw, Yuga, Iâ€™m nearing my 1st-year anniversary as a blogger and itâ€™s time for some serious fun! Join the â€œAnitoKid Anniversary Reviewâ€œ – the grand prize is US$100. Hoping that you can help spread the word. Just hoping, kabayan. Rules are at http://anitokid.blogspot.com/2007/06/win-100-in-anitokid-anniversary-review.html. Stick with me at http://www.anitokid.blogspot.com. And I kid you not!

chase · 19 years ago

I agree as well with what Gina said. The readers have the right to know or even the benefit of a goodbye

Sven · 12 years ago

Hello there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thank you

markku · 19 years ago

Scrivs has always been the egotistic one.

I don’t think there are specific rules that apply to everybody, and no one should be able to impose their beliefs on other bloggers just because they think they know what’s right.

Grace · 19 years ago

I agree with Gina, a blogger needs to explain it to his readers about an absence, for several reasons. If you want to go back to blogging either at a different site or resurrect your site, then professional courtesy is to explain why you went away or how long (if you know) or yeah, if you have a personal thing to take care of.
Should you answer emails or comments after that? probably not especially if the reason for absence a personal one.

erinoo7 · 19 years ago

I think is itâ€™s a private thing

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AnP · 19 years ago

He does not owe any of his readers any explanation as to why he temporarily shut down his blog.

However…

a responsible person would have answered emails from people he knows personally, if they were worried and asking about his absence

A responsible person would have sent you a note if he was, for some reason, unable to do something which he agreed to do previously (in this case, judge the phil blog awards).

my two cents

asdix · 19 years ago

uhhmm..
im new at this area, blogging.. just thought of doing the deed like a week ago.. but for me, i think you dont necessarily need to explain everything to your reader.. if its really personal, then i guess it should be kept to the author..

Tingog – The Voice of The Filipino · 19 years ago

I think we may still be missing the point. The guy doesn’t have to give out his life story in a situation like this.

All he had to do was say, everything is fine now, just had some personal issues, thanks for coming back..

No privacy lost there. But hey, to each his own, and each blogger has a right to remain insensitive to his readers.

aynecoleman · 19 years ago

it’s a private thing, right?

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jhay · 19 years ago

We bloggers are often the ones who cry foul whenever privacy is violated by the big players in the web, so it is ironic to have a situation like this.

Then again privacy has become a blurry word in today’s age of new media.

Christian · 19 years ago

Yes, if you want to make $. Transparency is everything in new media.

Ade · 19 years ago

No need to explain anything to your readers. If it’s private, why share it to the world?

Gloria · 19 years ago

no gritty-nitty details necessary but a general note explaining why. kahit yung tipong “hey, sorry for the prolonged absence, pero don’t you all worry buhay pa ako”.

you owe it to your readers, after all a blog is not really alive without the readers-blogger interaction.

kahit personal blog pa yan. the moment you published your very first post meron ka nang responsiblity sa readers mo whether you know them personally or not.

just my two cents…;-)

Gail · 19 years ago

well, a lot of people just like drama and attention. But very few can actually take it in stride :D

You got to hand it to him, it’s an excellent link bait :P Annoying, but effective nonetheless.

Tingog – The Voice of The Filipino · 19 years ago

I guess it’s a case by case basis..

His girlfriend certainly gave a reason for his disappearance, then it must follow that he should have at least gave a reason when he came back..

It’s not a requirement, but damn, if you expect people to come by and read your blog, have some respect in return.. Respect is mutual..

And readers need to feel their presence is appreciated.

Aaron Roselo · 19 years ago

I’m stuck on a grey area with regards to this matter because I’ve gone on a three-month ’emo’ hiatus similar to his. From what I can recall, I summed up why I decided to be ‘gone’ but never gave into the thought whether it’s necessary or not to explain what’s happening to me on why I’m halting my blog so I guess it really depends on the author and how his readers would react to it.

I don’t find Bryan’s LOA harmful at all, IMO but everyone has a different opinion.

joshu4rn0ld · 19 years ago

your own blog expalin your own idea, there no need to explain anything to any other
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Karlo Licudine · 19 years ago

I think a blogger has a responsibility to his readers in letting them know what is going on. As a blogger, we should think of our visitors as “friends” because they are a part of your blog. There is this relationship between a blogger and a reader that we must put into thinking.

To what extent? Well, that really depends on the blogger. If he wishes to have a certain privacy and we must respect that. This is what being friends is all about.

AhmedF · 19 years ago

Waah waaah waaah.

What a lot of whining.

What happens if someone you considered a friend starts giving you the cold shoulder?

In the real world – you move on.
Evidently online, you write whiny blog posts.

Kiven · 19 years ago

in the end it’s his blog so let him do whatever he wants.

goodbyes or no goodbyes, the world keeps on turning.

JC John SESE Cuneta · 19 years ago

Personally, when the blog goes up again, just a short note about what happened… in the general broader perspective. There is no need to go to the finer details which is already personal in this case.

^_^

A simple “have to take care of real-life matters, I have to put down the blog without notice a few months ago” will suffice. ;)

Gina DR · 19 years ago

If a blogger plans to disappear forever (or at least for a long period), I think he or she must leave some sort of goodbye note, not necessarily going into details. Not good either to let someone else say your goodbyes for you. It’s like passing the buck. You started a relationship with readers when you put up your blog, you have to end it cleanly.