pixabay free image, Petra Osterreich

After 4 years I still feel like a clueless newbie in the blogosphere. Blogging for me has been more like an adventure without a plan, a book without a plot where the protagonist stumbles willy-nilly through random scenes, hoping for the best.

I pay little attention to stats, and if the insights page didn’t occasionally rear up on its own, I wouldn’t look at it at all. The glimpse is good for a chuckle. I feel a bit like a kid who’s getting close to sitting at the grown-up table.

In 2012, I blogged for a whole year. I had 7 visitors, 1 like and 0 comments. You would think I’d worked hard at being that bad. Nope, just clueless.

In 2013, I employed the same winning strategy of non-engagement, but my stats improved – I earned 13 comments for the year!

Toward the end of 2014, I realized that perhaps this wasn’t very good. A light flickered on in the dark cave of my brain, and I began to watch what the pros were up to:

1. Offering engaging content 
2. Posting regularly
3. Supporting others 
4. Reading and liking
5. Commenting and replying to comments
6. Making friends with the humans behind the blogs

I was determined to apply my observations and, needless to say, the shift toward engagement made for more successful and enjoyable blogging. Duh.

Blogging serves various functions and means different things to different people. For me, it’s changed/changing over time. I still don’t care about stats – they’re only numbers. They don’t make me laugh, or move me, or entertain me. Blogging had become increasing about human connections and community. In fact, that’s all it’s about.

I’m still stumbling around, seeking my bloggy niche while trying to be true to myself and what I care about. I’m striving for balance (always), committed to my new sphere of friends while honoring those closer to home, clumsily carving out time for family and my need to write. I’m still learning…the story of my life…but perhaps not quite so clueless anymore 🙂