PasikBlogan #11: Five Things I Find Challenging About Blogging

PasikBlogan Challenge #11: Five Things I Find Challenging About Blogging

=================================
I have been blogging on and off since 2003.  My first blog was hosted on blog-city, which I discontinued when they turned it into a paid service.  Then I moved to multiply, then blogger.  Even if I have been doing this for so long, I am no veteran.  There are still some things I find challenging about it.  Here's my top 5:

1) This blog is public on the web, no viewer restrictions.  I still struggle with how much to disclose and how personal should I get with the posts.  The thought that total strangers can learn quite a lot about me from this blog still makes me uncomfortable.  But I also want those who know me to get enough updates so it's a constant balancing act.  My few personal blogging rules: no whining, no personal attacks, no negativity...

2) I used to keep separate blogs on parenting, books, and my 365 photography project.  It WAS good because I know where a specific post should go.  Each blog was cohesive as well.  The downside: I had fewer updates on each blog because they're distributed.  And the longer I went without a post, the harder it became to do one...  Early this year, I decided to integrate everything in this one smorgasbord of a blog. I chose keeping one multi-topic blog vs. multiple single-topic blogs.  I will consider switching if it makes sense but this current setup is working for me.

3) My blogging had seasons.  There were productive seasons and dry seasons.  I am definitely doing a better job this year, I hope I can keep up posting regularly.=)  One factor is that once I think of something to write about, I add it to my list.  I refer to them once I get the time and motivation to write.

4) If somebody reads my blog and then meets me in person, would their impression of me change?  Another challenge is how to make the writing in this blog sound like the real me.  My writing tends to be formal and serious and to some extent, that's me (in public?), but there are other facets that don't get represented here.  Finding that unique voice that adequately represents me is still a work-in-progress.

5) No 5. =)

I am keeping this blog primarily as a way to remember the events and seasons of my life.  I tend to be forgetful so it's nice to have this and my pictures to go back to.  It's also a way for Neil to get a glimpse into his childhood when he's all grown up.  Selfish reasons for now, but I'll keep it going to see where I can take it...



 ================================= 
PasikBlogan is a challenge for  Bloggers to stretch outside their comfort zone. Learn more at the PasikBlogan Facebook page.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Filipino Friday 3: Reading Habits and Book Formats

Image
Reading Habits and Book Formats . Where and how do you read? Can you read anywhere and everywhere, or do you need a certain place/mood/state of mind to get reading? Do you read more in the morning or at night or any minute that you can? Where and how do you usually read? Are you exclusively for print, or do you go for ebooks more than print? Have you ever tried audiobooks? I am old school.  Even as most books now have digital versions, I still prefer the physical, ink-on-paper variety.  I like holding a real book, flipping the pages and being able to see my progress based on the thickness of read/unread pages.  Somehow, I feel more engaged and focused reading a physical book vs. from a gadget. I very rarely reread books so most of my collection just sit on the shelf after I'm done with them.  I feel it's a waste of precious trees if they are not shared with others.  So I started a Google doc at work where the team can list down their collections and anybod...
Read more

Trivia and Reading

Image
I am currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and I am inspired.  It’s about the author’s year-long quest to be happier.  It’s purposeful and practical and has lot of tips that I can apply or have started doing. Rubin focused on different areas every month and for May, it was Be Serious About Play.  The author was trying to go back to activities she enjoyed as a child. This led me to also think about a favorite childhood pastime, which was collecting trivia.  The Philippine Daily Inquirer used to run a trivia section by Bong Barrameda and I would religiously cut and paste them onto scratch papers, which I would then collate and read again and again.  Nerd zone! Not only that, I also kept a trivia notebook where I researched and wrote down interesting information like areas of study, capital cities, historical figures, scientists and discoveries, everything!  That was fun for me.  I was about to say they were useless info, ...
Read more

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Image
There is something to be said for collective recommendations like bestsellers list.  I found this title on such list at Fully Booked, read a few pages and decided to buy it.  I was intrigued by the theme of the book which is memory, specifically, how the author started as a journalist covering the US Memory Championships and ended up as a contender in the finals of the same competition one year later. It claims that with proper training, one's memory can be improved to be at par with the top mental athletes of the world.  Memory training has become an esoteric discipline because we practically do not need to remember a lot these days.  Information is very easy to retrieve from electronic devices and what not.  You just need basic search terms and the Google provides the information you need and more. Photo from Rainy Day Books I have to admit I rely on external memory a lot.  I can recall birthdays of my very close family members but outside of tha...
Read more