PS...To Why I Blog...and I Want You

Over the weekend I re-read my last post "Why I Blog". (if you haven't read it yet, you should do that before reading this.....see I linked it for you and everything!) I told you in there that I often think about particular people while I blog. Well as I read that post, I heard a couple people complaining. I heard your reasons for NOT blogging. (OK so I could be crazy hearing voices.....so what?)

The obvious objection is "I just don't have the time for it."

I know. It takes time. It takes a bit of effort. You have kids. You have a busy schedule. I know. Me too.

To blog well, it's like everything else...you need to force yourself to do it. You have to be disciplined. Maybe even have (gasp) a schedule. Seriously it makes sense...everything else in your life is on a calendar why can't 1/2 hour of typing be on your calendar too? I know that the times that I'm most productive are the times that I've had an intentional, planned out schedule for making it happen.

"I don't have anything important to say." If that's true, then I want you to go delete your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. accounts. Right? Honestly...you do have something to say. It's just that once again it will take some effort instead of a 140 character blurb. I know you. You have cool stuff going on in your life and I feel like I'm missing out on it.

"No one will read it or care". I will. Seriously I will. I used to have a blog roll on the right side of my blog of all the blogs that I was following...the problem became that most of them hadn't been updated in a long time. I want to read what you're writing. I want to read your thoughts. Here's the other thing....at the get-go, no one will read it...because you haven't blogged in a year or a couple months.....you're going to have to get those readers back.....make people aware that you've started up again. It won't just naturally happen. People stopped reading because you stopped blogging.

Which segways nicely into my next point....I Want You to Blog. I don't mean casually hack at it. I mean give it a full on try. Let's say....one month of consistent writing. Not daily....but maybe 2 or 3 posts a week. Just make it happen.

Remember when you were blogging and all your friends would comment at your posts because you inspired them, or made them laugh, or were in awe of how cute your kids are and how much they've grown? Remember that feeling of accomplishment? Remember how your heart would leap when you got an e-mail saying someone commented on your post? Yeah...that's still going on, you just aren't part of it.

I want you to come back to the fold. Or to start over. Or to start for the first time. Post a comment. Link me your blog in the comment so I make sure I'm reading.

Why I blog.

I have a a file folder in my Bookmarks in Firefox of blogs. That is further broken up into 4 categories: people I know, music blogs, daily, and then misc. I sat here thinking, I should check out some people I know and what they're blogging about. I opened up the list and started mentally going through who's blog was who's.....and realized that very few of the ones I wanted to click on were actively blogging. It was kind of disappointing.

I know that Facebook and Twitter have taken the place of blogs in a lot of ways. We can microblog now. Little snippets of thought instead of longer posts. We connect instantly with the small rather than weekly with the big thought. What really happens though is that I know less about my friends instead of more. I know small details about their daily comings and goings...funny things they've encountered....pictures, jokes perhaps. But I don't know how they're feeling, or what they've been thinking about, or really how they're wrestling with Jesus in their life.

I will be the first to admit that blogging is hard. I've been a major slacker at times. I've gone through periods of doubt. Does anyone actually read this? Why would anyone care? What's the point?

Here are a couple reasons I've decided to continue blogging. It's not an exhaustive list....more off the top of my head than anything.

1. It helps me collect my thoughts. With ADD that's not always easy. As I bop around through my day and week and random thoughts rush through my brain...when I'm intentionally blogging, certain thoughts seem to stick easier and allow me to mull them over more. It's like there are these virtual folders in my brain that when I'm blogging things go into easier. Thoughts that would normally just float away into space, are now contemplated a little more for content and depth.

2. I meditate more. This kind of goes along side of #1. When I'm blogging and reading blogs I allow myself more time to wrestle with thoughts. Most of the things I'm meditating on are God's words and church thoughts to be fair. Blogging then almost becomes a way to journal....not the girly kind of diary journal either....but maybe a bit of that too.

3. I think about you more. This is weird, but when I'm blogging I almost always think of someone who would appreciate what I'm putting here....whether that person reads my blog or not. I put up a link, a picture, a story...in my head I'm mentally directing it at someone. I also am more aware of what my friends are telling me about what they're doing....so I can pass it along as well. You'll notice I've blogged a couple times about my friend Katie....it's because she's doing rad stuff. (that now opened the door for the rest of you to say, "I'm not doing rad stuff? blog about my dork").

4. Conversation means more. Dialogue with someone whether it's in person or online takes on a new dynamic. All the "collecting my thoughts", "meditating" and "thinking of you" culminate inside of conversations that I have. I often feel more "THERE", when in the midst of conversation. That's obviously not to say that I blog about every conversation I have....actually not at all. But it focuses my attention to the details.

5. Because of all of the other items....I wrestle with Jesus a little more. I know that's probably not a theologically correct phrase. Jesus would kick my butt. But I wrestle with what Jesus wants me to do and with my calling and purpose. I think about his church and my place in it. I do all these things anyway, but because it's so much a part of my life and I'm writing about it, I wrestle more. Is this real? Is this something only I'm thinking about?


So that's what I have so far. If you blog, why do you do it? If you have blog and stopped...why? If you don't blog, why not think about it.

Facelift

I did it. Jim kicked my butt so I did a little face lift.

Here's the deal. Jim listened to a podcast that was all about generating more blog traffic. You can read the notes of the podcast here. I like some of the hints that Michael says about building traffic.....but I have some problems for personal reasons. Here's why....

1. Because of the nature of my job, I don't necessarily desire my teens to constantly be reading my blog and creeping on me. I don't really think they would, but in a world were EVERYTHING is out there for the public, for me, my blog is just a place for me to pass along info and share thoughts with friends.

2. I don't really care about getting my name out there. As of right now, I'm in the place where God has called me to be. I don't need to market myself. I don't want to go on speaking engagements around the country.

So there are clearly some things on his list that I just don't feel are relevant to me.

HOWEVER....Blogger changed it's layout format a few years ago, and I never changed over. I was stubborn and kept everything in the old antiquated format. I finally upgraded...and I'm glad....so much easier to do what I want. I needed a little change. I know that it's still black on black...and it might be for awhile...but I don't think I"m done changing some aesthetic things yet.

I also really liked what he said about the need for regular posting. I know I've been really really bad at that....pretty much since I started this thing. I want to believe that I"m gonna be better at that. We'll see. I'd like to have a schedule of posting.

How can I do better? Without changing me, what can I do better? What am I already doing well? What keeps you coming back to read?