I'm still around, just worn out after a particularly LONG summer in which I pushed too hard in too many things. Rather lost my blogging mojo and may or may not recover it. Not that it matters, as with all technology, blogging has evolved and it's no longer what it was for me.
That's not a complaint really, it's just the way things are, the way progress moves. When I first started blogging, it was a wonderful outlet to the outside world while I was a stay-at-home Mom who did more staying at home than her personality would prefer. Through blogging I met some really awesome ladies, ladies I sometimes got to see in person while our kids were in school. Ladies with whom I sometimes plotted and planned "big ideas" as we were trying our wings to see what me might become within the context of our families rather than at their expense. See, back in the beginning it was about meeting people and sharing our everyday stories with each other. Bloggers were nerds. I was so in my element!
Now it's different. Blogs are different. I love a good DIY, cooking or garden blog. I even have a Garden blog I also neglect and a DIY blog for work. I keep that stuff separate from this blog for a reason- they are informational, not personal. I can't be a persona- I totally suck at it! Besides, I'm 40 now so all that stuff doesn't matter to me now like it did when I was still that young Mom with Littles.
I'm not complaining or finding fault with special-interest blogs. But I DO miss the cyber meetings of other Mom-nerds like me. Just regular people who were NOT competing in some sort of coolness contest. It wasn't about followers so much as comments that went two ways- give and take. The friendly EXCHANGE of information and advice between people who'd never otherwise gotten to know a bit about each other. You know, all the good stuff from BEFORE those online friendships became so monetarily motivated that the Nerd-Moms gave up (and fortunately moved over to Facebook where I can still keep up with them). The ideas, photography and writing of blogs has gotten better and better and better. The genuine honesty and "real=ness" less, and less, and less.
I know it's geeky to enjoy chatting with other women and sharing our experiences through blogging but it's precisely what gave it value to me and what I miss. I miss getting to know people and following their stories. REAL stories- not contrived stuff designed to generate revenue. Blogging BEFORE it became a popularity contest- because NONE of us were/ are popular nor had any delusion we ever could be. And guess what? Our stories STILL had value! I still find tremendous enjoyment in reading blogs and sometimes even in writing but now that we've grown into a Big City, I miss the small-town atmosphere. That's what made THIS blog and YOUR blogs valuable to me.
Friends, if you're still blogging, let me know. I miss hearing about your lives and kids and struggles. You know, the REAL stuff. The stuff that matters so much more than cute craft projects or another recipe I'll never get around to making. I like those things too, of course, but I miss real people. I miss you!
11 comments:
Cynthia, I'm still around and still pop over to read yours whenever I see you post. I agree that blogging is so different now than it was a few years back. I'm so grateful I was doing it though because I had burned out of scrapbooking and documented so many stories of the family and everyday life on the little ol' blog. I turned two of those years into blog books and will continue to do that until I am up to date. Yes there is facebook but it just doesn't work for me for documenting my life and what's going on in it. I will probably blog for a long time and I really don't mind if others don't read it. I'm just grateful to have it for me and for my posterity. (hopefully they will appreciate it and want to read it)
amen! i would like to echo everything you just said. I still try to keep up with my blog for family-history purposes. but the thing that motivated me in the the beginning....making connections, keeping in touch seems to have gone out the window. i'm still trying though. maybe later today i'll have some time to devote to my blog...
I'm still here, though I can't remember the last time I blogged. I miss the friendships, too, though I'm still connected to most everyone on FB.
I am like you... I miss my blogging buddies.
I see my posts and think to myself...nobody cares about this...why am I posting anything.
But, I care... and so I have started to blog more often again.
Do you remember when you would have several comments on your blogs... I get excited if I have one comment now.....
Thanks for being my blogging buddy!
You know, I've read a couple of other blogs in the last week lamenting the same thing. I've had exactly the same thoughts too. There just seems to be a lot of advertising, conferencing, and business going on in a place that used to be for us to just talk about home and decorating. I'm with you!
Amen. And here's the flip side to that: I'm not home anymore. When I discovered blogging, I was still at home with little ones. I, like you, love that I was able to stay at home, but need human interaction to thrive, so reading blogs made me feel less isolated. Now that I've got far less "free" time, I'm secretly a bit relieved that the amount of friends that blog has gone down. Not because I don't want to know what's going on {I do miss that, and have to find other ways to keep in touch}, but because *my* life has changed and by the time I get home, the human interaction quota has been exceeded for the day after dealing with customers :) But yes...it truly is a different world.
I agree with you. I rarely post anything these days. And many of the people I loved following haven't either. I peek in now and then but skim over everything that is DIY and read the real stuff.
Between keeping up with work and family, I can see why you don't have a lot of time for blogging. I find myself blogging less lately, too, with lots of family interests, plus trying to enjoy the great outdoors as much as possible before winter sets in.
I am still blogging--but mostly in my informational blog. I am hoping it would be a way to market myself. It is amazing how blogging has changed--and me with it! I miss you too--but it is interesting how our lives continue to change and grow.
I stumbled on a comment you made on an older post on my blog. I thought I would stop by and see what's new.
I agree that blogging has evolved. I'm just trying to blog what makes ME happy and if people stop by, great. If not - it's still an outlet for me.
I hope you continue to blog - I'll bookmark your blog and check back.
I'm here! Although my blog is private. I wanted to use my blog as a personal journal where I could share my journey but just not with the world. And as you already know, I'm one of those who has a foodie/garden/DIY blog where I'm "real" but in a different way.
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