15 years ago today, I published my very first blog post. 2008 was a peak year for blogging. Looking back, it seems like it might have been the high point just before its decline. For a few brief years, I had an audience here. Now, things are very different. The steepest decline in readership for me was in 2016, 4 years after Google Reader was terminated.
People used to leave comments. Real people, not spam bots. Now things are weird. One recent example: getting a response to a very old blog post via a direct message on Instagram instead of a blog comment.
I had hoped that blogging would lead to bigger things. I saw that happen for a lot of people right before I started, but it's never happened for me. Whatever that mysterious quality is that gets millions to like, subscribe, and follow, I don't have it and I've come to accept that about myself.
So why do I keep blogging? It's become a habit. That's part of it. It helps me remember the beautiful art and furniture I've seen. My posts are the first drafts of my books. Also, social media feels too small sometimes. I'm a multimedia person. I think Twitter is the second-best way for me to post text, images, and video together. The best way is blogging. Microblogging can only contain a fraction of my ideas. It's not expansive enough to express my ambivalence. Blogging also has the advantage of not being in imminent danger of getting taken over by an annoying billionaire. Besides that, it's easier to get my ideas out into the world this way as opposed to trying to get an op-ed published.
All of these are reasons why I keep coming back here. I'm grateful for those of you who still read my blog 15 years later.
What you say about blog posts being an early draft for books rings true. Another friend, Sunny Stalter-Pace, does something similar. Unfortunately I do read blogs less than I used to. I appreciate a FB notification for new posts!
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