Why on earth would I start a blog in 2017? Aren’t they so 2008? Isn’t the internet littered with empty ghost towns of dusty blogs, long since abandoned for the micro-fields of other social media platforms? I remember having a long list of bookmarked blogs that I checked and read regularly. Most of those blogs have been deserted. There are few that I check consistently anymore, and even fewer that ever have new content. And that is OK. If the world has moved past blogs, who am I to protest? I have no aspirations of turning the tide, I simply want to write. I want to string together thoughts that are longer than the 140 characters allotted us by Twitter. I want to share and explore ideas without feeling like they must be contained in an Instagram post or a Facebook comment. I want to offer something slow and intentional, like a meal slowly brought together in a collection of pots and pans on the stove top, as opposed to a microwaved TV dinner.
I intend to lean heavily on words, and lightly on images. Our world is brimming, overflowing, drowning in images. And while there’s nothing wrong with posting pictures, surely life cannot be summed up with hashtags and a family photo in front of the garage door? {Someone should start an Instagram account re-posting photos taken in front of garage doors. They’d have never ending content. :)} Nevertheless, at least for me, that is a huge temptation in this social media age; to assume to know someone’s life experience, motives, and beliefs, simply from the concentrate of photo ops and captions.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a niche. Any blogger worth their salt knows they should have a niche. The choice must be made. Photo blogger. Mommy blogger. Foodie blogger. Super specific hobby blogger. Fashion blogger. Lifestyle blogger. (Still looking for a definition on that one.) Make your choice and then white wash all your photos with the same two filters and voila! Blogger bliss. Something within me resists; mentally, I get weary just thinking of trying to nail down a niche. Perhaps my personality is to blame. For those who are interested in Meyer’s Briggs, I’m an ENFP-A.
“Can’t I fly helicopters AND be an oceanographer who writes songs and cooks?” -16personalities.com
I’ve often considered this a weakness in myself, wanting to be and do and try so many things at once. My focus gets spread pretty thin, and instead of finishing one project, I start 7 different ones and give up half way through because I’m overwhelmed. But perhaps here in this space, I can use all those different interests to hone a particular skill, writing, and accomplish one particular goal, writing consistently for an extended period of time. I’m interested in many things and plan to write about (almost) whatever is on my mind. Hence the “Mélange” category you see above. You will probably see posts on travel, (near and far), opinions on social issues, politics, Christianity; books and reading, rants, food, products and people I love, and maybe eventually, bits and pieces of my family’s story.
I’m not writing because I think you’ll find my opinions or thoughts particularly interesting or profound or always correct or even enjoyable. I’m writing because it’s within me. I’m writing for the pleasure and the discipline of it. I’m writing for those of you who, for one reason or another, have encouraged me to write and to not be afraid of my own voice. I’m writing to hopefully, honor my Creator, and exercise the faculties bestowed to me. I like to write, I want to write, I can write, and so I shall.
And if along the way, I can inspire you to write, then I shall be very happy indeed.
Thank you for reading!
Yes yes YES. It’s a tornado of fresh air. Yes to every single sentence. I love you and this adventure is going to be a good one!
Thanks for your encouragement Cherie!
This morning I thought, “I really miss blogging.” and this fun guy pops up in my Insta feed. You’re already an inspiration. And a mind reader because I literally told myself “A blog?! That was so last decade!” I’m not good at subscribing or that normal person stuff but if you post your new posts on Instagram I’ll catch them. Also. I never ever realized that pictures in front of garage doors are a thing. But now that you mention it-it is! But why???
Thanks Lizzi! I don’t know why. 🙂 I always wonder who sends out the memo to start these trends?
I meant to comment as soon as you started a blog, but I am ESFP-a and I got distracted by something else. 😆 You go! My reasons for blogging resonate with yours. If only I could figure out how to make money on it! But I can’t limit myself to one area or choose which two filters to wash my cell phone pics in. (So clever.)
Ugh distractions are everywhere. 😆 Thanks for the encouragement!
So why don’t you call walmart cashiers “mlm”? They also are taking your money for their boss’s products. Yet they never get a “bad rap”. And if they do their job well enough, they also climb the ladder and are able to earn more money, correct?
I think it’s obvious that Walmart cashiers are not multi-level marketers in the common understanding of the term. But if they or anyone else used the same tactics I outlined above, then this post would apply to them as well. I have no issue with anyone climbing ladders and earning money. This post was about tactics.