I have been on blogger for almost 8 months now and I wonder about my readership. Does it really matter? Of course it does. Yes, I love to write and I would write irrespective, but the thrill of having people read my work, makes everything suddenly more worthwhile. I guess, it's a form of validation. I try to think of ways to get my blog more readers. Well, to be honest, I am clueless about such things. How does someone find my blog anyway?
I wondered about how people got chosen for "Blogs of note" and looking it up on google, I realize it's really random. Or so they say? Also, I notice there are a lot of bloggers out there. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. How does one compete with that for readership?
I know, I'm supposed to share my blogs on Facebook as often as I can and write as often as I can but the topic of this blog is challenging myself. I'm going through a few challenges, but for now, for this post, my challenge is to get off Facebook. Not completely though. I think it would be more accurate to say, to use Facebook in a non-addictive way. I find myself checking Facebook every hour as though a very important status message will show up, or someone will make a comment on my post and when I sit back and think about the truth, it's pointless.
Facebook, to me, has become this vehicle for narcissism. Here's my selfie and I'm putting it on Facebook. Don't I look cute? I'm sorry, but I'm not into the bragfest. As a matter of fact, it annoys me when there's too much unwanted sharing. There are some amazing articles that are shared that I truly enjoy. I have used that as an excuse for being on Facebook, but I'm really trying to downshift. I'm taking a self made Facebook challenge. A form of detox, if you will. I'm trying to get more control of myself. I'm tired of being the Facebook zombie starring at a screen, thinking the world will magically change at any given moment.
So, where does this all relate to my blog? As I mentioned, I would love to grow my readership. I know Rome wasn't built in a day. Instead of staring at a Facebook screen, I would like to challenge myself to write more blogs and after a week of no Facebook to just go on to post my blog. I would also use Facebook for my business and post there to keep things moving forward. Also, I plan to limit my Facebook time to maybe a maximum of 30 minutes, if that, a week.
I took the challenge yesterday and it has officially been 24 hours since I have checked Facebook. I feel that when I get back on Facebook, I will have a blog to post and I will have my priorities straight. Instead of watching the craziness of the world, I can just delete the people I don't want on there and streamline my friends. If I keep my blog posts public, I can perhaps grow my readership. We'll see.
I know my blog about being a Muslim and the Ferguson verdict got a lot of hits. I don't really want to be known for religion or politics though. Blogging is such a balance.
Enough of my rants for now. I'm still fasting from Facebook. When I get on, I'll pick a few of my blogs to re-post, perhaps.
Best wishes all,
TTR
Showing posts with label blog posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog posts. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
Keeping track of thoughts
When I started this blog, the one advice I got was to write down blog post ideas. Well, I did write ideas down. I have a few sitting on my iPhone notes even as we speak, but the funny thing with jotting down idea points, is emotion. I feel that when I get an idea or a thought to write, it comes with feelings and invariably those feelings help my words and my expressions. If I'm not in the moment, even if I'm writing about it, I lose the moment and my writing shows. I feel it'll be a disjointed fact page missing the beat. Sometimes, I get lucky. The thought returns with the emotion and so there you have it.
Last Christmas, 2014, I was invited yet again to the annual Mercy Christmas dinner. I have always looked forward to this dinner. They have 4 ice sculptors, live classical music and a buffet of food that will fill you if you tried just a bit of everything. Shrimp cocktail is what I primarily indulge in and then I suffer not being able to try a lot of the other foods. Dessert is the chocolate fountain with strawberries, and other fruits to dip in, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a plethora of little cakes and eclair type things. It feels quite heavenly really. It's funny how excited and happy one gets when they are presented with a ton of desserts. I usually feel like a kid again. Anyway, it has sort of been a tradition for me to go to this dinner for the past several years. It's a dress up affair, and the only thing I need to figure out is who I'm talking with me.
2014 was strange. I got invited again. I was free that evening. I had a date, my husband, and he was free also. We both had nowhere to be and we had a nothing evening ahead of us, and yet, we didn't go! Yes, just like that. We didn't go. I looked at him and explained the hospital dinner that we had been to the year before and basically stated that I didn't feel up to it. The whole thrill of a free fancy dinner had somewhere evaporated and there I was suddenly all mature and grown up and taking charge of my life and doing what I wanted even if protocol dictated otherwise. I can't recall what we did. I think we just hung out at home, ate some left overs from food I'd cooked in the past and just snuggled watching television or a DVD.
I did not miss the grand Christmas dinner. The pomp and circumstance that made me so excited to go to this fancy dinner had finally died. I have made it. Even this experience had worn thin. In the deep recesses of my mind I am grateful. Grateful to have had the experience, grateful to be able to recognize the facade of the fancy, and grateful to have spent a quiet evening at home instead.
I started this post talking about how I have notes for what blogs I want to write and how I need an emotion to write them. Interesting enough, this post is not in my iPhone. Maybe it is. I haven't checked of late. I am sitting at my office ready to leave home and the thought of the Christmas party came up. The thought of a blog post that had disappeared suddenly peeked through the clouds and said, "write about me." As I was close to leaving, I decided to add it to my notes on my phone, but then I changed my mind. Why not add the notes to my blogger and keep it as a post that is not published? I could go home and finish it or finish it some other time. At least, it would be on blogger.
Well, 5 paragraphs of notes later, I think I only need to edit this one before I post. See what an emotion can do. It writes the post itself. I need only to sit on the computer. Perhaps I'll look at the iPhone notes and see what I want to write about next. See, if they talk to me, but if not, I may just wait for more ideas to suddenly break through and hope I'm at a computer when that happens.
Best always,
TTR
Last Christmas, 2014, I was invited yet again to the annual Mercy Christmas dinner. I have always looked forward to this dinner. They have 4 ice sculptors, live classical music and a buffet of food that will fill you if you tried just a bit of everything. Shrimp cocktail is what I primarily indulge in and then I suffer not being able to try a lot of the other foods. Dessert is the chocolate fountain with strawberries, and other fruits to dip in, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a plethora of little cakes and eclair type things. It feels quite heavenly really. It's funny how excited and happy one gets when they are presented with a ton of desserts. I usually feel like a kid again. Anyway, it has sort of been a tradition for me to go to this dinner for the past several years. It's a dress up affair, and the only thing I need to figure out is who I'm talking with me.
2014 was strange. I got invited again. I was free that evening. I had a date, my husband, and he was free also. We both had nowhere to be and we had a nothing evening ahead of us, and yet, we didn't go! Yes, just like that. We didn't go. I looked at him and explained the hospital dinner that we had been to the year before and basically stated that I didn't feel up to it. The whole thrill of a free fancy dinner had somewhere evaporated and there I was suddenly all mature and grown up and taking charge of my life and doing what I wanted even if protocol dictated otherwise. I can't recall what we did. I think we just hung out at home, ate some left overs from food I'd cooked in the past and just snuggled watching television or a DVD.
I did not miss the grand Christmas dinner. The pomp and circumstance that made me so excited to go to this fancy dinner had finally died. I have made it. Even this experience had worn thin. In the deep recesses of my mind I am grateful. Grateful to have had the experience, grateful to be able to recognize the facade of the fancy, and grateful to have spent a quiet evening at home instead.
I started this post talking about how I have notes for what blogs I want to write and how I need an emotion to write them. Interesting enough, this post is not in my iPhone. Maybe it is. I haven't checked of late. I am sitting at my office ready to leave home and the thought of the Christmas party came up. The thought of a blog post that had disappeared suddenly peeked through the clouds and said, "write about me." As I was close to leaving, I decided to add it to my notes on my phone, but then I changed my mind. Why not add the notes to my blogger and keep it as a post that is not published? I could go home and finish it or finish it some other time. At least, it would be on blogger.
Well, 5 paragraphs of notes later, I think I only need to edit this one before I post. See what an emotion can do. It writes the post itself. I need only to sit on the computer. Perhaps I'll look at the iPhone notes and see what I want to write about next. See, if they talk to me, but if not, I may just wait for more ideas to suddenly break through and hope I'm at a computer when that happens.
Best always,
TTR
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