IT'S BEEN ALMOST 7 BLOGGING YEARS
In a few weeks it will be SEVEN years since I started this blog! Sometimes
it feels like I started yesterday, other times it feels like I've been
writing posts forever. I looked at my stats the other day and I've written
952 posts! That's a lot of my life that's been shared here - the good, the
bad, the boring, and probably the ugly too.
But it got me thinking about how seven blogging years feels so different to
seven human years and that maybe they need to be measured on a different
scale - much like dog years....
According to tradition one dog year is supposed to equal 7 human years.
Apparently that's a bit too simplified and according to the
American Veterinary Medical Association it actually breaks down like this:
- 15 human years equals the first year of a medium-sized dog’s life.
- Year two for a dog equals about nine years for a human.
- And after that, each human year would be approximately five years for a dog.
In the old dog/blog method my blog age would be 7 years times 7 years (49
years old), and when I put 7 dog/blog years into this newer calculation it
still comes out at 49 human years (it must be the sweet spot for calculating
dog/blog age!), and when I think about my blog, it feels like that age is a
pretty good fit.
HOW THE FIRST BLOG YEAR RESEMBLES A DOG YEAR
When I look at the calculator above I can definitely see how this plays out
in blogging. That first year of starting a blog seems like an enormous
growth spurt. The learning curve is definitely all about moving from newborn
to teenager with all the skills you need to pick up along the way. I look
back now and think about what I had to learn in that first year:
- How to find a blogging platform
- How to use the tools that come with the platform
- How to put my thoughts into a blog post
- How to create a template and theme that I liked
- How to get a basic understanding of HTML
- How to make changes in the HTML coding to add or subtract content
- How to connect with other like-minded people online
- How to set up an email subscription
- How to not breach copyright legislation
THE YEARS AFTERWARD
I look back on my early blogging and I can see how far I've come in so many
areas. I don't think I'd be able to start from scratch again because
blogging seems to have gotten harder now I know more about what goes into
it. If anything, I wish I'd started a few years earlier when blogs were new
and exciting and the main way to engage in any depth online. As the years
have gone by, blogs seem to have lost their innocence, those happy, bouncy
puppy days have gone and the more sedate dog life has set in.
I remember bouncing around link parties, joining in challenges, getting
excited when I discovered free image sites like
Pixabay and
Unsplash, or being
thrilled when
Canva came into
existance and I could start to have a "brand" for my blog. I also remember
buying a theme from Etsy and taking things to the next level with how my
blog looked - so scary to make a huge change - and so exciting when it all
fell into place. There were so many discoveries, so much to challenge my
poor little brain, and so many times when I worried I'd hit "Enter" and
possibly lose the lot! But you live and learn and it all becomes so
"normal".
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
I feel like I've hit blogging Midlife - kind of appropriate for a blog
about Midlife isn't it? And perhaps that's why over the last year or so I've
cut back on my blogging a bit. I've become a bit more sedate these days, and I only post once a week (I remember when I used to write THREE
posts a week - and more if I was doing a blogging challenge!), and I've also
had my comments turned off since June to get me off my laptop and more present in the real world. My blog is feeling more like a mature aged dog these days - and I kind of
like that.
A "49 year old" blog feels like a comfy fit these days - it's like an old
friend who I catch up with for a chat each week. We share the highs and
lows, the good times and the slower times. I still haven't run out of things
to write about, but I wonder if my blog and I will gradually slide into older age
over the next few years? According to the formula, in another 18 months my blog will be the same age
(in dog years) as me - will we get old and doddery together, or will we grow in wisdom and maturity?
Will we still be relevant in 2023 or will it be time to pull the plug and
head off into the sunset? So many questions and I don't think I really want
to know the answers right now - so, like Scarlett O'Hara...."I'll think
about that tomorrow"....
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you a blogger? Do feel like it's been a huge learning curve and things
are still growing, or are you getting a bit older and slower as time goes
along? Or are you a blog reader? Does reading a blog post still appeal to
you, or are you heading off in a different direction - podcasts, vlogs,
youtube, or whatever? I hope you'll still be hanging out we me and my blog
for the foreseeable future - I'd miss you if you moved on.
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JUST A FINAL NOTE:
I've turned off the comments on my blog posts, but still love to hear
from you. You can leave a comment on my Cresting the Hill Facebook page - or you can email me at: leanne.crestingthehill@gmail.com
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