Likely an economic boon to those who choose to do it. I can see some of our talented writers and artists carving out a new blog where they would post their bird or dachshund stories for instance but keeping their everything-but-the-kitchen-sink blogs.
For me, the allure of OS is that I can write about any topic or use any voice I want. It is the freedom of expression that I love.

Personally? I would procure a very large handgun, carefully load it, point it straight at the "third eye," and pull the trigger before I'd limit myself to just one topic.

But hey, that's just because I'm really distractab...

Oh! Look!

SHINY!

Good point and I agree with this strategy. (I plan to do only one-topic blog from now on–my blog will be solely on interior design.)

which posts sparked books?

Well, o'stephanie, since you posted. . . I take credit for pointing a book editor friend to "The Daily Coyote," which turned into a major holiday release last year. (I got a very nice dinner out of it.) I would imagine a similar single-topic blog about raising a starling could get a certain type of attention. . .

What stops me? Too many things running around in my head to be that focused. What I like about OS is that even if the topics may vary, I respond to the voice of specific writers and come to understand their viewpoint on a whole host of topics by continually reading their posts. I like it this way.

I have a (horribly neglected) weight loss blog and I've also written a diet column professionally. It's difficult to maintain a single-topic blog. How many different ways can you write about the same topic? I ended up quitting the paid gig because I didn't enjoy writing about only one single topic and writing for them was cutting into my OS time (clearly, I need a 12-step program.) The freedom to write about anything is a huge part of the appeal of Open Salon. Sometimes you've got to do what feeds your soul.

I'm with Verbal. It's too easy to become a bore.

Experts get a free pass.

If I'm going to have Attention Deficiencies, then I'll USE them.

My car needs gas. Right now.

I've abandoned all pretense that I understand the world or the people in it, much less anything as complicated and nuanced as a single topic.

Kerry, from my first day here my blog page banner has always proclaimed "Eclectic Thoughts" and I'll leave it to someone else to have a blog focused on one topic activity. Between my eschewing the Google ads and the amazing riches to be found as a single-topic blogger, I'll just continue to ply my trade at my day job.

All my future blogs will focus on acts of hedonism committed during guided tours of Monticello. I want that Guccione coin.

Yup- what Verbs said. I can't pick a topic and stick with it! I truly wish I'd thought of that Hot Goths website though. That would have been right up my alley. The whole single-topic thing seems to hinge on having a good idea. And/or finger on the pulse of crowd weirdness.

Vac- you are being sarcastic right? (I'm usually better at being able to tell)

I had long considered a historically themed blog before joining OS, and I thought that would be what I would do here. Now, even though I do historical posts, they really only account for about half of my total. To do single theme history blog correctly, I'd have to put in a lot more time than I have to do it. My personal blog has really morphed into something similar, but different, than what I had originally anticipated.

Of course, Kerry, you are part of the reason, since you specifically requested certain themes on certain days. If it weren't for that, I probably would not have started doing my travel posts. I'm glad you invited us to submit them, though! I've had lots of fun with them.

Hmm...the blog I have on Open Salon mirrors to a certain extent the one I've had running for several years. It's conceived as an op-ed kind of "column", weekly observations on culture and communications with forays into media, politics, religion, entertainment, and strange news items I run across. So I'd hate to stick to one topic..except that's just what I've been asked to do on the website in development for a new book I have coming out; that is; blog on one topic.

I'd say if someone has or is planning a book, the publishers and marketers want to see a single-issue blog to establish "expertise" on the topic covered in the book and also because that blog represents a PLATFORM (publisher's favorite term these days).

Again, I wonder: what's it all about here at OS? What are we striving for? What do we want and what would the editors like us to want?

Juli: They say write what you know and that's why I only post tiny little 4-panel comic strips about my sad little feelings.

I single topic'ing all the time. It's all about ME.

Tell you the truth, I'm not so sure a lot of them would work here. Obviously Saturn Smith has managed to do it. And some are close to being single topic, but Saturn is the only one I can thing of that has actually pulled it off.
Me? Hell, I never know what I'm doing from day to day. I don't feel strongly enough about any topic to even consider it. I'm just here for the fun of it. I don't even care if I write anything or not. If I weren't allowed to write and only read and comment on OS, I'd still be here. I like this place that much.

PS - I just read Farhad Monjoo's column. If by "single-topic" blogs, you mean the ones about collecting stupid pictures or stories on a single topic from other people and constantly revolving or updating the submitted material, and posting it under a title that includes either the word "fuck" or "stupid" - and if this is how you get a quick book deal, then all I can say is: Verbal, please pass the gun.

Wow, lots of fast, illuminating responses.

Verbal, I totally agree wit. . . wait, what did you say?

1WomansVu wrote: "What do we want and what would the editors like us to want?"

We just want you to write about what you want to write about. I'm not being coy, either. We'll ask for thoughts on specific stories through the Open Calls, and we'll be picking that up in the coming weeks. But otherwise, you get to do what you want to do.

Vac: Aw. I don't think that's true.

I haven't read through your links b/c I'm in a hurry, but I wanted to respond because I've thought about this for awhile and have recognized that it's one of the "answers," in a way, if one is interested in promoting his or her blog. I am one of those who keeps not doing all the stuff that increasingly becomes obvious to me--sexy titles, short length, easier prose, etc.

But, yeah, this is something I've mentioned to my husband in passing: If one is known for something--as an expert on any particular subject like Saturn is for politics--then s/he becomes more respected, more read, more recognized. I was frankly shocked to find out when you interviewed Saturn that she was not an expert--in the credentialed sense--about politics, and it gave me an unsettled feeling b/c politics is what I almost exclusively wrote about in letters at salon.com and I felt a queasy weird little feeling of having missed the boat. Saturn's great, of course, but I kept thinking, "I could have been Saturn if I'd wanted to." I don't know--does any of this make sense?

I'm a jack of all trades (master of none) kind of person, so it's hard for me to just pick something. I teach, so I have thought about blogging exclusively about that, but then I worry about exposing innocents. Gah--gotta go but wanted to weigh in with my angst.

I wonder how finely you'd parse the concept of "single-topic." There are a number of us who post almost exclusively about our lives --unusual, weird, dramatic, celebrity-enhanced, visual (whatever). Lea, Buffy, Barry, squirrel, etc. Obviously a long list (and Freaky would insist on being included).

If any of us had the name recognition of Nora Ephron or Garrison Keillor, some would surely be tapped for short story or book publication. But there's the rub... getting enough visibility and traction to become a viable commodity.

Stephanie Klein is the only other blogger I know who's pulled it off. But she's a SATC type, discovered in the right place at the right time.

I'm guessing a lot of OS bloggers hope for the same. Hmm, perhaps I should just start writing exclusively about sex?

MR: ". . . I'm not so sure a lot of them would work here."

This is an interesting comment. What does "here" really mean, on the Web? I mean that sincerely: I don't think people who blog on other platforms worry about the "here" at all. Obviously, that's because of the curatorial features -- the cover, the comments, the favoriting, ratings, etc.-- that give Open a sense of place. But what I'm trying to tease out is whether all those elements -- the glue that keeps all of Open's assorted parts and players stuck together -- inhibits people from blogging about stuff that others might not respond to favorably. Shorter question: Are Open members more self-conscious?

Freaky, you surely are a pioneering single-topic: Trouble.

I just started one, actually! This is more of a book to blog than a blog to book. I began working on this project about three years ago, first as handwritten journal entries, and later, as more intentional essays. I’m in the process of going back through my handwritten journals and translating them into coherent chapters for my book. I thought publishing each chapter in an OS blog might help keep me accountable as I work my way through hundreds of pages of journal entries. This will be an ongoing project, but I’m looking forward to coming out on the other side and picking up in the present day.

—Melissa (also of metaness)

I should add (per Sally) that OS really does have some sensational single-topic blogs (as admittedly vague as that description is). I'm not suggesting we don't. And I'm not suggesting we're in desperate need of them, either. I'm curious why there aren't more, at times, is all.

Off to a swim, but look forward to reading the comments over the weekend. Don't trash the place!

My blog is a single topic blog. The topic happens to be me.

Oh, you mean an *interesting* single topic. I get it now. :-)

oooooh, that's a good question, Kerry, that last one you threw out. I have thought about that myself, many a time. I do think that part of what keeps this thing together does create some self-consciousness. Very much like a small town (which can be very good, the best, actually). BUT, I would also say that I think that sense of self-consciousness is a phase a blogger might go through (still kind of do) and I think that one of the best things that you guys did was put up page views on the cover. I bet a lot of writers do think about who is the audience and might not publish/post something in a place where there might not be readers or reception. I do consider it. I think that sometimes while 'here' I feel like this is the oz of the internets (and love it) and forget that there is an 'out there' and can free one up if they are feeling self-conscious or inhibited. I don't know. I'll shut up now :)

For whatever reason, OS is mostly a writers' site. "Writer", as opposed to journalist or columnist or other less creative types who tend to become proficient - and be happy with - a particular area of expertise. It's two different mindsets.

So why is this a writer's site? Good fortune, I'd say.

I think my blog would make a great book. I emailed the idea to the
agent who sold "I Can Haz Cheezeburger?", but she ignored me.

Interesting question and thoughts, Kerry. What 1Woman wrote is close to how I think of my own blog:

"It's conceived as an op-ed kind of "column", weekly observations on culture and communications with forays into media, politics, religion, entertainment, and strange news items I run across"

...plus I do a fair bit of memoir and stuff about relationships. And sex, did I mention sex?

I actually feel I write a lot about sex, and strangely, these are the posts that by far get the most attention! Imagine that. I could actually single topic on relationships with a generous helping of sex, but since I've written an entire memoir (unpublished) on that topic, I've tried to be a bit more diverse here. But it doesn't seem to be working, other than I enjoy writing about all kinds of things.

I was just thinking today that there's an inverse ratio between how much I sweat over a post and how much it means to me and how many readers it gets. Whereas some of the most popular ones I've written here were more tossed off and/or were ones I had fun with but didn't feel that invested in. The ones I've written about death mean a lot to me, yet that topic is well, death to readership, I guess.

If I wanted to early more than the penny a day I'm getting from AdSense so far, it would be all sex all the time on my blog. But a girl needs to stand up once in a while, too.

I think the elusive mystique of the EP is what makes many jump across the board in the hope that they will get your attention with something. Anything. If that element of need (for some) combined with the editorial process of rewarding a number of writers in various topics (politics, comedy, memoir, sports and entertainment just to name a few), people might be more inclined to stick with what they write best. The lure of getting an EP and making it to the cover is just too much for some people and not enough for others. I don't think you have enough time or people to do that. Just my .02.

obviously a lot of us chase after the cover, because you're actively dangling it. choosing to be a single issue blog would reduce your chances at that kind of exposure and keep you from participating in the meta conversations that occur here. does saturn ever come out with haikus? would her blog be better if she did?

I was just thinking about that yesterday. But then the question is would people be interested in reading about the same topic over and over again. Instead I think it's more interesting to read a single persons perspective on things, like the Squirrels blog.

I've often thought of writing on my childhood and subsequent abuse and PTSD. But it gets very dark and difficult to deal with those [Monster] memoirs. I do love the freedom of OS. I know I sometimes I lampoon you, but that's a sign of my respect.

Also, I was thinking or further rambling in my head because when I first read your title, here, I thought OS was considering doing some type of anthology (sort of like what The Onion did). I think Open Salon and it's individual post system lends itself to publishing something like that and I do think it could be very successful, it is a unique niche and I don't know, but I can't think of anything like that being published currently.

I don't think people who blog on other platforms worry about the "here" at all.

That brings up something that has puzzled me too. Whenever there's a *cough cough* dust up around here between bloggers, inevitably someone will comment or post about how they were embarrassed that their RL friends and family that visit their blogs are being subjected to this behavior - and the fact that all this on-site bickering is keeping them from sending out the link to their blog to non-OS friends.

The vast majority of my RL friends and family aren't even aware there is a front page here. They just go to a bookmarked url for my blog and that's it. And I totally understand that. I have online friends that blog at Wordpress or other platforms. It's not like I read their blog entries and then think to myself, "well let's give a look-see at what other folks are up to on here."

I've given thought to just having Mom be my single focus on my blog. Then I realize I need to get over myself - I'm not producing something where readers would feel betrayed if I blog about my hate of all things foil wrapped (Yeah, Poptarts, I'm talking about you). As far as putting together something like "Cute Overload," I think given the tools we have here (I'm not complaining, there's something to be said for ease of use), that might be difficult.

Vac- I love your comic strips- I'm just wondering if your understanding of "complicated and nuanced" differs from mine because I would not consider Fuck Yeah, Ryan Gosling and This is Why You're Fat to be either of those things. Maybe that's why we don't have such things on OS? Everyone is trying to be too nuanced? ;-)

I would love to start a site dedicated to jazz and jazz history but lack the knowledge and money for start-up. I know I have the knowledge and I know hundreds of kindred jazz lovers across the country, many great artists that I've done or do work for on MySpace or other sites, but I lack the HTML and other language knowledge nuances to start and hold up an entire site.
Great question though. I would post more on jazz if more people looked and listened. It's just a narrow genre in America unfortunately.

Bstrangely, "Columbine" by Dave Cullen (a brilliant book) for one was a bestseller. Probably still is.

Mustard brings up a great subject for a site. PTSD, depression and anxiety disorder. That would probably cover half the United States alone. If not more...

oh thanks kob... i was thinking he meant other bloggers making initial offerings. i consider cullen to be more of a reporter turned blogger turned author.

You are probably right bstrangely. Same for Bob Eckstein. I think his books were done before OS and not as a result of...Dave's been working on "Columbine" for ten years after all, so you're right. I know there have been many other books written but not sure what and by whom. :-)

I have a question about doing a single topic blog on OS. Since I already have a general blog on here would I need to do away with it before I do my single topic blog under a different name( I would need to change the name because of the topic).

The single topic blog was suggested to me by a very good friend who blogs here and I am giving it some consideration. I think the topic would be of interest and at one time I was thinking of writing a non-fiction book on the same topic so I would be interested in your views on whether or not I can do it with or without letting my old blog die.

I keep trying to start a single topic blog of hardcore Begala on Carville erotica but every time I push publish my computer explodes. However I think the topic would make an excellent book or glossy magazine or movie.

Kerry, I just don't see a lot of topic blogs here. It seems that if they were a viable outlet, then they would already be here. I mean I do construction for a living, but if I start blogging about construction techniques or household repairs, I'd be lucky to get two comments per post after a couple weeks.
Now politics is a totally different thing. It's a much more diverse area to blog about. I assume that is one reason why Saturn is so successful. Well that and the fact that she's extremely talented.
But a blog on orchids? I don't know.
This is the only place I've ever blogged so I'm hardly one to understand the inner workings of the blogging world. I'm just throwing my log on the pile, so to speak.
Would a home repair blog bring in a steady stream of readers from outside the members of OS and bring in ad revenue? I have no idea. But I'm curious as to what you think of such an idea. Any thoughts?

I'm sorry Kerry, I think I may have misunderstood your question. I meant here on OS. For some reason it doesn't sink in to me that everything we write is sent out in to cyberland. When I spend time here, I always think of it as OS. I never think of it as the web, so I'm a bit naive in that regard.

It's interesting that you bring this up because I just recently decided to go single topic for a while. A few months back I wrote a post called A Personal Glossary of Writing Disorders.

Writing and the brain is a subject I really want to develop. So keep an eye out for posts from me on that, and also how new forms of writing technology might be changing our brains for better, or worse.

That is, if I can stay away from stories about families sprinkling pee around their neighborhood.

I wrote one or two columns a week for many years, and I wrote whatever I wanted. Generally, I bounced from a personal column to one on a local hot-button topic to a story about something I found particularly interesting at the time. I treat my OS blog much like my old newspaper column. The pay isn't quite the same, but the satisfaction and feedback is great, and I can use words here that would never see the light of day in the newspaper.

I write what I know about, and it covers a myriad of topics. In some ways it is a single topic blog; entertainment and observations of our experiences, especially for my world relating to people who read.

Good thinking this weekend.

Cartouche's observation about the mystique of the EP is on target and a factor in the way a lot of people try to write. At first I was posting on here what I post on my blog: nothing about my personal life so much as how things look to me, whether absurd, humorous or troublesome. I try to tie things together in a way I haven't seen anywhere else or try to come up with a unique observation about a subject that a lot of others may be writing about. My interest in OS is about stretching a little and taking chances in the company of other writers. But when I get a little hungry for the EP, I lose my voice - and I lose my way. I suppose that's its own lesson...

I tried to keep a single topic blog about my combat Veteran husband and his antics in the VA system, but the temptation is too great to blog about things. I enjoy being all over the place.

One of the reasons people around here don't stick to single issues is because in doing so you miss out on being a part of the conversations constantly taking place. These conversations are the essence of blogging and what makes this such a special place. If you remain on one topic it becomes one dimensional and its like standing in the corner at the party preaching to your shadow. It's not the best way to go with the flow.

There is a blog called the WHOLE9. Some of the OS people blog there. One blog is totally dedicated to astrology, one to nutrition, etc.
I'm going to have to ponder a bit and get back with you...I'm in the middle of watching a movie.:)
Oh. Hmmm...Movie Reviews....Since you are "Open Calling"????

I'm in college again and it is hard finding time to write blogs...but once I graduate I will try to contribute...I do enjoy reading and posting...and finally summer session is over so I have time to watch a movie!!

If OS has categorical cover page options, then single topic blogs would make some sense. In order to get noticed around here there is a strategy to use, and it's not single topic posting.

Kerry: "But what I'm trying to tease out is whether all those elements -- the glue that keeps all of Open's assorted parts and players stuck together -- inhibits people from blogging about stuff that others might not respond to favorably. Shorter question: Are Open members more self-conscious?"

I think the short answer is yes, with a caveat... new members jump in without knowing (or not caring) about the unique OS gestalt. As they make Friends, enjoy more feedback than they're used to elsewhere, learn the lingo and the presumptive major players, they lose that precious innocence, start courting followers and thus take less chances.

Some seasoned members still march to their own drummers, taking chances on controversial or personal topics.

Kerry again "I'm curious why there aren't more [single-topic blogs] at times, is all."

It's human nature to seek community approval, positive reinforcement, a specific identity, support, contact and validation. I have the germ of an idea on Categories. Yes, it's been floated and they may be under construction, but perhaps there's another way to fold single-topic blogs into the matrix.

As soon as Mr. Mustard comes back from his honeymoon with MiddleAgedWomanBlogging, he and I are going to start a topical blog in which we discuss a different DSM-IV diagnosis each week. We'll call it "Can This Pathology Be Saved?" (You heard it here first, Chuck.)

When I signed up back in March, I originally intended to do a single-topic blog on introversion in the hopes of landing a book deal. The two definitive books on the topic "The Introvert Advantage" and "Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto" were written by middle-aged women so I thought I could add a male voice to the topic. However the posts I publish on introversion and shyness are tough sells both here and on reddit so I try to mix it up a little to keep folks interested.

Kerry,

This is an interesting point. I can proudly say, I am an early adapter. I tried the single topic blogs, they burn you out after a while. They get static. They stifle. Yes, I think initially the desire in blogging was single topic.

But look at the political blogs, god, they have become full time ghettos of simple minded dorks.

I agree with Verbal, put a gun to my head as a reader and a blogger and shoot me. The pathological obsession of specialization is adolescent in so many ways.

People that have lived life have encyclopedic interests. They do not want to be shut down in dungeons of single thoughts. These dungeons end up being places of no new or creative ideas.

About a year ago, I stopped reading all single topic blogs and so have many of my friends that are early adapters.

I find single topic bloggers to be dull and truly limited in their world view. That is why people are twittering, they are finding all the interesting things to read, beyond whatever little cesspool they got stuck in of single topic bloggers.

Furthermore, what I love about OS, is reading the writers who are not single topic. It's one of the only places I can find this kind of writing. Frankly, I hardly read the OS single topic writers, I know what they will be writing about, I know their point of view---same all, same all. Might as well read the NY Times editorial page, god I remember when that was my only choice.

Now I can meander, find something about a city, a book, a politician, a family, art etc. My moods change as a reader. Also, all the blogs referenced in the linked article are sort of specialized, flash in the pan, social observations.

Ok, I am now metaed out.

yeah, i'm echoing a few others when i say my single topic is, sadly, me! me and my brain spillage of the moment ... love life, kid life, job life and once in a while my take on a current event ... it's all about me here because it sure isn't anywhere else! (and i'm certain a publisher will come knocking any day now, yep, any week ...) Eh, i do have a single topic blog at my day job -- misc. advice, "The Best Advice Ever" -- but even that's all about me!

I have absolutely thought about it, but now, I think I'd have to start over with a new persona. And, I just may do that as a matter of fact. My original idea was to write only what it is like to be middle-aged and divorced and all that entails.... caring for elderly parents, dating at this age, grown children.... everything. But, as my family found my blog it switched gears. I've written a few personal pieces about my life but I'm not sure now how much more I want to reveal. I also don't want to piss off family members.

In retrospect, it would have been smarter to keep my identity on the down-low. There are enough mommy blogs and cooking blogs to go around, but I don't see many blogs that deal only with middle-aged single men or women.

I have thought about it also, since Saturn pulls it off so well.

But I don't have the huge knowledge pool to pull from for a single topic blog [dogs, books, biographies] and nothing is screaming to be researched day in and day out to sustain one. Julia & Julie was a fascinating concept & great single topic blog idea. Maybe I'll come up with something equally brilliant someday.

I have never considered a single topic blog because life is bigger than that, things are always changing and one hand washes the other. Meaning there are details along the way that contribute to a single topic but in and of themselves are a whole other story - from which the single topic would be enriched by telling but, then it's no longer a single topic blog. I guess I have trouble committing to a single topic. I have issues with remaining monogamous to the topic because variety is the spice of life, is it not?

I have a one topic blog......... it's called stuff my mother in law isn't allowed to read. ;-)

she's sort of a prude.

As an artist, it has always been my inclination to stretch. I have attempted to do that with my OS Blog with varied success but some success, none the less.

I view my blog space as my own personal area to let every aspect of my talent come through. I have no focus in real life - why would I have it here?

@Sally Swift: "I think the short answer is yes, with a caveat... new members jump in without knowing (or not caring) about the unique OS gestalt. As they make Friends, enjoy more feedback than they're used to elsewhere, learn the lingo and the presumptive major players, they lose that precious innocence, start courting followers and thus take less chances."
Some (many? most?) newbies stubbornly cling to writing what they want to write, which is what I think most OSers do. I think most writers here want to have their own voices recognized and acknowledged.

@Torman: re: taking on a single-focus blog: I don't see why (other than time issues) you couldn't do two.

@ Kerry, to the original question: Too many things I'm interested in, too many stories to tell.

A great idea for someone else. But I don't write for an audience. I write for me. Last thing I want to do on OS is work. For me, which btw IS my single topic, this is just a playground, and it's a great one.

Really interesting responses -- much to chew over. Interesting to hear how the prospect of having to focus on one topic seems so confining.

A related thing I'm curious about is whether members feel their blogs are really their own sites, or whether they're really more focused on their individual blog posts -- and don't care much about the "place" where their blogs are housed -- you know, the open.salon.com/blog/YOURNAME url that acts as the home for all of your work.

Also, relatedly, I got asked by the NYT this week about another single-topic blog that came out of our old blogs program -- Julie Powell's "Julie/Julia" blog -- that is poised to become the most successful single-topic blog. . . ever?

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/blog-history-gets-a-tweak-in-julie-julia/

I'd buy a book by that attention-starved blogger Freaky Troll.

Kerry, I see that in commenting on that NYT piece, Scott Rosenberg plugged OS! I guess Sandra's piece did its work. ;)

To answer your most recent question, I don't see my blog as being just mine. I see myself as being part of OS.

I did do a single-topic blog using Typepad a couple years ago, but couldn't attract any real traffic. That felt like my blog. Here it feels different, like I'm part of something. Sort of the difference between owning a house and renting an apartment in a building with other people, if that makes sense. I have my own space, but it's on loan and I'm surrounded by others.

Too bad advance reviews for Julie/Julia don't sound all that promising. I really enjoyed the book, but Amy Adams as Julie? Maybe that would work in that successful blog about the shopaholic girl who got herself out of debt. But the charm of Julie & Julia was that Julie had the weird hormonal problem that made her feel really frumpy. Julia Child was a soulmate, as someone who seemed so physically uncomfortable in the world. Oh Nora Ephron, must you fluff up everything you touch!

As to your latest query, I have to go with silkstone on that one,

"To answer your most recent question, I don't see my blog as being just mine. I see myself as being part of OS."

This place is an absolute riot to belong to. Diversely entertaining in every way. Even the flame wars hold some merit, (there is some humor in some of the snarky comments, hehe) but I don't forget that it really belongs to Open Salon.
After all, you are the ones that make the final and important decisions.
Naturally, I don't agree with everything you do, but for the most part, you pass the grade with flying colors. Very pleased to be allowed to be here.

I really don't write about myself. Habit after so many years of hearing 'keep yourself out of the story.' I occasionally let something small slip but nothing too real. I'll talk about my cats. I do have a friend who has a master's in writing from Northwestern U. who keeps a one topic blog called A Year Till 40. Might appeal to middle-aged men facing the other side of the mountain.

A related thing I'm curious about is whether members feel their blogs are really their own sites, or whether they're really more focused on their individual blog posts -- and don't care much about the "place" where their blogs are housed -- you know, the open.salon.com/blog/YOURNAME url that acts as the home for all of your work.

As Silkstone says, "I see myself as being part of OS." OS turns out to encourage this, I think: Few people are prominent enough to just post here and never comment on their posts or others' and maintain a wide readership. And any time you do get involved in non-posting community activities (commenting and rating), it can be seen on the Activity Feed.

What this means, I think, is that people end up building reputations for themselves, whether they're trying to do it or not. It's easy to find posters who've said, "I wrote a few posts about X or in the style of Y, but didn't get much response, so I did this instead..." That is, they're paying attention to more than individual posts, and to more than the YOURNAME blog where the posts appear; they're aware of the reception they're getting (their posts and themselves) in this community. Not everyone is influenced by this, but it's hard to avoid.

At least that's what a minute of thought gives me. :-)

as you mentioned, open salon's architecture doesn't reward single topic blogs. on the other hand, tumblr is a perfect vehicle. i wouldn't be surprised if some of the people on OS maintain tumblrs with a single topic. (i'd say "many" but since OS seems to skew middle aged while tumblr skews gen y, i kept it to "some" ;))

as for personal involvement with single topic blogs, i just recently started something i'd been planning for a while: a spam photography tumblr. hooray: http://spamphotography.tumblr.com/