Like many people, I've been contemplating picking up my blog. Heck, I've been doing this for over a year (53 drafts saved???) however the time now feels right to hit the publish button.
Twitter is crowded and I seem to just retweet excellent content rather than making my own. When I do make my own it feels like I'm repeating what others have already said. Plus it's turned into an outlet for people understandably frustrated and angry by the current political climate, myself included. I miss the old knitting conversations which naturally drifted into a range of random topics.
Facebook. I have issues with Facebook. Their algorithms skew what I'm seeing, hiding friends important news, repeating the mundane, endless ads, the list goes on. I liked it in the early days when it was a simple list of what my friends were up to. It was enjoyable and useful. Now it's a bizarre construct whose main goal is to keep us on Facebook. The only reason I still use it is my friends are on there, and in that respect Facebook has us over a barrel. Aaargh, Zuckerberrrrg!!!
Instagram is nice but I sometimes don't feel like writing much. It also has the issue of people showing their best on there. I like twitter as people feel open about sharing their difficulties whereas the world of flat lays and lovely things can sometimes make me feel down when I'm having a bad day. I still enjoy Instagram but I need to be mindful when using it.
So here I am, back on the blog. I've been wondering what to post and how. The blogging world was taken over by monetisable content, all well and good for those looking to earn some extra cash or promoting their business, but it did make me feel like it was a competition, rather than something to do for fun. I don't have an issue with this, more power to people working for themselves, especially women. It's my hang up to get over, the irony of which is...
... I got a job running a charity blog, the natural result of which was I didn't want anything to do with blogs in my spare time. Plus that job properly did me in. Reading and editing harrowing and depressing real life content day after day had a very negative effect on my mental health; it's taken me two years to get my head back above the parapet. I'm still not fully better but thanks to the NHS, good online mental resources and a couple of excellent friends I'm so much better than I was this time last year.
So, how to blog? I think I'm going to try and get back to how I used to blog. A random mix of what I've been up to: knitting, gardening, food, exhibitions, travel. Some of this might be retrospective as I prefer to mull things over before writing about them. If I write straight away I tend to ramble which makes for dull reading.
I'm going to try and keep it real too. While it's good to have nice photos who really has a sprig of lavender lying next to a skein of wool? My kitchen is messy, I knit in what MrG calls the knit pit ie half the sofa is covered in projects and my garden is untidy - for the benefit of wildlife of course.
I think my main issue is how to keep this going as I've written these "I'm back" posts before. It's part confidence, part having the willingness to upload photos and edit. One of my tips I used to give my bloggers is write for yourself, that way you keep your own voice and don't try and mimic others. We all have our own unique style and take on the world and that's what makes life (and the internet) interesting.
How about you? How are you going to be online in 2018?
Oh, and Happy New Year, I hope your 2018 is full of whatever you'd like it to be.
Twitter is crowded and I seem to just retweet excellent content rather than making my own. When I do make my own it feels like I'm repeating what others have already said. Plus it's turned into an outlet for people understandably frustrated and angry by the current political climate, myself included. I miss the old knitting conversations which naturally drifted into a range of random topics.
Facebook. I have issues with Facebook. Their algorithms skew what I'm seeing, hiding friends important news, repeating the mundane, endless ads, the list goes on. I liked it in the early days when it was a simple list of what my friends were up to. It was enjoyable and useful. Now it's a bizarre construct whose main goal is to keep us on Facebook. The only reason I still use it is my friends are on there, and in that respect Facebook has us over a barrel. Aaargh, Zuckerberrrrg!!!
Instagram is nice but I sometimes don't feel like writing much. It also has the issue of people showing their best on there. I like twitter as people feel open about sharing their difficulties whereas the world of flat lays and lovely things can sometimes make me feel down when I'm having a bad day. I still enjoy Instagram but I need to be mindful when using it.
So here I am, back on the blog. I've been wondering what to post and how. The blogging world was taken over by monetisable content, all well and good for those looking to earn some extra cash or promoting their business, but it did make me feel like it was a competition, rather than something to do for fun. I don't have an issue with this, more power to people working for themselves, especially women. It's my hang up to get over, the irony of which is...
... I got a job running a charity blog, the natural result of which was I didn't want anything to do with blogs in my spare time. Plus that job properly did me in. Reading and editing harrowing and depressing real life content day after day had a very negative effect on my mental health; it's taken me two years to get my head back above the parapet. I'm still not fully better but thanks to the NHS, good online mental resources and a couple of excellent friends I'm so much better than I was this time last year.
So, how to blog? I think I'm going to try and get back to how I used to blog. A random mix of what I've been up to: knitting, gardening, food, exhibitions, travel. Some of this might be retrospective as I prefer to mull things over before writing about them. If I write straight away I tend to ramble which makes for dull reading.
I'm going to try and keep it real too. While it's good to have nice photos who really has a sprig of lavender lying next to a skein of wool? My kitchen is messy, I knit in what MrG calls the knit pit ie half the sofa is covered in projects and my garden is untidy - for the benefit of wildlife of course.
 |
| Current Knit Pit realness |
I think my main issue is how to keep this going as I've written these "I'm back" posts before. It's part confidence, part having the willingness to upload photos and edit. One of my tips I used to give my bloggers is write for yourself, that way you keep your own voice and don't try and mimic others. We all have our own unique style and take on the world and that's what makes life (and the internet) interesting.
How about you? How are you going to be online in 2018?
Oh, and Happy New Year, I hope your 2018 is full of whatever you'd like it to be.
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