one month
One month ago today, I started this blog and it seems like an opportune juncture to reflect on my experience as a blogger thus far. I can relate to a few sentiments expressed by a fellow novice blogger in Ireland, namely identifying as an "outlier in the blogosphere" (among my friends, I think I'm the only blogger) and really enjoying the writing.
Kathryn recently asked me how I come up with ideas for posts. Since I started blogging, I've been conscious of how blogable the things that I read, hear, observe, and discuss are. Sometimes the most benign ideas end up as posts - I have a tendency to link current events and thoughts to memories and other references (in case you haven't noticed). Also, I like thinking critically, telling stories, and writing. Consequently, keeping up with the blog hasn't proven difficult.
Actually, I've been jotting down ideas for future blog posts as they come to me and there are currently a few posts in the blog 'incubator' (stay tuned for a response to Kevin's post about education/schooling as well as for one on nostalgia). Some posts stay in the incubator longer than other as I develop and refine my ideas.
(As an aside, incubator as a metaphor is a bit more mainstream and suitable for describing my posts-in-waiting than the bizarre simile that occurred to me earlier today. The simile would only make sense to anyone who lived on a farm with hens and has seen what eggs look like before they are laid. Yes, the chicken has to be dead to do this.)
In any case, I strive to keep the topics diverse and not rant too much. In line with my first post, I try to keep hyphenated interesting. Hopefully, I've succeeded thus far. The stats have been encouraging: over 400 views by 83 unique visitors from 7 countries.
(Another aside: My favorite piece of information from Google Analytics is that someone who was searching for information regarding bathroom vents was directed to my post about vermicomposting by Google. I doubt they found what they were looking for.)
The comments I've received from friends and family, either on the site or in conversation, have also been encouraging. My initial assumption that my parents were more likely to read my blog than my tweets or my Facebook updates has been proven correct. Blogging has been rewarding on so many levels. I plan to keep it up for the months to come.
