So I had to take an "Intro to Interactive Media Design" class my first semester at this school. Basically the entire class was directed at how important it is to have a personal blog that somehow relates to the web industry. Our instructor was extremely obnoxious and claimed that if we don't blog, then we don't stand a chance as a serious designer. His reasoning was mainly to get your name into the web design/development community and start networking. Our homework each week was to blog about different Web 2.0 stuff.

This has led me to hate blogging. I wanted to see what other designers' opinion is on the subject.

Bah! I don't believe a word of that! You blog because you want to and have something to say. If you don't have anything important then don't blog.

A blog doesn't make a designer successful. Your work makes you successful.

I think his reasoning is that you should probably be using your blog to talk about your own experiences and code snippets or whatever that you find or develop.

But seriously ... how many people will go to your portfolio, check if you have a blog and if you don't SEE YA! The person needing a site doesn't give a crap if you blog or not, they just want you to design a site for them.

That's my 0.02 cents.

I don't have a blog and I consider myself to be successful. I'm not famous, but I'm in demand. I work full time and have a waiting list. There hasn't been one client that cared if I blogged or not. So if your instructor was saying it's important to get clients, he's flat out wrong. If he wants you to be famous in the web des/dev community then it's more important.
In my experience having blogged for 1 year and struggled to find things of interest to write, it took up valuable time that I could be spending on my clients or doing something personal. Basically blogging extended my work week which I didn't need or want.

The portfolio is the most important piece of the puzzle in getting clients!

Edit: Send your teacher here... we'll set him straight!

Your teacher is wrong.. very wrong.. Designers can be excellent when doing something creative. This doesn't mean they can write. Writing a successful blog is a whole different sport and very time consuming.

I do believe that if you do blog and are devoted to it, you'll find more interesting stuff you can "take home", but it's by far not enough to make or break your career..

I agree with others, your teacher is wrong. Seems like the blogging and web2.0 is somekind of an obsession to your teacher

I agree with your teacher to a point. A blog shows that you know what you are talking about. It encourages you to keep up to date with technology and explore new methods. It gives prospective employers an insight into what you know and what you are like.

Imagine this. You have 2 similar candidates, one has a blog and writes solid web programming articles, the other doesn't. The employer will get a good grasp of the bloggers knowledge. Far more than they could ascertain in a 30 minute interview.

This being said blogging is hard work and very time consuming. How much better would your portfolio be if spent time on it instead of blogging?

At the end of day, if you can write, have a blog. I would say that it would increase your job chances. If you can't write very well then focus on your portfolio.

I agree. Your ability will be judged on the quality of your work, not whether you blog.



I hate blogs. They're full of personal crap that no-one cares about.

If you have something useful to say, say it; but don't mix it in with what you had for breakfast today, or how you're feeling, or what music you're listening to. I don't care about that stuff.

Blogs are writing that lacks focus. They are writing on disparate subjects that is brought together by the writer's ego: the writer wants to have his name in lights; he wants to believe that people are interested in him, not just in what he writes.

If I have three different subjects to write about -- say, badminton, web design, and my poetry -- I will post them on three different websites. I certainly will not inflict my poetry on people who are looking for advice about badminton or web design.

Blogs: everyone wants to be a star.

lol, mike... sometimes you can be incredibly negative....

A blog can also be an "online journal." In my blog i just write about what I'm up to and what I'm thinking about. And there are plenty of people i used to hang out in america who are interested enough to come by and visit once or twice every month, just to stay in touch. Same with Twitter....

Guess everyone's entitled to their opinion

Yes, that's what we writers and philosophers do. We say things that other people find uncomfortable; if no-one finds your opinions uncomfortable, then they're probably not worth expressing. I've always preferred honesty and directness to living in fluffy-bunny land.

Maybe it would be more precise (but less pithy) to say that I have no interest in reading blogs (except when I can extract something useful), and that I have no desire to blog myself.



That seems like an appropriate use of a blog. It's still not a form of communication that I care for, but at least you're using the right tool for the job.

To me, most blogging is a monologue into the void. From your blog:



A perfect summary of the blogging spirit. You're channeling the zeitgeist.

That part I agree with, but I definitely don't consider blogging something that will make or break you. I think of it as more as if you want to become a famous web designer, like Linda said.

I think blogging is a distraction for most. If you are just starting out your business, doesn't it seem to make more sense to spend time getting clients, perfecting your skills, working on a solid portfolio and spending time blogging about stuff people that will potentially hire care nothing about?

I think it makes a lot of new to the career folks or less than motivated folks "feel" like they are accomplishing something. But is it bringing in an income? Probably not. In the old days we called them paper pushers, they looked busy but really didn't accomplish a whole lot.

I'm not against blogging. If you have time, have something to say and can say it well... have a blast...