The impetus to blog gradually disapppeared and I posted less frequently. I stopped keeping up with current happenings in the blogging world, which would normally have fuelled me with ideas for topics to write about. The longer I left it the harder it became to start up again. The blog came to a halt.
It seems now that it is tentatively raising up from its sick bed to say a weak hello. Why now? I just had an email from CMF Ads who informed me that apart from not blogging since last June I had masses of spam comments. On checking I was horrified to see how many there were. Something I had spent much time and effort on was being slowly destroyed through my neglect.
I know this happens to many bloggers and I probably kept going at a reasonable pace for longer than many. Why the lack of enthusiasm? There were a number of reasons. My health was suffering from sitting on my behind on the computer chair for so many hours. The days when many new social networking sites were starting up are over and it is now a while since I have seen anything new to interest me. When I started blogging Facebook was for the college crowd, Twitter had not yet uttered its first tweet and Stumbleupon had not yet tripped over anything. I revelled in trying out new and different appplications and reporting on them.
To begin with it was exciting being able to connect with so many new people and I established a small network of bloggers who I now consider close friends and a wider network of blogging acquaintances. It was the rest that wore me down; those who would take advantage of my public profile on sites to badger me for diggs and stumbles; the sort of thing I would do gladly for friends whose work I respected but not for all and sundry.
Many of the bloggers who started out at the same time as me have given up and my comments began to come from strangers who strangely enough often had names associated with whatever they were trying to sell. Are we going back to the old days I wonder, when people were named after their trades; as in Cooper, Gardner, Ward. Will Usedtires or Seo become commonplace surnames? Judging by my comments they already are. Will all the sons of the many Real Estates that comment become MacReals or, given the times, PcReals? Apologies, I digress.
What have I been doing instead of blogging? The many hours that were freed up have not been as productive as I would have liked mainly because I got sucked in to Facebook and its games – plowing harvesting and seeding my fields, building towns, cooking up a storm in my virtual cafe. I had avoided these for years, knowing my propensity to get hooked on such things. My health is back on track though and I proudly purchased a size 8 pair of jeans last week, for myself. I have continued to build web sites for small businesses and non profits and have got behind the hood of the Thesis theme and created a CMS site from that. I decided life was too short to keep putting things off and my long planned overseas trip is happening this year – a whole 12 weeks in Asia and Europe, staying in 13 countries.
I will be back here, although not as often as I once was. I will again be sharing what I have learned about blogs and their building and design.
Comments are switched off for now but only until I remove the spam that got through the net. I would love to hear from those of you who were regular followers and you can always drop me a line via my contact form.
welcome back
i live you writing and it’s good to see you back on the road of blogging
.-= chichaaa´s last blog ..CurveEvents : The .Com Turned 25 =-.
Yea, life has it’s up and down – blog life too
Sometimes it’s hard to find a good subject but I don’t give up – beside the popularity of The Oslo Blog Gathering I’m hosting in Norway in August is encouraging you know.
But most of all I’m happy you’re health are back on track!!
Happy Weekend
.-= RennyBA’s Terella´s last blog ..Johnny Logan in Oslo at St Patricks Day Parade =-.
Life happens. There is no wrong in stepping back for a while. You may find that it will give you a new perspective on what is important.
I did not do much last year on my blog either. I discovered that the work I had done on the Internet was starting to pay off, just not on the blog I spent the most time on.
I planned to start up again on that blog, but have decided to just start out with a new one instead. This time, I’m skipping some of the mistakes I made with the first one.
Hope your vacation is enjoyable and your work also.
I have the same problem trying to maintain sites…. The main problem is that I get too involved with the important ones and my personal ones go by the wayside. How do you like WP MU? I have been testing it a bit and am still trying to figure out the best way to manage it with regards to hundreds of users and access to just their sections…
I guess you are needing do a “360º turn” in your blog, so. If you don’t have passion to write, so it’s time to look for a new subject related to you don’t know yet and start a new discussion or category approaching it.
It works with me very well!
Well, it’s my two cents. I hope you accept them.
Glad to know that you’re back. I really wonder why you’ve been not posting for a long time. Maybe you’re too busy.
.-= Felix´s last blog ..Newest “A Nightmare on Elm Street” TV Spot Released (Video) =-.
I wish you the best to get motivation for blogging. In your older posts are a lot of interesting articles about design and blog building. So I hope you will write again more in the Future. Best regards from Germany
.-= Fensterfolie´s last blog ..Fenster Schutzfolien sorgen für Sicht- und Sonnenschutz =-.
My first time here, glad to found your site, I like it, and I also wish you a speedy recovery.
“wolf whistle” size 8 ?
lol… the main thing is you are feeling better.
12 weeks in Europe and Asia… sounds great.
Hope you have a cracking time, will you be blogging about it too?
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Blogging is endless improvement =-.
Blogging is just like everything, you have to get away once in awhile so that when you come back you are more productive.
It is also good to hear you are getting to go overseas. My eyes are on S America this fall for that trip I have always wanted to take.
Glad to see your blogging again, I look forward to your future blogs! I’ve set up my own Blogs on web design and know how hard it is sometimes to sit down and write articles.
It must feel good to get back to blogging. Did you appreciate your time away from it? I know getting away can be tough but often times its for the best to do so.
I think seeing your blog will encourage me to start blogging again, I seem to have neglected it because I am on Flickr all the time
My son is a web designer in Sydney but does not have a blog.
Greetings from Norway!
Enjoy your stay overseas, stay safe. When I travel, it doesn’t matter where I go or how long, I am always happy to be back home. So the old saying, “There’s no place like home”, is sooooooo very true. Well, for me anyways.
It’s good to see you back. Motivation and patient is everything we need to build a successful blog.
Alvin´s last [type] ..2 Auto Downloader Software for Rapidshare Megaupload Hotfile 4shared Mediafire etc
I have been through this as well. There are times when you get so fed up with blogging that you do not want even listen about it, but its very difficult to totally detach yourself. Blogging has been like an obsession for me for many years now.
nice
, I have the same problem trying to maintain sites…. The main problem is that I get too involved with the important ones and my personal ones go by the wayside. How do you like WP MU? I have been testing it a bit and am still trying to figure out the best way to manage it with regards to hundreds of users and access to just their sections…
We are still waiting for some new blogging tips! Come back to your website and get back to work please
Sue,
First off, I love the name of your blog; it´s very clever. As for blogging and promoting your blog, it certainly takes time. But, blogging and writing each day can be good for its own sake. It´s therapeutic and much cheaper than a counselor. So, continue on and just write when you want without the pressure that a lot of bloggers have to write and promote all the time. This will be truly SUEblime
Chris
Chris´s last [type] ..Amazon Kindle for Christmas
Hey – outa that sick bed – this blog is too good to let it go in to relapse.
Allan
Allan and Dawn´s last [type] ..Keywords- Opt-ins- SEO and Blogging are Old Friends Now
Great to have you back, Sue. Imagine my surprise for reading your comment on my blog the other day!
I think you had spoken for us in a lot of ways. Plus, facebook and Twitter took most of our attentions, now it’s getting harder to reach the balance between the online world and real life. But I really hope you’ll have a great time during your trip. Stopping by Malaysia or Singapore? I went to Singapore a month ago and it was superb!
See you soon. Take great care!
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
Ching Ya´s last [type] ..5 Ways to Create Welcome Tab Custom & Sub-tabs for Facebook Page
Yeah you’ve definitely gotta keep this blog going
Glad to hear that your back and writing!
Ken Deroute´s last [type] ..Alone for the Holidays