I am sad to see the holidays over. I had a wonderful time with my little family. It’s been very relaxing and fun- putting aside the extreme snow and weather we received in Wisconsin in December. Which by extreme I mean minus 46 degree windchill and record snowfall in southeastern Wisconsin.
Taking the time off from blogging made me reevaluate my blogging and online habits. In the New Year I will be making some significant changes. For one- I am dropping several side blogs I was working on. One blog was pretty much kept for paid posting which I don’t enjoy. With the economy dropping out it seemed harder and harder to get elusive paid postings- and my time could be better spent then working sporadically on a blog I hate. If you need diaper money like I do- let me suggest eBay over paid posting.
Furthermore- Entrecard has been a big waste of time for me (there I said it). This is not to say the blogs on there are bad. On the contrary there are lots of bloggers and blogs advertising on there that I really love. However the act of dropping is time consuming and does not gain me any traffic. I notice too that 99% of the bloggers that drop from Entrecard never comment on my site and I presume don’t read my posts. When I dropped I made an effort to comment on many of the sites I stopped at- it is rare for me to see this reciprocated. While I am not taking down my Entrecard widgets for now- I will be dropping very little if any in the future.
That’s it in a nutshell- I am discontinuing some blogs and limiting myself to this one and vintage jewelry pictures which I am currently working to get off the blogger platform and to it’s new home. What I want to achieve out of blogging is writing about and posting pictures of the things I enjoy and visiting the blogs and PEOPLE that I enjoy.
Sounds like you are making some good adjustments. I never got into the entrecard card thing, just like I’ve never been able to bring myself to twitter. Hope that your changes work out well for you!
Have a great rest of the year and beyond!
I can’t do twitter but I think if I was single and had no children at home- that social networking would be great fun. I think it’s cool for people to be able to reach out to each other that way… online weirdo’s aside.
The thing I enjoy about this blog is posting a picture or article about something that jogs people’s memories. I want to keep that my focus, vintage things seem to warm up the memories pretty well and I like that.
I think the changes you are making are good ones. You have to eliminate what doesn’t work or add to your enjoyment and concentrate on what does. Life is too short to waste time, like you said, working on a blog you hate! I’m going to be making changes about how I blog too. The first thing I’m contemplating changing is my blogroll. It’s huge and impossible to read through on a daily or even weekly basis! I already spend a lot of time on the computer but I’m not going to start spending even MORE. I’m going to be whittling back a bit so the reading will have to change. I did see a few examples of how people were doing things that I’ve liked so I will have to test them out.
You are right on.
I like Ecard, and have met a few people there. That’s where it ends. If I am at a blog to READ it … I drop. I know bloggers that go on “rounds” to drop 300 to 400 cards a day. For what??????? … they are the first to burn out. Why? – because that’s work. If I want to work, I’ll go to work. Nuff bout THAT
Pay posts and pay clicks seem to be in the same catagory. Many other ways to make a dollar that require less time. Ebay is made for selling, so it seems like a good place to do it.
I have always thought that once you start blogging, the intent is always moved to the “fun and enjoyable” side of the scale, or you become robotic … and ultimately quit. My intent was always just to create. There are posts I’ve done that are not so good, and others I really like, and had a blast producing. When a comment comes along telling me that someone laughed, or was touched, or even just enjoyed reading, I am happy. That simple!
More than anything, blogging is relaxing and stress relieving (for me). After work my jets cool quickly, as my mind “detours” from daily stress. I really am not crazy all the time. Crazy while blogging?? … probably so
Obviously, I am all for your decisions regarding where your interests and goals lie on line. AND …. I am always impressed when I stop here. Best wishes and a happy productive New Year to you Michelle!
SpeedyCat
… did you always have comment moderation?
hmmm .. that comment went through.
I left a longer comment first. (imagine a big comment up there) “I really did leave one!”
OK, better finish up here (smile)
Happy New Year!!!
Ha ha Eric- I think Akismet read your long comment as spam- weird I guess. I agree with everything you said- and I am over the making blogging like work aspect. I just want to have fun- post on my vintage site and still have a lot of time left for my family.
Hi Meleah- sunglasses – you look really cool in sunglasses….
I finally back from my hiatus. Happy new year Michelle!
I just click EC if I see it on sites I happen to visit, but refuse to put any effort towards it–though it seems to work better than Twitter (which I hope will go under this year and close shop permanently hahahaha).