Jon Worth on the futility of being an EU-focussed blogger.

The only thing I’d say he’s missed is that the EU is also insanely boring, which makes getting up the motivation to write about it even more tricky than the minute readership and constant feeling that your few good ideas are being nicked by people who are then getting paid for it…

Of course, the plus side is that a small readership of people who know their stuff or will intelligently engage (hello, dear readers, etc.) is infinitely preferable to a large readership of idiots. In professional journalism you always end up writing for the audience you’ve got (for example, just last week I ended up using the phrase “gossip-fest” in the headline of a piece I was working on – not something you’d normally see here…).

The point of blogging, I always thought, is to write to the audience you want. Want a large one? Saying remotely positive things about the EU – if you’re writing in English in particular – simply isn’t the way to go. Instead you need populist conspiracy theories, knee-jerk politician-bashing, and plenty of rumour and innuendo. Just be prepared for a flood of comments from nutters. Want an influential one? Be thoughtful and original. Just don’t expect a great deal of credit – and don’t expect to be able to tell whether you’re influential or not half the time…