Eaglemoss Military Watches Collection.
So why the Blog Churchy?
by
, Aug 28, 2015 at 05:07 PM (4638 Views)
Issue 40 of the Eaglemoss Military Watch collection hit the doormat this week, which brings me to the halfway point of what should be an 80 week part-work. I'll be reading through the information contained within the pages of the included magazine before heading to the internet to cross check facts and then compiling a brief history, collecting a well rehearsed set of measurements and capturing a few required pictures before adding a post to the collection thread…
And to my IWL Blog.
Now a thread on a forum is obvious, but why a blog on a Forum?
There are plenty of blogs out there, apparently 2 new ones are started every second, and plenty of blogs out there are actually about writing blogs, embedding one within a forum about watches probably decided the main content before I started, I had already contributed to, and started a thread, about the Eaglemoss watches before, but I noticed that some irrelevant content soon drifted in. Comments that though not trolling were not adding to the information in a way that I had initially hoped to encourage and often changed the direction of the thread.
The advantage to a blog as I saw it was that I virtually set up my own personal sub-forum. Each issue and watch got its own post and comments and additional pictures could be added weeks or even months later as comments without appearing wildly out of context as they would in a linear thread.
I can't say that my blog is going to change minds or guide opinion, its not what I set out to do, its just there to inform, and catalogue a relatively obscure collection of watches, I have tried to minimise the level of opinion I have on any of the watches, personal tastes vary as much as the style of watches, but If I see something that is an obvious problem I'll say so. There are others who have done similar reviews of the Eaglemoss watches with "this watch is better than watch x" type comments and other You-Tube bloggers who wave the watch around for what seems like hours but give you no reference point or comparison. I wanted what is almost a stock set of images on relevant backgrounds, so you can get some sense of the watch itself, and some backward looking comparisons to put the watch in context of the collection.
By blogging rather than just posting it has grouped the watches to stay together in one place on the forum has also allowed an opportunity for me to add value to the blog going forward, information about reliability and quality issues or, what I intend to do, add additional pictures of watches that I have been inspired to buy because of the collection. I must get to that soon, recently a couple of new lenses have allowed me to get some close up pictures that I will probably go back and add to earlier posts, I hope it encourages others to post some pictures of their own Vintage watches that are the inspiration behind the collection, fingers crossed if I ever make the purchase maybe even one of my own vintage watches will make an appearance.
The scope of a blog should probably match your audience, I have other collections that would have little appeal at IWL but on other sites may be followed avidly, so here I'll stick with my watches, I have probably narrowed my blogging artificially even further by posting only the Eaglemoss watches, I could have included all of the watches I have acquired, but maybe they will have a place later down the line, once the Eaglemoss collection is done, and my blog will morph into a history of watches I have owned, or a list of grails that never were.
A blog can contain anything, thoughts, interests or asides. Even within a watch forum there are hundreds of possible cross over collections and interests, Where do you like to dive with your Blancpain or Sea-Dweller. Which pocket knife complements the latest Vostok. A blog of incoming and outgoing watches from some members here would probably soon outstrip my Eaglemoss blog, a What Am I Wearing from others would have the majority wondering how much Grandmothers can be sold for. I have for my sins tied myself to the mast of the ship that is the Military watch collection, for now.
So what are you waiting for?