The results are in!
Dum da da dum.
This week I conducted a poll for the students in my class at the Center for Cartoon studies. It’s horribly skewed, but at the very least interesting. Now, try not to freak out, ’cause I’m going to get all meta on your ass. First, I asked them what kind of content they preferred to look at on an artist’s blog. The conclusion:
The number one choice for things people like to consume on a blog: images from a sketchbook and documentation of the artistic process.
Second, my class likes to see images of a work in progress and updates about events, appearances, and where the blogger is published.
And as an anemic third, they like to see webcomics in addition to technical tips and tricks about making a comic.
But, when I asked the students why they read blogs, a lot of them said as one student so profoundly put it, “Sorry - I don’t really read blogs. Other people’s thoughts bore me.”
And I also asked the students if they have a blog (which most of them do), why? Almost half of the students said that they don’t really know, the other half said they do it because it’s necessary to have a web presence to be a professional (ick!)
So, I am totally not going to tailor my blog to some biased poll I gave in class, but I hate to do things without a good reason. What is a blog really? Is it just an elaborate advertisement disguised as a diary? Is it a creative outlet? And, unless you’re a call girl or a journalist, is it just an elaborate waste of space?
I dunno, but I’m going to do a little experimenting to figure this one out. I’ll fetch my rubber gloves and safety goggles. This could get rather messy. But in the meantime, here’s a list of blogs favored by my classmates, some of them are really awesome!
Drawn.ca — was the most cited favorite blog, and I can see why
FFFFOUND.com — I totally love this!
Cake Wrecks — Seriously?
Steve Bissette — the amazing Steve Bissette
I read your blog and I wasn’t bored by your thoughts. I am interested to see what becomes of your adventures in blogging.