WordPress

Why I blog

/ Sheila / 20 Comments

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” ~Gene Fowler

It’s been a quiet Saturday in Metlakatla. That is to say, Rob is on call, and I’m online. I’m contemplating creating another site for business use, and I’m feeling drawn to the WordPress.org side of the universe for the new venture. As much as I love the ease of WordPress.com, (this blog will stay on the .com side) there’s no doubt that the .org option provides more flexibility. You can use plugins that aren’t available for the .com. I’m learning about a whole new world that exists, if I’m willing to do a little more of the set up myself.

Sometimes when I find I’ve spent pretty much my whole Saturday poking around online, following this link and that link, I begin to wonder…is it worth it? Am I neglecting real life for a fake digital version? The answer could be yes, if you look at a specific day or period of time. I tend to dive in and stay in the depths for long stretches, until I have to come up for air, food, bathroom or bed. Other days I don’t live there at all…my digital forays are confined to sites I’m viewing for work, or for life needs…travel or orders or the like.

The reality is that blogging started as a distraction for me. It was a good way for me to learn some new skills and take my mind off things that I couldn’t face at the moment. Some of that has changed in the past couple of years. It’s no longer an escape. It has become a joy, and a pleasure, and it keeps me on a learning curve with no end in sight. I didn’t foresee the connections I would find, or the sense of kindred spirit that I feel when I read someone else’s blog and feel an instant bond. Because I’m out there too, in the digital world, sharing my voice, my thoughts, my days. Not life-changing, not prize-winning…but connected, in the fragile way that on-line connections are formed.

Sometimes I’m intimidated. There are a lot of smart people out there with amazing sites; blogs with humor that seems to pour out of every syllable; writers with insight, calling, passion…you name it. I recognize, with honesty, humility, and just a touch of envy, I’ll never measure up to a lot of what I see. And yet, part of the fun is in the variety, the challenge to improve, learn, grow. Sometimes I feel like I have a tiger by the tail. Keeping up with technology…no, I’m not keeping up, I’m just barely on the cusp of using what’s available…sometimes I think the biggest hurdle is I don’t even know what I don’t know. Sometimes the challenge is making time for a self-imposed chore that isn’t even generating income. But I don’t really see blogging like that. It isn’t a chore…more like my own little baby that is nurtured with my time and attention. As to income…well, not all payments are in the form of money. Maybe I have three tigers in hand. Or maybe it’s just one tiger with three tails…I don’t know. But I do know that though there’s nothing demanding that I blog, I’ll keep doing it. It stretches me…lures me into technology I would never learn about without this impetus; makes me think about new possibilities…surely not a bad thing for my early 50s?

Sometimes I think all this is leading me somewhere. Some day I’ll look back and connect the dots. Or not. Maybe this is nothing more than self-expression, and a little engine for vanity and fulfillment. Except that doesn’t feel quite right either. While I don’t kid myself that I’m speaking to anyone else in particular, I don’t think I’m just writing to see my own words. Well, at least I have the angst that goes with writing…and the questions. Is anybody out there? And if so, is my writing worth reading? Or just empty words?

One thing I’ve learned from reading other blogs…a lot of the things that I wonder, others wonder. My questions and feelings are rarely unique. I suppose there’s value in recognizing that a) I’m not alone and b) I’m not often original and c) there’s a wonderful feeling of camaraderie that comes over me when I read something that I could have written. Or maybe just wrote…the funny thing is, sometimes that happens, no plagiarism involved or intended. I think there are so many writers putting out content online…it seems inevitable that some of us are  thinking and writing similar things.

There’s a quote  (of course, a quote!) I like that resonates with me. From the movie, You’ve Got Mail, the character, Kathleen Kelly says:

 Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life – well, valuable, but small – and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven’t been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn’t it be the other way around? I don’t really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void.

See you out there!

One year old today

/ Sheila / 8 Comments

A year ago I posted my first blog. This little milestone is particularly meaningful to me because this has been the most challenging year of my life. I’d never thought about blogging until October of last year, and within a couple of weeks of deciding to try it, I was up and going.

20111025-200343.jpg There are a number of sites that offer free blog hosting, with a variety of support and features built into the programming. I use WordPress.com, but this is only one of many options. The point is, you too could start a blog. You can write about anything, as often as you want. You can spend a lot to add bells and whistles, or pay no money at all and still create a site with a professional appearance.

Blogging can be a digital diary, but it can also be much more. I’d be willing to bet that there’s no subject you could name that doesn’t have at least one blog devoted to it. There are photo blogs, list blogs, aggregate blogs. Endless variety!

My goal this next year is to migrate my blog to WordPress.org, the sibling of WordPress.com. The .org platform requires more user knowledge, and you pay a fee for a web hosting service. But the .org platform offers other possibilities, and I’m ready to explore the next steps.

I also want to attend a blog trade show. I know, I know, there’s a lot of noise and chatter at these types of events. But I don’t know what I don’t know, and I think it would be entertaining, at least, and possibly instructive, to see what exists in the blogosphere that I haven’t stumbled across yet. I’m pretty sure there’s enough to fill a convention hall or two. My usual method of discovery, accidentally tripping over something online, typically while looking for something totally unrelated to my real find, is just not efficient.

I don’t have a clear plan in mind for “next.” Mostly, I’m just curious about what I can do. The reality is that this little blog has played an important role in my life, giving me a positive and energizing outlet during a time that has otherwise felt more than a little daunting. I think I’ve rounded the corner on that, moving from fear to excitement. Oh, it’s good to reinvent myself in some ways at this stage of life!

But this is not about celebrating me. This is about celebrating new. Celebrating learning and joy.

I’ve known for a long time that I’m not a pioneer at heart in a physical sense. I would never have made it crossing the plains on a wagon train. I have no interest in going to the moon, or exploring the ocean depths. But the digital world?! Yes! See you out there!

Margins

/ Sheila / 1 Comment

Been on a blogging break…busy at work, busy at home, no time to sit down. I saw this recently:

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” ~Gene Fowler

I’ll admit, I’m not producing the next award winning novel here, just jotting down a few personal thoughts, so I can’t claim that the process requires blood. But it does require time and some effort. And I’ve learned that I would prefer posting nothing to posting quickly.

I’ve been reading about margins in life…hardly a new buzz word, I know. But I’m attempting to bring the concept into my routines. That means leaving more time around the edges of my day, around each segment. I’m a list-maker, and I’ve always put more on my daily list than I could comfortably finish. My strategy is to transfer the unfinished items to the next day so eventually, the tasks are done. But the negative part of that plan is that I always feel something is incomplete. I need to be better at setting my day aside, sitting down to a personal pleasure, like blogging or reading. My margin for myself is valuable. Why do I put myself in last place? It isn’t a matter of being selfish: it is a matter of restoring, of replenishing self. Hardly a new concept either, but difficult to transfer from concept to practice.

There are challenges from WordPress to bloggers: blog every day, or blog every week. Without formally committing to either goal, I’ve intended to blog on a daily basis when possible. Now I remind myself, there is time in my day for the things I choose. There is margin. I have to control the process, to make the choice. I choose margin. I choose calm. I choose to create room, space, and time to enjoy.

How about you? Are you leaving margin in your life?

Community

/ Sheila / 1 Comment

I’ve found a whole new community in the past few months. I’ve done quite a bit of poking around on the internet (living in Alaska gives you a lot of time, especially during winter months, to sit in front of a computer screen). I’ve read a lot of posts on a lot of websites, and I’m always impressed by the amazing and seemingly endless variety of topics being addressed on line. I think you could google almost any word and find pages and pages of links to visit, whatever the subject.

But since I’ve plunged into the blogosphere, I’m finding new connections and a whole new digital community to explore and get to know. The site I use for my blog, WordPress.com, offers free hosting and a robust array of tools for bloggers. My guess is that most people using the site are like me: recreational writers, using it as an outlet for self expression. I know there are some professional writers using the site’s hosting service as well, and I suppose there is the potential for any writer to move into a professional realm, if there are enough readers and writing talent to support that move. That isn’t necessarily what I aspire to, although it would be an interesting development.

But the unexpected pleasure I’ve found is the ability to meet kindred spirits; to be touched, amused, and inspired by strangers, who, like me, are using this medium to chronicle bits and pieces of life. Just like the web in general, the variety of subjects people blog about is limitless, ranging from the profound to the mundane. I’m continually surprised by the things people notice and then write lengthy posts to describe, or complain about, or celebrate with words. Some writers share their most personal and intense experiences, and others have a gift for elevating some obscure scrap of life to a laugh out loud experience. I love it when I stumble across a post that brings a smile to my face or a nod of recognition: I know exactly what the author means, I couldn’t agree more, I get it…all those affirming phrases that come to mind to validate my discovery of someone who (at least in a specific posting) is just like me! Not that I think being just like me is the epitome of greatness…of course I’m open to others being themselves…maybe the reality is that I am just like them. But there is the human quality in each of us that enjoys the flash of recognition that opinions, emotions, observations are shared. Sometimes I have the “aha” experience of reading someone’s post and realizing they’ve captured some insight that I get too, but hadn’t quite articulated for myself.

As the old saying goes, it’s a brave new world. Sometimes, when I see glimpses of daytime TV, I think there is too much sharing. That’s why I like the internet so much. You can choose to read or skip content. Of course you can turn off the TV, no one if forced to watch programs that give too much information. But I feel a bit more empowered to be selective on line. If I find a blogger whose writing I enjoy, I can easily view earlier posts, I add a link to my blogroll, I can send a comment of appreciation to the author. Without being too personal and while keeping the comfortable distance of real space between all of us, we have the digital ability to reach out and touch, to nurture friendships, to feel safe in our environment, and yet have amazing freedom to explore.

Of course, in a different way, this ability to check out others from a distance is what all the on-line dating sites are all about. I’m not looking to meet a soul mate on line. But I appreciate the opportunity and the serendipitous joy of finding the kindred spirits out there, of broadening my horizon from my living room, and the pleasure of finding another way to experience the human connection that wasn’t possible just a few short years ago. For all the parts of me that are truly old-fashioned…I love old movies, old music, tradition, family values, faith, classics, standards…I love technology too. Thank you Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and all those computer geeks out there who make it possible (here’s a special nod to my brother, Brad) to enjoy the benefits of these inventions without having to understand the mechanics, and thank you to all the companies that through some magic of economics are able to offer services for free and make it possible to participate without financial risk.