Memoirs of an English Major

“To Thine Own Self Be True” - William Shakespeare

Tonight, I am taking a different approach to posting. As I write this, I am trying out Dark Room, a minimalist full screen text editor. While this program is great so far, I don’t think I will be doing this often for my posts during the week, as I’m trying to streamline the post process, not add another program in the loop, though I do like the idea of just myself and the text. Perhaps for my fiction, personal, or when I simply need to write, I will use this. I suspect that for me, something in between this works.

Tonight’s post has to deal with something that’s been bugging me within the web : niches. I think it is best to start off this post with where I stand : I hate them.

Before I continue, I would like to preface this with that when I say I don’t like niches that it is not to suggest to limit scope within a post. I believe it is important to stay on topic within an article and not to jump around. It’s impossible to write a good article, paper, or post without a scope and I would be a fool to suggest for one to do so. More so, this is not to say that one should not set goals for writing, as it is important to strive to improve ones work.

Niches tend to limit the ability to post on topics that one feels passionate about in the moment, limiting a possible market that could potentially lead to better writing, all simply because it does not fit the niche you had set up: It can be frustrating reading an article on the web and desperately wanting to comment on it, especially if you’re inclined to read numerous topics, but realizing that if you posted on your tech blog, it may confuse the audience if it had to do with knitting. I know it’s a stretch, but the idea is that it may be better if you simply just post it and express yourself. If your audience enjoys your writing style as opposed to your topics, your blog will be fine. If you want, tie it back to a central idea, but don’t be afraid to post on it. Write for yourself first and the audience will come.

As well as limiting the ability to write on various topics, they also limit the field of the web, limiting the scope of writing simply to what is profitable.Ever notice how many sites exist on problogging, seo, and the like? It’s funny how many of these sites exist. Everyone trying to find the next big thing and make it rich. The reason for this is because the problogging niche is extremely profitable. It’s a good niche and there are plenty of good writers on it, but because everyone wants a piece of this pie, it saturates the writing arena with everyone writing on the same thing, encouraging group think and limiting ideas. I know people do have to make a living and some are trying to do so blogging, but I believe it is important to write on the moment and within the moment, not what would sell. It makes me wonder if Thoreau wrote simply for profit, would we have Walden ? Would the world have The Rise of Silas Lapham if someone had convinced Howells not to write it, simply becuase it wouldn’t be profitable market?

I know I’m possibly one of the only bloggers out here writing against niches. In the end, they tend to hamper my organic style of writing, limiting what it is I want to post on. In end , I harken back to my original thought : Write on what you feel, not what others feel. If it fits in a niche, fine, but don’t obsess trying to fit one of the profitable ones. Write good content and reader will follow, even if it has to deal with reviews of rotary telephones.

Tell me, what do you think on niches?