Comments on other blogs

I like to read them because every so often you'll see something to the effect of: "What is the matter with you people? I expected your blog to be updated more than once a week!" or "You need to blog about X Y Z."

Generally, the comments aren't like this; they tend to be supportive or refutational or rebuttalistic (is that a word?). More and more, however, these "you aren't working hard enough or on my favored topic!" are making the rounds.

Get used to it, bloggers. This is what people are like. There's no free service that can't be griped about.

My uncle, who lives in a charming ski town in Colorado that has blossomed into a oasis next to a dystopic hellscape of second homes, once went to a tourism meeting where the presenter laid out what today's consumer is like. In a nutshell, cheap and demanding. The assembled townspeople, laid-back ski bums and longtimers with stoic rancher/miner roots, were stunned. Those who didn't work "on the mountain" or in hotels or whatnot, at any rate. They had thought that was just the "New York Jews." Oh, no, people. This former waitress can tell you there is harshness within that Christian family from Indiana.

The presenter said that basically, in order to compete in today's ski tourism climate, prices were going to have to drop, amenities and activities were going to have to soar and there had better be some decent limo service, pronto.

Most of the people in that room probably got there in a little beater car. Beaters, by the way, are how actual rugged people get around in the west, not in huge SUVs. I have been to Alaska and throughout the U.S. west. Truly, the official car of outdoor workers with Carhartts is the AMC Eagle.

These people thought that the charm of their town — which is darn charming! — and its laid-back, live and let live attitude would be the attraction. Maybe that worked for a while. But people don't want charm anymore because it isn't convenient enough nor catering enough.

Back to blogs. Maybe if you only have a small audience, they see you and love you and are cool with the fact that you have a real job and are appreciative. But once you have a decent sized readership, some of them aren't going to understand that you are blogging for your own fun. They think you are doing it for the audience, and that there are certain expectations. They have no idea of the limits out there.

I have to laugh because as a reporter at a teensy paper that serves an oft-privileged community, I get the same kind of attitude (the paper recently disbanded its readership panel, which spent a lot of its first meeting griping about how little the 40-page-a-week paper (with sports and lifestyles) wrote about until it realized that there were only four writers on staff and we were all in that room). At least there were some shocked faces for our entertainment.

So enjoy your first taste of being considered legit media: Complaints.