Yes! Thank you! It's great to read this! I am much like you in the sense that I don't want to limit myself to one particular 'niche'. I am not really interested in the blogging for personal branding bandwagon, it isn't for me. My blog is personal first, it is Alex Lobov the human being not Alex Lobov the specific pidgeon-holed guy who likes topic X only. But that thing you said about your niche being 'writing' first... I love that!

@Alexander
Thanks so much for the feedback. When I first started writing TWS, I thought, "Oh, I'll blog about all things career related." Yet, that gets old after a while. And, you want to talk about something else. After a bit, you just exhaust yourself trying to come up with good, relevant content (that won't be trite or "uninspiring"). It takes the fun out of blogging in the first place when you do that.

@LaTosha
I agree with you about the idea of still being a good blogger without glueing yourself to a definite niche. Honestly, I thought I was doing it "wrong" when I didn't blog about career stuff on TWS. But then, I just didn't care and wanted to make blogging fun for me again.

@Alli Gerkman
Thanks so much Alli - I love hearing from (new) readers. It's also funny that you mention a second blog, b/c I remember reading something from Penelope Trunk advising people not to do so. But, a good (really good) blog is about taking up mental space in the reader's head. I rather have a someone come to my blog b/c they want to read what's on my mind for the day (or the week) instead of just dropping by whenever they want to get some career advice or find out what I think about "personal branding" in reference to (pick parallel here).

Raven,

A few months back I started a blog with another Gen Y co-worker. We thought we would write about Gen Y stereotypes -- either proving or refuting their validity -- through discussions of our work. (Most readers of our blog are non-Gen Y members of the trade association where we work.) I quickly realized that rather than generating a gigantic list of topics -- Today I will write about having helicopter parents! Tomorrow I will write about seeking meaning and purpose in my job! -- it was more fun for me to just write about whatever I happened to be thinking about that day. What better "glimpse into a Millenial mind" (as our byline reads) could there be, than an actual record of what seems important or interesting enough for us to write about?

So, I'm with you!

Cheers,
Janna

Raven... If I had a nickel for every time my decisions contravened advice from Penelope's posts, I'd have a lot of nickels. It doesn't mean I don't think she's a good read, of course.

It just goes back to all these blogging "rules." There's no shortage of advice online. Everywhere you turn, there's someone telling you how to run your blog, how to tweet, how to drive your career, how to make a hard-boiled egg. In the end, it might be good to be aware of the babble out there, but you still have to do what's right for you. Otherwise, it's just following the crowd.

But then, that's just my advice...

@Alli
That's hilarious. I'm going to keep that in mind when the blogging devils try to remind me about sticking to a particular topic.

@Mehanz
Thanks for the support. I like my non-niche bloggers too because...well, they're so much fun to read! I like the variety they add to the homogenous realm of niche blogging.

@Michelle
I'm glad I was able add some insight on this - and I'm loving the conversation (and blogs) this post has started. I like to think that no one should "struggle" with their blog b/c it should be fun and interesting for you. I think if people just think about how much fun they want to have with their writing...they'll be a lot more satisfied with their blogging experience.

I usually only subscribe to blogs with a clear theme or topic, even if it's broad ("career & life"). That way I can glance through it in the morning knowing that it'll usually contain advice and information relevant to what I'm looking for.

I struggle now with establishing an online identity. I do have a blog about high school boys basketball, but it's now the offseason, so I'd like to find something else. The process of choosing a focused blog was much like choosing a college major.