Blogging the Civil War-Thoughts from Bloggers and Readers of Blogs

Nick Sacco's post is for the 5th Anniversary of his blog. He actually answers some of the questions I posed in his anniversary post.

1. How did you decide that you wanted to start a blog?

Nick Sacco: I initially created this website as an avenue to work on my writing skills while I was a graduate student at IUPUI and to contemplate (in a public setting) what studying history meant to me. I continue to write here for those same reasons, but as a professional public historian I’ve also worked to discuss challenges I face in my work and to contribute to larger conversations within the field about fair employment practices, “public engagement,” and interpreting difficult histories.
 
2. What did you hope to accomplish?

Nick Sacco: What guides me in my public writing is the belief that historians should make their work accessible in content, style, and location.
 
4. Do you have a schedule for posts?

Nick Sacco: I’ve written more than 400 posts.

That works out to a little under two per week.
 
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I've had a homesteading-themed blog for many years, blogging daily most of that time (though infrequently now). Occasionally I would drop a history-related post in and when I did I found that most readers didn't react to it. So earlier this year I started up a separate local history blog. Many of the posts have been Civil War related because that's a primary interest of mine and because I spent a lot of time this year on Civil War sites.

The history blog has few readers and I've done nothing to promote it. I think of it mostly as an outlet for me and a resource for researchers.

I'm glad you started this thread, as it has led me to some interesting blogs that I didn't previously know about.
 
Back to Nick Sacco:

5. Do you feel the blog has accomplished what you set out as your goals (if you had any) for it?

Nick Sacco: Through this blog I’ve written more than 400 posts and have received thousands of comments, most of which came from real people and were positive in nature. I’ve developed strong real-life and online friendships, have been offered speaking and writing gigs, and have felt a sense of personal accomplishment from this blog. Most notably for this year, through this blog I was offered a regular writing position at the Journal of the Civil War Era‘s blog Muster, which has put me in contact with some of the finest Civil War scholars in the field and has challenged me to become a better writer.
 
I made an ill-conceived attempt at a blog and website a few years back. GburgJedi.com was an attempt to make the Civil War appeal to a younger audience, by creating an Alice Cooper-like "bad boy" persona that went "against the grain" and still somehow did legitimate work in Civil War history.

...Yeah, I made an *** of myself.
 
I made an ill-conceived attempt at a blog and website a few years back. GburgJedi.com was an attempt to make the Civil War appeal to a younger audience, by creating an Alice Cooper-like "bad boy" persona that went "against the grain" and still somehow did legitimate work in Civil War history.

...Yeah, I made an *** of myself.
Link doesn't work.... I was kinda curious how big an *** you made of yourself :smile:
 
I've had a homesteading-themed blog for many years, blogging daily most of that time (though infrequently now). Occasionally I would drop a history-related post in and when I did I found that most readers didn't react to it. So earlier this year I started up a separate local history blog. Many of the posts have been Civil War related because that's a primary interest of mine and because I spent a lot of time this year on Civil War sites.

The history blog has few readers and I've done nothing to promote it. I think of it mostly as an outlet for me and a resource for researchers.

I'm glad you started this thread, as it has led me to some interesting blogs that I didn't previously know about.
Link?
 
This was three years ago. The site doesn't exist anymore.
Bringing in new audiences is always tough. Did you ever see Keith Harris' Cosmic America blog? He wrote in a way that would have an appeal to people in their 20s. In spite of the name, it was a Civil War blog. I liked it, but he shut it down a few years ago.

I have some experience at bringing in new audiences, and might write a little on that later. Maybe you could share your experiences?
 
Bringing in new audiences is always tough. Did you ever see Keith Harris' Cosmic America blog? He wrote in a way that would have an appeal to people in their 20s. In spite of the name, it was a Civil War blog. I liked it, but he shut it down a few years ago.

I have some experience at bringing in new audiences, and might write a little on that later. Maybe you could share your experiences?

If by "experiences" you mean creating a blog and Facebook page and getting thrown out of three different Facebook groups, while taking photos of myself stomping the Gettysburg battlefield and wearing a bandana with skulls on it, sure. :tongue:
 
More of my excerpts of Nick Sacco's post. Nick blogs on a lot of topics, but the following is more about what makes his blog unique:

6. Do you blog generally on all things Civil War or on a specific topic? How did you choose that topic?

Nick Sacco: as a professional public historian I’ve also worked to discuss challenges I face in my work and to contribute to larger conversations within the field about fair employment practices, “public engagement,” and interpreting difficult histories.
 
More of my excerpts of Nick Sacco's post. Nick blogs on a lot of topics, but the following is more about what makes his blog unique:

6. Do you blog generally on all things Civil War or on a specific topic? How did you choose that topic?

Nick Sacco: as a professional public historian I’ve also worked to discuss challenges I face in my work and to contribute to larger conversations within the field about fair employment practices, “public engagement,” and interpreting difficult histories.

Yes. Absolutely a departure from the others that I read and enormously insightful. I am highly restricted by the nature of my work/clients so I envy this freedom of expression (almost every public statement I make is vetted by trusty assistant TN to keep self-destruction down to a low roar)
 
Yes. Absolutely a departure from the others that I read and enormously insightful. I am highly restricted by the nature of my work/clients so I envy this freedom of expression (almost every public statement I make is vetted by trusty assistant TN to keep self-destruction down to a low roar)
Vetting before roaring keeps self-destruction minimal.
 
Yes. Absolutely a departure from the others that I read and enormously insightful. I am highly restricted by the nature of my work/clients so I envy this freedom of expression (almost every public statement I make is vetted by trusty assistant TN to keep self-destruction down to a low roar)
Yeah, I like his insights and willingness to express them.
 
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