It’s not easy being a blogger. People blog for all kinds of reasons. Some have a “cause”, some have an expertise and some have a story. I started blogging for several reasons.
When the big wipeout came in the TV industry we were all sent to “coaches” and seminars and networking groups and they pretty much all had the same list of things you “have” to do…
• you have to tweet (check)
• you have to join linkedin (check)
• make sure you are on facebook (check)
• you need to blog (huh, what the heck am I going to blog about?)
I didn’t really feel I had a lot to say, and I didn’t really feel that anyone would read it. Somewhere after the first couple attempts at being brilliant and profound I decided I really enjoyed writing again. It occurred to me that if no one was going to read it anyway I could write what I wanted to write and that’s what I started to do. I have no children or grandchildren so I couldn’t join the ranks of the Mommy/Daddy/Grandparent bloggers. My bout with cancer is long gone and although I have a couple of stories to share my “journey” with it is over. I haven’t done any photography in years so that was out. In the end I just decided to write about stuff I cared about, stuff that made me happy, stuff that made me laugh and stuff that made me cry. Once it was posted it would be out there … forever… and whether I had kids or not someday someone might read it and know I was here. Not to mention as I get older it makes it easier for me to remember if I can go back and read about it.
So, I write. I don’t write every day like some. I like to write weekly but sometimes that turns into bi-weekly and occasionally monthly. I don’t have a huge following. I don’t even have a little following. In fact I pretty much have no following – 35 as of this writing. I do know hundreds of people actually read the posts and I get a lot of emails commenting on the posts but for some reason even my family and friends have not figured out how to push on that little button that says “follow” or to actually comment on the blog and not send an email. I read of other bloggers who are “new” and have hundreds of followers and are gushing with gratitude. Who cares? Right? Well, apparently I do. One day after a particularly long spell between posts I received a comment on my blog asking if I was OK because they had noticed I hadn’t posted for awhile. This comment came from someone I have never met, who lives in another country and who’s work I admire a great deal. Now he is a blogger! You can find Otto von Münchow at his blog Münchow’s Creative Photo Blog or at his most recent adventure Øystein og Otto’s Blog
That one comment changed everything and I realized that I was a part of this community. This community of bloggers.
He has been encouraging and supportive and has twice named me for an award the most recent being the Angelika Award. “The Angelika Award is for those who have touched my humble life, like a book, like a teacher, like a master.” That is quite the statement and I can honestly say that statement best describes Otto.
As part of The Community of Bloggers (see how that just became an official name?)… membership has its responsibilities. You must read and support other peoples blogs. Now, the support part is not that difficult but the read part can wear me down. I really enjoy reading other people’s blogs. Some of them are amazing! However, it is hard enough to keep up with daily posts, but some people post 2, 3, 4 times a day or whenever a random thought crosses their brain. I keep saying I have to stop following them, but then I hit one of their gems that had me follow them in the first place and I say, “Never mind!”. Seriously though, the number one reason I don’t blog more is that most of my spare time is taken up by reading blogs.
Another way we, The Community of Bloggers, support each other is to share blogging awards and promote each other’s blogs. I have been fortunate to receive some of these awards from my fellow bloggers. Each of these awards comes with instructions some of which are simple, some of which … well, not so much. Some bloggers throw caution to the wind and don’t follow the rules or make up their own as they go along. One of the common rules is to nominate other bloggers for the award. It could be 5. It could be 10. One blogger totally threw out any and all rules and just pointed to 100 blogs. Yes, I said 100! I am still working my way through that list. Why you may ask? Good question. Although 75% of those blogs may not interest me, 25% will and I will be glad I read them. I will probably end up following about 10% of them. That is exhausting!
My latest nomination came from Cdn Stormlover (Lee), over at Life In The Dash Lane. She is funny,feisty and fierce. Thank you Lee for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award. I am not necessarily a fan of rules but I do believe in following tradition so I will adhere to the instructions:
If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.
• Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy. (Check…please see above)
• Include a link to their blog. That’s also common courtesy — if you can figure out how to do it. (Check…please see above…easy peasy)
• Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!)
• Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.
• Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.
Here are the 15 Bloggers I nominate for the Versatile Blogger Award. All are worthy of a click through and a follow.
Ok Lee, here are 7 things about me…
1) Green is my favourite colour, but not emerald or forest green. I really like Olive green.
2) I don’t know what “Freshly Pressed” is. Anybody?
3) The best St. Patrick’s Day party I ever went to was in Maui.
4) I hate green tea. It tastes like dishwater.
5) I organize my computer files into so many layers you need a treasure map to find anything.
6) I like to name inanimate objects. I once had a Christmas tree named Ralph but changed it to Irving after reading a story about Irving Berlin.
7) I really like my last list of 7 better than this one.
I will write it. They may not come. You can lead a reader to a post but you can’t make them follow.
I started blogging to promote my orples books, and every once in a while I throw them in the pot for good measure. Sometimes, it seems the only real exposure I get is when someone checks my avatar to see who I am. I even have links to my books directly to Amazon in the margin, but I don’t know if anyone notices them, or if I’ve made any sales. Oh well, I have to admit, I’ve learned a lot on other people’s blogs, and feel like I’ve traveled the world in the meantime. It is easy to get sidetracked in blogland, for sure. 🙂
People must notice your Orples, I know I did. I was intrigued enough to follow the links to Amazon and find out what thy are all about. Of course I found a bond with Jack as I lost my Mom when I was twelve too and my whole world changed.
I’m glad I’m not the only one getting sidetracked. Thanks for stopping by.
I have never understood why a bloger is a blogger. I can see your explanation but would others have the same reason..it seems like a lot of work with no income. Now if there was some profit in blogging, and I am told that a few bloggers cash in, then maybe that would arouse interest in this corner, but cannot imagine that happening to yours truly at the moment.
budder
Some people like to blog, some people like to write letters. Rumour has it that you are the King of the letter writers. And neither one of us gets paid for it! 😉
Congratulations on receiving these awards. Thanks for including the link to the original Angelika post on my blog. I had created it in response to a specific outcome to a post I had done concerning a student’s assignment. That post can be found by way of the Angelika post. Glad to see the award taking wing and passing on to others who have been impacted by the community. May your blogging experiences continue to be creatively enriching and personally rewarding. 🙂
Thank you for checking out my blog and for your kind words. When Otto originally posted the nomination I did follow it back to the original post. It was wonderful to learn what prompted it. It truly is inspirational.
Congratulations and yes, you are read and enjoyed. Keep up the good work.
Oh, Michelle, you are read, you are appreciated! And it is a wonderfully supportive community. Which is way different from the people I actually “know,” none of whom read or follow my blog. Sigh.
Congratulations on your well deserved awards. I will be checking out some of your suggestions!
You are appreciated as well, Elyse. I’m still laughing at how you met your husband. None of my embarrassing moments have ever worked out that well. 😉
Thanks, Michelle!
“……as I get older it makes it easier for me to remember if I can go back and read about it.”
LOL! Love it!
Glad to see you believe in tradition………I’ve already taken a look at a few of the bloggers listed and I like what I’ve read so far! Thanks 🙂
I’m a green person as well. It goes well with the red hair 😉
Glad to see you keep your computer files organized….even if they’re in layers. (I’m a professional organizer and always delighted to hear the word “organized”).
Freshly Pressed, according to Word Press, is ……….”the best of the best of blogs on any given day.”
I will ditto your comment about how your blogging time is mostly spent reading other blogs. Thanks to my new superphone I am able to read new posts throughout the day when I get a few moments here and there.
I’d love to hear all the names you’ve given inanimate objects. Have you written a post about this yet? If not, get on it! LOL
I’m going to head over to the link you’ve provided and find out your last list of 7 things about you………
(Funny, feisty and fierce…..how sweet of you! Thanks 🙂 )
The real challenge, Lee, is to get everything down before I cross some random line of no return in the memory department. Speaking of random…so “the best of the best’ is random as well? Do they have someone reading every blog everywhere and they all of a sudden pop up their head and say, “here are the best, now you find the best of the best” and then pass them along to someone else who then reads them and pops their head up and says “this is it, this one right here, this is the best of the best…today” and then they start all over again tomorrow? If so I want one of those jobs. I’m reading a lot of great blogs everyday and might as well get paid for it. I don’t even have to be Senior Director of The Best of The Best. I could be Assistant Manager or something.
I suspect it is just a numbers game in the end.
Glad you like the three “F”s they seemed perfect to me. 😉
Congrats to you on the award and thank you so much for passing on the love. I will do my best t check out the other nominees…I already like some of the titles.
Ps. I agree with the funny, feisty and fierce labels for Lee!
Thanks Lisa, I’ve enjoyed your writing and as a fellow Byromaniac get a real kick out of your creative comments. You all think pretty quick on your feet with the banter.
Your welcome. I am going to add Byromaniac to my resume as one of my talents…lol
Very Kind Of You – Thanks Michelle – it is the variety of blogs that i find so fascinating and enriching and the great swathes of truly original thought that pours out of them everyday.
I am a confirmed follower! Best wishes.
I don’t know how you find the energy to keep up the different personas of your blog. It’s like you are actually writing 3 or 4 blogs. And of course I love them all, especially “Train Travel Tales”.
I bet it’s a lot more than 35 now! 😉
Glad to be part of The Community Of Bloggers with you, great post – thanks, and well done on the pressing!
Heheheh…you might think that would happen. I picked up 3. It wasn’t really the purpose of the post. I started this post a week before I wrote it, trying to gather the sites I would link to etc. By the time I got to write it, some things had changed and it became a different post. Thanks for taking the time to stop by.
M
I’m sure it wasn’t – good things are always sincere.
Pleasure – i’m one of em now 😉
I agree with you about the feeling of community, Michelle. It’s hard to get some people to understand that aspect of blogging. It isn’t like any other writing medium — it’s as much about establishing and maintaining relationships as it is about the words. I also loved your comment about green tea tasting like dishwater. I’ve said that exact thing many times, and I keep saying it, despite the weird looks I get.
Congratulations on the award, and thank you for the mention. I’m honored.
My pleasure. You have provided me with some wonderful entertainment since I started reading you. Your writing (and your sense of humour) definitely needs to be shared.
Thank you for thinking of me! But really? No on the green tea? I guess I understand that. It took me a bit, but now I love it.
I have tried 47 different kinds of green tea and finally found one I can tolerate. It has ginger in it and I love ginder so I think it compensates for the dishwater taste.
If I am honest I think it is all psychological and that I must have suffered some childhood trauma concerning green tea, the aversion is that strong. 😉
I wanted you to know I haven’t forgotten the award! Still catching up! And yes… you are part of the community!!
No worries. You get to it when and if you get to it. Keep on doing what you are doing. 🙂
I am slowly catching up with your blog (it’s just been some crazy months lately). I am one of those who doesn’t push the follow-button – and I don’t do it at all anywhere. I can’t have my email account filled up with all those people who have amazing blogs (and you are one of them), but I’d rather follow them (and you) at my own pace. Thank you for the nice words by the way, I am really glad my comment made a difference. And congratulations with the awards, you really deserve them.
Thank you Otto. I know what you mean about the email being clogged up with the blogs that are “followed”. Sometimes I look and there is so much there I think I will never catch up. I have to figure out a better way.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you searching mine out to read.
I feel the same about you looking up my blog. Nice to be able to encourage each other.
Michelle, you’ve been tagged!! Go check out the link and see what your next mission is! Have fun!
This post reinforces your standing as a great blogger and an all-around great gal, Michelle!
This is me blushing. Thank you, Hook, you are very sweet.