Blogging vs. Television
By Katy | Mar 3rd, 2008
For years, we have been programmed to watch television. Eat, sleep, and be what you watch on TV. Seriously, how many people do you know that you can’t call during Lost?
In our family, it used to be understood that you did not call Aunt Pam while Cops was on. And don’t even think that you’re going to talk to my Mother while Law & Order is on.
You may stay up at night, just to make sure you get your local news before you to go sleep. Or you wake up each morning and turn on the Today show.
For me, it doesn’t matter how exhausted I am on Sunday nights, I don’t go to bed without watching The L Word. This even though I have a DVR box that can record my show for me to watch at a later time.
Here’s your moment to reprogram because I’m going to show you four reasons why blogging is better than television programming.
Instant Publication
Maybe you know an author that been struggling to become a published author for years. With blogging, you don’t have to wait. Some of the best books I have read have been eBooks, written by every day people that are not showing up in Oprah’s book club anytime soon. And no, they didn’t all talk about blogging.
Blogging gives you a medium to become the author you’ve always wanted to be. If you wanted to have a world wide voice, now you can have one. If you wanted to write a book and talk about your skill set, now you can. And it’s not just doing it, it’s having the information published, instant feedback, and if you’re good, fame!
Your World Wide
Many television shows wait years to have a national show. Just to have their words, their story, and their show in front of millions.
By properly networking and promoting your blog, you can have that success instantly. People are hungry for information and as the blogging craze only continues to rise, you stand a bigger chance a bigger audience faster.
In reality, it doesn’t matter what your audience is. By hitting publish, you’re placing your content out there to be reached forever, archived, and looked back on.
Editing and Censorship
No need to follow any FCC rules here. You’re free to say what you want to say, when you want to say it. And it may not make you the most lovable person on the block but controversy has always been good for some website traffic!
Stumbling over your words? Don’t worry, now you can go back and edit them. No one will ever know that you put your words in the wrong order. Making you look more on top of your game than anyone else.
Timeless Content
This, by far, is the best thing about blogging.
Properly planning your posts will allow you to create content that is timeless. And as the years go by you’ll have an arsenal of posts that are still very relevant today as they were they day that you wrote them.
Think ahead and plan your posts so that you can pack in content that will always apply. Some things never change. Find what doesn’t change for your niche, write the words, and publish them with assurance that you have written timeless content.
Just think if you write timeless content, no one can call you out on your 80’s hairdo.
Your Turn!
Do you believe that blogging is better than television? What points can you bring up that I haven’t mentioned?
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I do believe that blogging is better than TV.
Despite the education programs on TV, I believe that I can learn a great deal more online researching my future posts, learning how to design blogs, and even improve my writing skills.
There are so many more reasons to blog instead of watching the boob tube!
Blogging is better than television in so many ways. What I highlighted her though I felt were the strongest points to picking up blogging instead of turning on the TV. Better information on the net anyway. :D
Blogging is definitely better. I like the interactive aspect of it. As bloggers (and readers) we have the chance to ask questions and add our opinions to the mix.
I’m pretty sure no one is listening when I yell at the TV.
Blogging and television are in a deadheat with me.
I love my blogging, but honestly, if I didn’t get my CSI during the week (any day during it), my Voyager during 3 and 5 pm, and my General Hospital M-F and Sundays, I think I’d go crazy!
But honestly, I love the ability to blog, the fact that you can do it, without having someone “approve” what you wrote, and the rights to come back and fix something you don’t agree with anymore, without having someone breathing down your neck over it.
And a quick *SQUEE*!! You brought my favorite book and movie into the post. That’s honestly what drug me in to reply!! GWTW is the most awesome book and movie :)
I would take blogging or writing for that matter over television anyday. I don’t have any favorite shows and generally when I watch TV I’m watching it for a purpose, such as a specific documentary, special movie, or the news.
In comparison - when you’re watching Television you’re not thinking (aka not using your brain) anyways. You’re in a passive thinking mode. But with blogging - you’re thinking, obtaining new information, ect.
some of my “informational” posts come from what’s on tv. and you cant talk to me either during law&order. it’s unheard of. xD
TV -Vs- Blogging..i think it’s totally obvious blogging is the winner. I was a TV show freak. Supernatural, Lost, Smallville. Until 1 day i heard about blogging. It only took me a week! and i never switch on my TV or my DVD. Got back home from work, i open up my laptop and start check out blog. I think i got addicted to blogging.
Sarah » The soaps? Really, I would have never pegged you. LOL As far as GWTW, it’s a classic. Had to be used for this post. :D
Manda » I’d rather be blogging or writing as well. However, I have found that the lack of thinking in front of the TV is when I end up with my best brain storms for a blog post. It’s actually a result of not thinking about it that makes the flood gates open!
Jenny » Mine too! And I stopped being a Law & Order fan when the now 2 year old arrived. Not really appropriate to have on anymore…
Mac » Blogging by far is way more addicting than blogging!!
TV is slowly becoming interactive. VERY slowly. The network providers’ big wigs have to get over their phobia of video on demand and customized programming.
One of my desperate need is taking any video feed and instantly make clips out of them. Then I can go ahead and blog about the clips. I wish my Sat Dish can do that. I wish my TV can do that.
I don’t even turn on my TV at night anymore. I just pick up my computer and read the news and other blogs for at least an hour every night. It is more fun to interact with real people and read about their lives and thoughts :) There are a ton of blogs out there and I think the good ones will survive. You make a good point with the timeless content and structuring your posts. Also, it is more interesting (at least to me) when a blogger speaks from their own mind or about theory rather than recounting the same information from the magazines or other news sites. Your blog does a good job of sticking out in that regard.
Blogging and television serve different purposes. Blogging requires thought and planning, whereas television only requires a TIVO, a drink and my couch. If I fall asleep, I always have TIVO backing me up. I need both of these in addition to books. My order of needs are shelter, food, water, books, blogging, and then television.
There are lots of things that you will get in blogging compared to TV. Your writing abilities will be enhance more in blogging compared if you are just watching a TV.
Michelle » Thanks for the compliment! At night I still kick the TV on, I like my music on demand channels but I’m still with the laptop and attempting to catch up on my feeds.
Beeker » Agreed, there are different purposes. I love your order of needs however I’d have to insert coffee and Pepsi, I’ll take those in substitution of water. LOL
Phil » Very much agreed, TV rarely teaches. I mean really, what am I going to do with the songs I know from Playhouse Disney? However, good shows, like 60 minutes have been great to inspire a blog post or two. They also help me relate things in the “real world” to blogging and that’s always great for another post around here.
If blogging get’s someone away from TV for anytime at all, that’s a big plus.
Unfortunately, it’s possible to blog while the TV’s on.
The people I feel sorriest for are the one’s so addicted to both that they can only blog during commercials.
For doing Blogging ppl will not get any time for watching TV. Few years ago watching TV was the only doing thing in leisure time at home and now it has turned to blogging. Nice turning.
I can’t say that I feel sorry for anyone that blogs while watching TV either. That is unless they can’t keep their train of thought between commercial breaks to have a post that makes sense. I personally can’t do it.
The post wasn’t made as to show why people should stop watching TV. It was made to show the differences in what people do for “entertainment” and how I prefer blogging. :o)
It is foolish to assume that TV is bad for you. Just like any medium out there: garbage in, garbage out. You can apply the same thing to the stuff you listen on the radio, the sites you read on the internet, and even the books you read.
I’m completely agree with Rudy. Saying all tv is garbage is garbage.
My preschooler and my toddler watch PBS and PBS Sprout, along with Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney. While my preschooler isn’t picking up the best attitude from commercials (think of the Pedialyte commercial, where the girl goes “I don’t think I like …”), they’re both extremely smart and have picked up things I would have never thought they’d understand, or learn this early (my preschooler can count to 100, and my toddler recognizes numbers and letters, and can actually think of words for most of them). They got that from television.
Sarah » More than agreed! Zadey loves Playhouse Disney and hates to miss any morning of it. It’s been a great tool and reinforcing my teachings and readings to her. Teaching her about numbers and letters and expanding her brain more than I believe I would have done alone. It wouldn’t have ever crossed my mind to teach her some of the things that TV has but because TV has, I’ve backed up with with books and other learning tools.
She doesn’t get to watch a lot of non-sense. But it has certainly been a great learning tool and gives me confidence that there is something I can show her on TV while taking care of my own work.
I can’t remember the last time i even watched tv. I watch whatever i want, when i wan on the net :)
we can get valuable information both from TV and blogs. We can watch tv and blog at the same. We can even get blogging inputs from tv shows.
But then, you can’t earn anything from watching tv.
Thanks for your comment! :D
I agree that with Blogging, you have instant access to so many people. But it takes much more creativity and learning… I think… to keep ahead of the times when it comes to the internet is a very daunting task.
For me, there’s nothing like blogging or the Internet in general. I don’t even watch TV anymore, at all. I soemtimes watch movies on DVD, that’s it.
I can choose what I want to read about on the Internet, there’s virtually an endless array of subjects out there. And blogging is interactive, unlike the TV. You see results for your time spent there. You can spend 2 hours in front of the TV, but you’ll never get comments back saying “I appreciate you viewing my programms”, and you’ll never be able to interact with the show producers. Here I can read a post I like, and start a whole conversation about it with the writer. Much more captivating!
To watch my favourite TV shows, it can take a long time but I prefer watching it online. Best is it’s free and I can watch anytime I want. I have been addicted to the net and I will die without it.