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Thursday, April 9, 2020

Here and Now ( #AtoZChallenge )



Thoughts on blogging in the present...





#AtoZChallenge 2020 badge


The team decided our theme for this month's posts here would be a take "2020 visions of blogging." This week posts focus on:
 Blogging in the Present



Here and Now

           Periodically we see the statement made that "Blogging is Dead (or dying).  I don't think so.  Since blogging is often a very personal and individualistic enterprise I think it is inevitable that some bloggers burn out, give up, or let their blogs languish on hold as a blogger waits for inspiration or ambition to rekindle. 

              What I've observed in my 10 1/2 years of blogging is that while bloggers may come and go or some seem to vanish and then reappear sometime later with their personal reason for doing so, the totality of the world of blogging remains consistent as bloggers either blog like they always have or their blogs transition and grow with the times.

              Perhaps there is an illusion of a death or diminishing of blogging on the whole because we as bloggers fall into communities where we have our circles of blogging friends that we try to visit as much as possible or who we see commenting on our blogs with a certain regularity.  The complacent blogger is limited to the world they know best and as they settle into their routine of blogging they may rarely if ever seek out new blogs.  As bloggers within a community fade away, there is a sense that the entire realm of blogging is disappearing.

            Those new blogs are out there I'm sure--I no longer dig up the new ones like I used to because I too have become a complacent lazy blogger.  If it were not for the annual A to Z Challenge, I as well as you might never encounter a blog that has been previously unknown to us.   Though I have no quantitative data to back up my claim, I think blogging remains strong in the here and now.  You might have to look outside the community in which you have become ensconced to find those new-to-you blogs.  Blogging after all involves some action on the part of you the blogger to keep finding more blogs.   As always, there are more than you will ever be able to read or explore.

         From your experience, what is the best way to find "new" bloggers?  How has your blogging community changed since you first started blogging?   Do you think blogging is dead or dying?


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Wednesday, April 8, 2020

#AtoZchallenge Good Vibes

#AtoZChallenge 2020 badge


The team decided our theme for this month's posts here would be a take "2020 visions of blogging." This set of weekday posts focuses on:
Blogging in the Present

#AtoZChallenge 2020 Blogging from A to Z Challenge letter G


Good Vibes


As we think about blogging in the present, I feel one big issue we face is negativity. Let's put on our "2020 vision" glasses and talk about how we can get more good vibes.🤓😎

How can we abstain from the negative sides of blogging? What do you do if you encounter posts or comments that are mean-spirited, angry, greedy, self-centered, or unforgiving toward a situation that probably has more than one side? We want to protect the precious freedom of speech and expression that blogging offers our world. Yet it's the negative aspects that so often drives people away. Many bloggers have told me they shut-down their site because there were "too many negative comments."

The old adage is "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me."
🤔 Actually, words have an enormous and lasting impact. Thanks to the Internet, that's truer now than in any era before. Blogging and commenting have the potential to cause glee... or to take it away.


Get glittery! Give gratitude! Get in our comment box with some good vibes. 😁

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Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Feasibility #AtoZChallenge

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The team decided our theme for this month's posts here would be a take "2020 visions of blogging." This set of weekday posts focuses on:
Memories from Blogging in the Past




Feasibility of Blogging

When I first heard of the A to Z Blog Challenge, I thought it would be insane for me to try to participate in such an activity. It was not feasible! Not in the least!

Why?

Because I didn’t have a blog.

So on March 5th, 2015, I created a blog. I made three posts, and then dove headfirst into the A to Z Blog Challenge. I have made some internet friends who have been an incredible inspiration through blogging. And now, five years later, my blog still gets the most hits during the A to Z Blog Challenge.

Bar graph depicting blog hits for Jayden's blog. April's bars are much higher than the other months.
See those tall lines? That's April.

I will be forever grateful for the interaction with other bloggers, and I am awed that I get to be part of the team to help bring it out to all of you. Without this community, it would not be feasible for me to keep blogging year around.

What makes blogging feasible for you?


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Grab a copy of the Master List! Click this link.

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins