When I first started blogging a few years ago, I went through a series of stages that most authors can appreciate.
And so it goes. In those early days (here's TDS in retro format) (and in version 2.0) life was simple and something like blog stats meant a lot to me. I joined a few networks and saw the others as competition. When top 50 productivity lists came out, I felt honored to be among the ranks of 43 Folders and Zen Habits. After all, those are the big dogs, I thought. I Stumbled. I Dugg. I plugged away at Delicious. I posted for LifeHack and others.
But, as with many things in life, I just got lazy and didn't really care about so many of those things. Checking my stats became an afterthought. RSS subscribers- if folks showed up, cool. If not, my quality of life was really not affected all that much.
I even tried an experiment when I went on vacation. I watched my traffic while not posting for a week. Guess what? They were nearly identical to when I was posting like a maniac. I realized that my small fish of a blog was in a very big pond. A humble truth was once again realized.
So what's my outlook today? I blog because I can. I have something very unique to discuss with readers- the spirituality of work. Very few other folks are talking about it so I know that I'm filling a void. RSS subscribers are a handy item for job interviews but beyond that, my children's quality of life is not affected one bit by how many folks are reading TDS in Google Reader. And that's ok.
In the big pond of blogs, some small boutique shops can survive. WIth the right attitude, a unique product and a willingness to be at service to the wider community- The Daily Saint and this humble correspondent will be around for a long time.
- Wow, I'm online!
- Ok, now what do I say regularly?
- This is really easy!
- People are actually reading me?
- Better check my stats...
- Better recheck my stats...
And so it goes. In those early days (here's TDS in retro format) (and in version 2.0) life was simple and something like blog stats meant a lot to me. I joined a few networks and saw the others as competition. When top 50 productivity lists came out, I felt honored to be among the ranks of 43 Folders and Zen Habits. After all, those are the big dogs, I thought. I Stumbled. I Dugg. I plugged away at Delicious. I posted for LifeHack and others.
LAZY
But, as with many things in life, I just got lazy and didn't really care about so many of those things. Checking my stats became an afterthought. RSS subscribers- if folks showed up, cool. If not, my quality of life was really not affected all that much.
I even tried an experiment when I went on vacation. I watched my traffic while not posting for a week. Guess what? They were nearly identical to when I was posting like a maniac. I realized that my small fish of a blog was in a very big pond. A humble truth was once again realized.
TODAY
So what's my outlook today? I blog because I can. I have something very unique to discuss with readers- the spirituality of work. Very few other folks are talking about it so I know that I'm filling a void. RSS subscribers are a handy item for job interviews but beyond that, my children's quality of life is not affected one bit by how many folks are reading TDS in Google Reader. And that's ok.
In the big pond of blogs, some small boutique shops can survive. WIth the right attitude, a unique product and a willingness to be at service to the wider community- The Daily Saint and this humble correspondent will be around for a long time.