Bloggolalia: Blog Burnout

I can't help but notice how many of my fellow bloggers (myself included) are starting to feel a little burned-out. Blogging by its very nature can be a solitary, lonely enterprise. One writes stories for people to read, but does not actually communicate with those people except through comments or maybe e-mail.

For example, look at how AJ Daulerio's arrival at Deadspin has re-invigorated Will and Rick. Deadspin defintely was seeming burned out to me for the last three months. Part of it was Will's book tour, but Will and Rick seemed genuinely tired. They wouldn't say so themselves, but I think now that AJ is on board, they realize just how thin they were stretched before he arrived. However, with AJ around, Will's writing had extra bite to it all week long. He even said in the last post on Friday "It's nice having Daulerio around, isn't it?" Since Will can be a little understated, I'm pretty sure what he really meant was "AJ, IF I HAD TO SPEND ANOTHER MOMENT TALKING TO MYSELF ON THIS BLOG, BLOOD WOULD BE SHED" haha.

Or, take the writings of Lozo. In-between body part jokes and odes to Sarah Chalke, he pointed out that anger fuels blogging, and that he's running a little low. See the following:

What was I saying? Oh yeah. What's up with me? I think I might be too happy to blog on a consistent basis these days. Let's face it -- my power comes from my anger. I've said it once and I'll say it a million times -- it's always more interesting to read a blog by someone who is complaining about not getting laid than it is about a guy who is getting laid, whether he's constantly talking about or not...
But the point of that analogy is the happier you get in real life (apparently being in a relationship makes people happy) the less fun your blog gets. This problem affects approximately .5 percent of the population. I am in that sliver. So what's a boy to do?

Lozo tried to fix his anger shortage by starting a "Suckiest Sports Blog that ever Sucked" tournament. I'm a 12-seed (upon request), and to say I'm excited is an understatement. Let the hating, err, healing begin! I definitely have a love-hate relationship with the best blogs out there. Please, go vote on Lozo's blog all week long. I expect to at least pull the 5-12 upset, people! Don't you realize that this blog is about nothing but the NBA, female athletes, Christian stuff, and Youtube videos? It's as if I have deliberately picked the least popular options to blog about. I'm a shoo-in for the Sweet 16! haha.

So what's the point of this post? I think that as bloggers, we need to be aware of burnout. Slow down your posting when you feel burn-out coming on, or post about something fun and/or new. (Expect fewer posts from me in the next month, along those lines). Talk to more people/more bloggers when you feel burn-out coming on, so you don't feel quite so isolated and solitary. That's not much, but it's a start. Do you all have other ideas?

Oh, and Final Four picks: North Carolia vs. Memphis in the last game, Memphis wins it all. I know Memphis plays in a weak conference--but they have one loss and have received little respect all year long. I think that might be enough, especially since Roy Williams will be exhausted after beating Kansas. Don't think that won't affect his coaching performance in the next game.