4 Month Blogoversary – Cliques, Klonopin and Kleenex

May 28, 2011 by Sara

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So it’s been about 4 months since I started blogging. Four long fun-filled months. I started and then blogged almost religiously, never missing a day. Lately, I’ve gotten a little lax. Letting a day or two go by without a post. Because honestly, if I don’t have something that I’m excited to say, I don’t think it’s worth anyone’s time to read it.

It dawned on me that as I’ve been at this for almost 4 months now, it’s time for me to give a review.

At my old job, you know before kids, we made it a point to interview people before their 3 month anniversary and get their newbie opinions as to what they thought worked and what didn’t. Because after 3 months, it was a known fact that you were probably completely jaded and converted to the ‘ways’ of the company.

You have to get their opinions before they are completely brainwashed.

So I thought it would be appropriate on my 4-month blogoversary to do a little recap of what I’ve learned.

First some history. I started blogging because I felt disconnected from the technology that was out there. Always a bit of a nerd, I had no idea what it really meant to ‘tweet’ and to ‘blog.’  So while, hubby was working late one night I decided to figure it out. This is what I’ve learned so far:

Take away #1: It’s not that complicated.  Blogging is pretty much turn-key at this point. You can be up and running with a blog in as little at 10 minutes. There are blogging sites that will host your blog and even provide you with design templates that you can personalize. The top blogging sites are blogger.com, wordpress.com and typepad.com.

It only gets a bit more complicated if you want to host your own blog or do your own template design. I host my own because I wanted my own domain name, i.e. I wanted periwinklepapillon.com and not periwinklepapillon.wordpress.com.  I also wanted to learn as much as possible at the programming aspect of it and hosting my own allowed me to do that.

Like I said, I’m a nerd.

Take away #2: Blogging is a lot like high school. There are cliques. You find yourself following blogs that speak to your interests and those people tend to follow your blog back. Then there are the bloggers who’ve been at this for ages, the blogging goddesses, i.e. the cool seniors and then there are the dweeby freshmen, like me.

The seniors get on average 80 comments per post no matter what they blog about. It could be about how they unloaded the dishwasher or a detailed description of their cat’s throw up, they have a devout following and actually make money blogging. Advertisers want their ads on their sites as they can guarantee traffic. Unlike freshman who will use Amazon or Google affiliates and hope that someone will accidentally click on something.

Sometimes, you get a nice senior that will take pity on a freshman and look out for them and they will actually engage with your blog. But it is rare. Basically, just do your own thing and don’t harrass them. Because that’s just creepy.

Take away #3: Bloggers and tweeters are 90% women. Why is this? No idea. But we dominate.

Take away #4: There’s a lot FREE stuff to win by following blogs. Almost every blog out there has some sort of giveaway once a month. I’ve seen everything from smelly candles to Ipad 2′s. Yep, you name it, it’s out there and you can win it. Usually, all you have to do is leave a comment or follow something on facebook or twitter. You can also win stuff just by participating in Tweet Chats. What are those? When you start tweeting, you’ll know.

Ok, ok I’ll tell you now.  Remember party lines in the ’80′s? It’s like that but online. Someone picks a topic and then you all jump in and comment. Unlike the old party lines, there’s usually not some creepy old dude trying to lure you to a private chat and there is someone moderating and giving out prizes.

 

Take away #5: There are some seriously funny people out there on the blogosphere. Like seriously funny. A lot of bloggers use this medium to vent about what it going on in their lives, the topics can be heavy but somehow they cope and share with an amazing sense of humor. They also tweet hilarious things all day long or when the kids are napping.

Take away #6: In addition to the hilarious comediennes, there are amazing writers. These bloggers take to the internet and use the medium to share amazing prose and stories. The way they write and convey these stories is unbelievable. In the four short months that I’ve been blogging I’ve been truly awestruck and moved by the talent I’ve been introduced to. They’ve challenged me to write some things as well. So far, my favorite and most challenging post has been this one: The Bucket List.

Take away #7: I like martinis and margaritas. My blogging classmates have introduced me to the terms: Klonopin and Xanax.  Apparently these are drugs of choice in the blogosphere. I had no idea. It’s been eye-opening and entertaining but I still have not tried either one (nor do I intend to, guess I’m missing out).

Take away #8: Bloggers share some very intimate and heartfelt stories. They put themselves out with their personal experiences so that they can connect with others in similar situations. Sometimes their stories require enormous amounts of courage to be shared.  Personal relationships are formed and networks of support are forged thanks to these posts. You will definitely need boxes and boxes of Kleenex.

To all the bloggers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so far, I thank you for your honesty and your courage in sharing your personal tales. This medium has allowed me to express things that I otherwise would never have said or tried to express. It’s been an exercise of personal growth.

And thanks for making me laugh out loud on more than one occassion!

So happy 4 month blogoversary to me! I’m happy to be here.

xo

Sara