Comments on: Blogging and Social Networking as a Teenager

By: PreviewCast #044: What Podcasters Won’t Tell You About Blogging at PreviewCast

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 02:32:16 +0000

[...] links mentioned in the episode: WordPress.com VIP Hosting WordPress MU Edublogs Blogging and Social Networking as a Teenager (Douglas’ Guest Blog Article) Taking Your Camera on the Road Lorelle’s Genealogy [...]

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:52:40 +0000

I would like to see more teenagers get into blogging and actively participate on quality websites as there generation is just as important as well. WordPress.com is a great place to do just that.

By: Douglas Bell

Douglas Bell — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 22:31:11 +0000

@friend: Surprisingly, no. Many teens may have social networking sites that they use like the ones I blogged about, but the number of teenagers that actually have a blog which is kept up-to-date and maintained with interesting information on a regular basis is surprisingly low. I think that blogging is more personal than these other social networking sites, but it definitely is a bit more of a commitment.

And there are a number of teenagers who don’t do any of these things, either because they choose to commit themselves to other things, or perhaps because they don’t even have the necessary technology. I’m in a more well-to-do suburb of San Francisco, and yet you’d be surprised how many students at my school don’t have a computer or internet access at their home.

By: Lorelle VanFossen

Lorelle VanFossen — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:42:33 +0000

The old adage is that a teen is “twixt 10 and 20″, but another is “you are as old as you feel”. For some societies, you are an adult after 14 or 16. In others, you are in your “adult age” leaving your childhood years behind when you reach 40 or so.

I think you are in whatever category or label you want to put on yourself as long as you want and it works for you.

By: Does green

Does green — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:04:59 +0000

Another teenage blogger here, although do I still count as a teenager now I have turned 20?

By: friend

friend — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:09:06 +0000

“I would like to see more teenagers get into blogging” – Doesn’t every 12 – 18 year old have a blog these days?

By: Douglas Bell

Douglas Bell — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 16:51:56 +0000

I agree, there definitely aren’t as many actual blogs compared to these other sites for teenagers, but I think that that’s partly because blogging is actually quite different from these services. I like blogging better than the other services because my blog allows me to say what I want to say about anything I want to talk about, and really gives me complete control over my place on the internet. However, it does require more work, and a bit more use of the brain than these other sites do, which are more focused with making connections with friends. That’s why I tend to use Facebook, for example, alongside my blog, not instead of my blog.

I’ve seen a couple of friends start a blog, and not too long after, see it fade away, because they may not have time to blog, or don’t have any inspiration. And in a teen’s lives these days, if you’re not inspired to do something, you don’t do it because there’s already too much else going on in your life.

I would like to see more teenagers get into blogging, and for the majority of teens who aren’t control freaks about how their site looks like I am, WordPress.com is a great place to do just that.

By: Slevi

Slevi — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:18:22 +0000

Another teenage blogger here, although do I still count as a teenager now I have turned 20? Not too far off anyways, there’s definitely a lot of technology on which teenagers jump on like vultures would jump on a fresh dead corpse. I must say though that compared to with services like youtube, social network sites, etcetera the amount of teenagers actually blogging appears to be relatively low compared to how teenagers jump out in the rest.

By: Douglas Bell

Douglas Bell — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:53:15 +0000

Thanks for the great feedback, guys.

By: Allen Taylor

Allen Taylor — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:36:04 +0000

Great post, Douglas. Also, as a teenager, you’ll be creating the businesses, arts, and non-profits of the future, not to mention shaping the political ideas of posterity as well. Being on the cutting edge of the latest technology gives you a big head start when it comes to delivering the next wave of a big idea. The guys who are starting to see some of the biggest success online these days were in high school in 1995 when the Internet was just cutting its teeth. When Web 3.0 launches, you’ll be able to say, “I remember back when we …” and you can speak from experience. Keep learning and growing and never stop rocking! (or whatever is you young’uns do these days)