PAUL MERRILL
I am sorry to say that I have to pause this blog for a while. I’m not sure how long. At the moment, there are too many irons in my fire, and something had to go.
Stay tuned. I promise I’ll be back.
Update: This point in my blogging simply turned into my giving myself the freedom to post less often. Again. Thanks for your patience with me as I keep changing my personal blogging experience.
A friend and I had a discussion about inspiration and blogging. Sometimes the spark of creativity has left. Sometimes I wait for the inspiration fairy to touch me, and sometimes that just doesn’t happen.
My friend asked if my move from 5 posts a week to 2–3 had been good for my traffic and engagement. I replied that Shiny Bits is my personal sharing with interested people — and I don’t mind that much if traffic and engagement result.
Sure, I’d love for thousands to enjoy what I put up here. But I won’t water down my posts to try to bring those thousands to my fold. Instead, it’s gratifying when a real connection is made and lasts. That makes it all worthwhile.
Thanks for enjoying what Shiny Bits offers. And thanks for sometimes being my inspiration fairy.
By the way, this great fairy painting is from Dover Publications. They have lots of copyright-free images for your blogging pleasure. And they didn’t share who the painter was.
I started blogging on August 24, 2005. My first personal blog was My Part of Nairobi. My second was My Part of Colorado. My third? It’s what you are holding in your hands now.
Blogging, it has been good to me. And hopefully to you too. If you’ve been with me since Nairobi, you deserve a loyalty card! If you’ve arrived since then, Check out some of that old stuff. You will enjoy the ride, I promise.
If you have never heard of Alltop, I urge you to visit. Guy Kawasaki started the site, and my friend Neenz keeps it running quite well.
Alltop is a library. You start by looking within a huge variety of categories. Each category’s page links to some of the finest websites and blogs within that realm. I’m on the “Life” page. You can also find ballroom dancing and Pacific Northwest street food.
And it’s not just for fun — Alltop is a very useful tool for work, if your job involves spending much time online.
I changed themes for my website again. This time I went with a real pro theme (though I am not a WordPress pro!): Genesis.
So pardon the dust, while I get everything worked out. (At the moment, it’s pretty boring. That’s one of the things I hope to fix!)
If you notice anything that is broken, send me a message via a comment on this post. Thanks!
Plinky is a service WordPress just bought. Go there to get a question that will give you ideas for your next blog post.
(And my answer to that question? A way for all of the villages in Africa to have clean water within a year.)
When I visit a rockstar’s blog, in the back of my head is the thought, “Is it worth blogging for the small audience who read my blog?”
The big names have their ideas broadcast to maybe millions. They actually get some revenue from their ads. Some of them even maintain authenticity in the process.
Since I know that a few of my readers really enjoy my blog, I continue. I picture being in the same room with them and hearing their chuckle at one of my observations. And I know that hearing a room of 5,000 laugh at the same observation would not bring me any more pleasure than that single friend enjoying my thought.
...is that you can put up something that does not have to be com–
mercially viable... like this (ugly) photo.
There are two directions people go with their blogs — having dates with their posts and not having dates. I vote yes for putting the date with your post. Reasons?
1. It shows your readers that you are staying current with your blog.
2. It gives your readers a frame of reference for when the material was created. This is important for determining if the information might be relevant. In many fields these days, the latest information is vital. (This is true for social media, the area I work in.)
The other argument is that “my information is timeless”. That may be true — but your readers would like to know when you thought that particular thought. Maybe you have changed your thinking since then! (Not many people take time to go back to update all of their posts.)
If you are giving timeless information — and it’s valuable — just post it again, in a different way. Readers are smart enough to search your blog for that topic, if they liked what you had to say.
Finally, sometimes I actually will leave a blog when the blog is giving technical information and there is not date with the post.
First, this post is only slightly related to yesterday’s post. And it’s much lighter!
I was highly amused at this post (not linked to protect the identity of the author).
The author clearly was not listening to his own advice.
As a parent, I often fall into the trap of, “Do as I say, not as I do.” So I’m guilty too — but at least you don’t have to put up with very many words in my blog.
