Another Challenge of Being A Blogger

I have now, on three separate occasions, caught myself unintentionally 'rewriting' a post I've already done.  Not editing or redoing a post to make it better, but unknowingly 'retelling' an old post as if it's never been told before.

(Imagine the great-aunt at the family party telling some story everyone's heard 18,000 times as if she's never told it before.  That's me.)

I'm glad I've caught it pre-publish each time.  I think there might have been a time a post like this 'slipped through' and one of my loyal readers pointed it out.  But what do I know?  I clearly can't remember what I've already said.  And I pride myself on my great memory.  Le sigh.

Do any of my fellow bloggers also have this problem?  Has anyone out there caught him or herself rewriting a post?  Is it just me?  

Speaking Of Birthdays....

This blog turns four!  That is like 50 in blog years.  That is a very long shelf-life for a blog.  I love you, baby blog!  You make me so very happy!

An Angle....

So recently, I read a post by another blogger (I don't have it handy :-() about how hard it is to find an identity for one's blog - does one blog about a certain topic, or just topics as they come to mind?  Does one's blog have to be about something?  What is this blog about?  (I somehow, in some weird way, think of the 'what are we?' relationship talk when I think about this matter...I imagine myself asking my blog 'what, exactly, are you about?').  Anyhow.  As my long-term readers know, I have explored this identity crisis for my blog for a long time.  I have never really come to a conclusion...until now.  After 3+years....

Drumroll, please....

This blog is about personal relationships (not necessarily romantic) and human behavior.  Not every post, obviously, will be on this track - but I will try to have at least one a week on these matters.

The Biggest Challenge of Being a Blogger

What is the biggest challenge of being a blogger, dear readers?  Consistently putting out material.  (Nevermind whether or not it's GOOD, meaningful, substantial material.  That's another can of worms in and of itself.)

I remember reading a statistic somewhere about how half the blogs out there on any given day won't be in existence a year from it.  I notice quite a few of the blogs I enjoy and follow haven't updated in quite a while.  I notice there are often longs gaps between updates; I also notice some blogs slowing down in their regularity of updates.

I am curious why this might be - other than the obvious 'life is busy'.  Is that it?  Is it a lack of material?  I feel I have exhausted several subjects I have enjoyed writing about in the past.  Is it a lack of an outside motivating factor?  Since most bloggers' blogging is a self-employed experience - is it that there are no deadlines and little to no consequences for not putting out new material regularly that plagues us?  Now, I've always liked to think that I'm a rather self-motivated person - however, there are several things over the past couple years that I decided, on my own, that I wanted to accomplish.  Not all of these things have been done.  I've been super busy is a good go-to excuse.  

Anyhow.  Do my fellow bloggers agree that this is the biggest challenge?  How do you stay on top of blogging regularly?  What does the rest of the blogging community do to combat these challenges?  Where do my fellow bloggers get their material?  How do you all stay motivated?  Your thoughts?  

Speaking of Birthdays....

Next week Thursday, March 17 (also St. Patrick's Day), raise your glass of beer and make a luck o' the Irish toast in honor of this blog - it turns 3!!

Suggestions on what to get my blog for her birthday?  I am thinking more readers.  Or more subscribers. Or more commenters.  Hint hint.

Running Out of Topics....

Ok, I know this blog has been slacking lately.  I also know there have been quite a few posts about how this blog has been slacking lately (of the few posts I've written).  Oops.

Ok - so I know we've also been through this before, but what do I discuss on this blog?
--Politics (a little dead for now)
--My dating life (perhaps also a little dead/also - do you care?)
--Random things going on in my life (do you care?)
--Random observations I make about stuff (I'm running out of observations that haven't already been stated/recurring them of 'do you care')

Anyhow.  I pride myself on the fact that this blog discusses topics that I believe to be of interest (humor me people).  Please let me know any topics I should cover/observe/weigh in on.

A Day in the Life of a Blogger....

Ok, I have to be brutally honest....

I'm struggling for material. 

Dear readers - what do you like hearing about?

Blogs

So I couldn't help but notice, via facebook status/website updates, it appears as though everyone out there is starting a blog. Blogspot. Wordpress. Random urls probably purchased via 'go daddy'. Anyone/everyone and his/her mother has a blog. Is my mother soon going to have a blog?

Some blogs have themes. I'm following a couple cooking blogs. One of my friend's blogs is about his personal wedding photography business. Other friends' blogs are simply (like this blog) their random thoughts.

That, and I feel there's a whole community that goes hand-in-hand with this blogging thing. I feel like I've 'met' new people/made new friends through comment sections on friends' blogs/other friends' 'blogs I'm following' sections.

I suppose there is a use for all these blogs - so many people spend so much time at a computer daily, they are all looking for something new to read/distract them from what they are supposed to be doing. However, I can't help but feel a little frustrated. I don't need all these new blogs taking away from time on mine.

Anyhow. I remember reading a statistic a couple years ago that 50% of blogs out there would not be in existence six months from now. I wonder if this still applies. I know, firsthand, that a blog is a responsibility, and not always an easy one. My blog is coming up on its second birthday (sidenote: what should I get it?!?!). How long does the average blog last? Is this just a crazy trend that will be gone shortly, or are the blogs out there continuously multiplying? Those of you with blogs - how long have you had them? How often to you update them? How long do you plan on keep them for? Indefinitely? How many blogs do you readers follow? How many is too many? Will people soon burnout on blogs, or will this bring more people to them? Your thoughts?

Just Sayin'....

Follow Me....

So, thanks to the help of my good friend Emily, I have set it up so that one can sign up to be a public follower of this blog. I know some of my readers might not want to publicly admit they're stalking me, or even associated with me, for that matter, however, I'd really really appreciate it if you sign up. Anon, I am looking your way....

GRR Google

I gotta say, man, this 'blogspot' is NOT the most user-friendly website out there. You are all welcome to laugh at my struggles with this, however, I can find at least ten people I work with who will vouch that I am a computer GENIUS, so it CAN'T be me. AH. Anyhow. I think I finally straightened it out after 45 minutes of puttering around. When I started this post, I was highly frustrated, but right now, I just don't wanna think about it any more. Goodnight y'all.

I Can't Believe It!

Today is the first anniversary of the relationship of this blog and me! Woohoo! Longest relationship I've ever been in, let me tell you! If anyone were to ask how it's been going - two words: pure bliss! This is no doubt a serious relationship.

The traditional gift for the first anniversary is paper. Should I get my blog something 'paper'? I find this ironic, because aren't blogs/computers/the internet/etc. replacing....

Nevermind. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Endurance

I find one of the most difficult things about blogging to be the challenge of consistently posting decent, quality material.  Actually, scratch that - how about just consistently posting?  That's a challenge in and of itself.  

I know my fellow blogging buddies feel me on this - all of the five blogs on my page have recently had a lull in posts.  A blog is a responsibility.  There are plenty of days when it's really easy to be a blogger (read:  any time Sarah Palin opened her mouth) - probably like it's easy to be a parent when your baby is all cute and, you know, sleeping.  However, it's enduring the hard times that, sometimes, are what's really important.  And this is a blogging lull, but I know I will come out on top.  

Blush...A Spade Was Called....

Quote from the book I'm reading:

"What did bother her about most blogs was their wistfulness.  No matter how self-effacing the bloggers were, they clearly believed themselves on some sort of world stage, where they just might be attended to."

Sigh.  

Daily Rambling...

So, as I've mentioned once or twice before, I've toyed with the idea of changing this blog's name.  I was getting antsy last night and I decided to google "Daily Ramblings" and see if this blog came up in Google's cache (or whatever the heck it's called).  

Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't think that I came up with the expression 'Daily Ramblings' or that I was the only one to use it, however, there are a TON of blogs named 'Daily Ramblings' - like the first three pages of google were different DRs.   In fact, I even saw one with this exact layout.  I kind of wanted to be a random creep and comment on it.

For me, this is kind of like when you hear someone is using your baby name - you don't want it to be stolen out from under you!  Although the copycatism is annoying, you can't let the others 'have' your name.  I am holding tight to Daily Ramblings - and I'm going to try to bring this blog up higher in the google cache (hopefully this post will help)....

A Stranger's Review of Jaime's Blog(!!!)

I previously posted about a company called 'Oh Nuts' on October 19.

Oh Nuts replied:

HI,

 

Thank you for choosing Oh! Nuts to serve your sweet needs! and Thanks for the blog ( it is a nice one, and I see you posting often).

Would you please send me the order number so I could apply the credit to your Mothers CC.

 

Thanks!

Ari

Oh! Nuts 

They called my blog 'a nice one'.  :-D  

At 10:35pm today, my day has been made.  Thank you Nuts.  

Blah

So now that the general election is over, I'm a little at a loss for what to blog about.... (some of you might be happy about this).

What else do I blog about?  Random annoyances?  Dating and relationships?  Feminist rants?  Completely random comments?  

What exactly is this blog about?  Someone asked me that this weekend and I wasn't sure what to say....  Do the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld ring true here?

Comments, Cont'd.

Ok, I updated my settings so non-bloggers can comment. I expect the feedback to start flooding in....

Comments

Please please please comment on Jaime's blog. I love comments - even if it's someone hating on something I wrote.

Feedback

Ok people - I love feedback. I love comments. Let's make this a discussion. Yesterday, Jaime's blog got it's first piece of serious, hard-hitting feedback from quite possibly its biggest fan:


Hi sweetie -Ok, so i read your blog and i understand you're really ticked off by that woman who wants an apology, but must we swear? ...i think you can get your point across w/out it...

I think there's no need to mention who, exactly, that feedback comes from.

But on a serious note - feedback, please.


Also, I have heard there are questions on how to post a comment if one isn't currently a blogger (THIS must explain the lack of comments on the blog thus far). Here's how it goes:

1) Click on the underlined bottom right corner where it says the number of comments. A small box will pop up.
2) Type your comment in the box.
3) Type the weird word identification thingy.
4) Choose Name/Url as the option (if the blogging world hasn't gotten you yet - and trust me, it will sooner or later!)
5) Type your name (no URL necessary!)
6) Click my favorite button ever - PUBLISH!

I feel so accomplished when I publish. Sigh.

As my employer would say "Let's get into it!"