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Many people would say I am committing a cardinal sin by putting this post up, the amount of times I see people saying that it is boring (with a capital B) when bloggers post about blogging is untrue but this blog is about my life, all of my life and let's face it, this blog is a big part of that. So why would I not write about this subject? I find it interesting - shoot me!
My Klout score has steadily been dropping over the last few weeks from 63 down to the 58 I am a now and you know what? It pleases me. See, there I told you, I am very strange. Why does it please me? Because in my mind it shows me that I am not on the computer too much. I would hate to think that the biggest part of my life has become my blog and the social media and networking that surround it. Yes it is incredibly important to me but life will not stop if I do not blog and it is good for me to remember that.
I find blogging and all things social media a real conundrum - I love to see the interaction and to know lots of people are visiting, reading and commenting but then I get so busy and tired and start to wonder why so many people have visited and commented and don't they know that I do not have time to respond to the 28 comments that arrived on the blog the other night. So now as well as posting about blogging and admitting I am strange I also sound completely ungrateful don't I? Do you ever wonder why you stop by here and read? lol (Don't leave me and never come back grumbling 'bloody silly cow', pretty please? I am thrilled that you all visit me really).
The really crazy thing is that even when I am ultra busy and starting to feel overwhelmed I still feel compelled to tweet links to my posts the next day. So I put myself in the position of creating more for me to do and why? I assume so I feel good that X hundred people viewed my blog on that day. If I could turn off the blogger stat function I really would. I never visit the stats packages that I have installed on my blog but because blogger stats are there and I am intrinsically nosey I just can not seem to stop myself... It is not even as if I really care what they say but I still look.
I am the kind of person who wants everything but forgets that there is always a price. Those with successful blogs have to invest a lot of time in their blogs and if I am not willing to do that then I have to realise there will be a ceiling to how much things progress. When I first started the Reasons to be Cheerful linky back in January this year I was thrilled when the number of blogs linking up increased week on week, I think we got to about 48 linked in up one week. I then remember posting to say 'let's try to hit 50'! Then life happens, other blogs started Friday linkys, people got fed up with #R2BC or any other number of reasons and the number of joiners dwindled. Nowadays there is probably between 15 - 25 blogs linking up each week and whilst I look at something like Silent Sunday and think wow, look 180+ blogs linked up, I am so grateful that #R2BC has not gone that way as I enjoy visiting and commenting on every linked up post and I just do not have the time to visit dozens and dozens of blogs each week. The little community of bloggers who dip in and out of #R2BC are just amazing and enough reason in themself to keep blogging.
Just the other night I had to stop myself. I was reading about some blogger friends receiving a flip camera as part of a product campaign, 'Ohh' I thought to myself 'I could ask one of them to recommend me to the PR and then maybe I'll get a flip camera too'. So why do I need a flip camera, I started to ask myself? Simple answer, I don't. I was being greedy. Like I said I love my blog but I do find it sends me a bit crazy at times, it is so important to keep my feet firmly planted on the floor and not to listen to the hype.
When I meet newer bloggers and they call me 'a big blogger' or talk about how popular my blog is I have to stop listening a bit as it makes me feel uncomfortable. I am just me and I am trying really hard to stay that way. As I said in my Gallery post some time back my blog is Church and for me this is an important outreach tool to show that not all Christians are raving loonies or judgemental jerks! Some of us are completely flawed and pretty average individuals on a journey to a better life.
What about you? If you are a blogger, do you find this whole blogging lark a bit weird at times? and if you are not, I would love to hear your take on this from the other side of the fence.
Cheers, Mich x