I tried and tried to find some good, hard data out there about the average life expectancy of a blog. I found guesses. I found loosely based fact. I found a lot of dead blogs. But nothing definitive.
My very un-scientific conclusion is that many more blogs than you can imagine are dead within the first few months. The others kick the bucket at about 2 years.
The rest of us?
We’re hanging by a thread, baby!
I began this blog as an experiment. I had an idea for another blog (which I’m still toying with) but I wanted to see how this all worked. I wanted to get my feet wet, test the waters and then dive in.
I’ve been fully submerged for about a year now and the water is great! I don’t want to get out. The water is just fine.
But many don’t see it that way.
In my year as a blogger I have deleted about a dozen favorites from my list because they no longer post. Lately, I have been surprised at how many of my favorite stops are: taking a break, re-thinking their blog, posting about their blog dissatisfaction, or taking an unexplained hiatus.
The ebb and flow of a blog. It would make an interesting study. And it got me thinking. How have I been riding this wave?
Phase I
In my first few months I gave myself a goal of posting six posts a week, Monday through Saturday. Some long. Some short. But new material was posted every day but Sunday.
At first this was very do-able. Hardly anyone was reading me. I was having a blast reading all of you. But then, I started to gain a true readership. Reading all of your posts and commenting in turn became difficult. I was able to keep up this pace for about 6 months. Then, something had to give.
Enter Phase II
So I wheedled it down to 5 posts a week. Monday through Friday. That left me the weekends to play catch-up and craft other posts. Phase II was short-lived, lasting about 2 months. I still couldn’t keep up. And I was realizing, the more readers I gained – the more reading I did. The more reading and commenting I did – the less living I was doing.
Blogging was becoming all important. When does the blogging stop and the living begin?
That’s a great question…When would I live, so that I could gather the material necessary to write? What about taking the kids to the pool or baking with my little Chopped Champions? Or my yoga? Or shopping trips with my daughter? Would my kids ever eat a home-cooked meal again? When would I make beds and scrub toilets? And what about the dog puke, runny noses and sticky kitchen floor? (Wait a second. That’s my life? I might need to re-think this.)
Phase III
I am now in Phase III. I post Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. (I kind of like how that looks on my calendar, too, with a little line down the middle of un-highlighted Wednesdays. But, I’m weird that way.) On Wednesday and the weekends, I play catch up. Or not. I try to read all of you, but that’s impossible, too. I comment when I have something to contribute. I don’t pressure myself to fill up space on your blogs anymore. I’m finding a balance. My balance. And it feels so much better.
Phase IV and Beyond!
I have no plans of stopping. I enjoy this medium much too much. (Just ask my husband!) I love writing. I love crafting posts. I love reading. I love conversation and new ideas.
But most of all, I love all of you! My world is so much brighter, bigger and brilliant because I have met all of you. And for that, I am so very, very thankful!
Thank you, dear readers, for embracing me and enjoying what I write. Thank you for peeking in to see what I have to say. Thank you for your comments here and posts there, showing me new and different ways to see things.
Happy Anniversary to me! And to you, too! May we celebrate many more together!!!
Did you bring me a gift? Oh! You did! A blog post to share? Wow! That’s that perfect gift! Thank you so much! Just click below to link up! And thanks, again! You are just too kind!
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Theycallmejane's Blog 