I wrote this on the train…posting now due to spotty internet…
All week I wanted to write a going to BlogHer post. Kids, Swimming. Camp dropoffs and pickups. Playdates. Cleaning. Laundry. Paid work. You name it and I had a reason why I couldn’t get on line to post on my blog.
It’s ironic, isn’t it that I am on my way to a blogging conference yet I am having problems finding time ti blog. This blog seems to be the poor stepchild. The oft neglected writing spot.
For this weekend, I intend to do some deep thinking about where I am going with this blog. I started this blog back in January of 08 when I was required to blog about design. This blog was intended as a family journal, but more importantly as a place for me to vent, cogitate, ruminate on anything and everything.
All was well until I typed my first entry — a vent about my new classmates. A vent is always a healthy move except that I violated the cardinal rule of blogging. Are there rules for blogging? Blogging is supposed to be freeing and therapeutic, right? The cardinal rule I broke was forgetting that my design blog was attached to my family blog. Oops. Not a good way to start off with my new classmates.
I know, I know, I was lucky that I clicked on the About Me on Blogger that linked both my blogs. I was saved by some stroke of luck.
2.5 years later my blog is an entirely different creature. New name. Custom url. Ads. A theme. Set topics that I write about each week. Giveaways. Product reviews.
While technically this blog is 2.5 years old, I only started blogging regularly and seriously about 1.5 years ago. I started spending more and more time reading other people’s blogs. As I read other blogs I noticed the buttons on the sidebars. Clicking buttons led me to twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. MomCentral. MomSelect. ChildsPlay PR. MyBlogSpark. And probably a hundred other sites and services which I may or may not use regularly.
For a period of time I followed Caringbridge blogs before I started blogging here. I had two friends who were going through bone marrow transplants. Both families kept online Caringbridge journals. From these journals I started following other families journeys with cancer or other diseases. You might say, “Well, that’s a little morbid.” I would say that by following these journals and commenting I was supporting the families in crisis.
While the blogs I follow now are not about families in crisis, the blogs do chronicle families. I know I don’t — yet — have a strong following of blog readers. But, gaining followers who stick around is a goal of mine.
As I near Penn Station, I know that I will learn so much at BlogHer. It goes without saying that a 4-day conference will be a learning experience. The trick will be to take what I will learn from sessions, events, meetings, and maybe even parties and parlay that in to a tangible outcome for my blog.
What will the outcome be? What am I looking for? I want to monetize my blog. I’m running a few ads, but want to run more. I have done a few social media campaigns, but want to do more. I have found a few paid sites, but could and should find more.
I want my blog hobby to become a blog job.
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