Thursday, November 12, 2015

I miss blogs







I know this title is a bit silly because blogs are still around, blogs are going strong, blogs are making millions of clicks and a couple of dollars around the world -- it's not like they've disappeared or been outlawed. Aren't I being a touch dramatic?

But I have to admit that I miss the way blogging used to be. I miss the giant blogs who no longer publish, I miss the way we used to publish with abandon about the minutiae of our daily lives without regard for click bait or share-ability. I miss photos of our kids. I miss posts about dinner. I miss hearing about our latest thrift store finds. I miss the almost daily publishing. I miss the linking up with frivolity.

Times have changed. We've all grown a little older, and our children have grown by leaps and bounds. We're not in the house as much. We don't have as much useless time floating around while little ones nap. We're busy, we're driving, we're teaching, we're moved on. We've gotten new platforms, we've written books, we've succeeded.

We know blogs are very professional now, that images matter, shares matter, that voices are innumerable, that everything has been said before. And maybe we've already said everything we think we have to say. Maybe we've already written our napping manifestos and taken our stand on the Facebook controversy of the day and just don't feel like we need to say anything more. Maybe we're burnt out of "creating content". Maybe we're just done.

It's also completely natural to want to move on. To find different interests that take up our precious free time, or maybe need a break from the noise of the internet world in general.

I get that. It's totally understandable. Every one of these reasons are valid and appropriate.

And yet, I still miss it. The way blogging used to be; the oversharing and dark pictures. The random check-ins and posts consisting of stream of consciousness updates. Publishing more often with friendly posts or venting about bad days.

I think it's that these simple, more frequent posts felt a little more ordinary and friendly somehow. It bound us moms together and brought us closer. At least I felt so close and inspired by reading of the daily lives of women just like me. I know that Facebook and Instagram still make this a reality, yet somehow still not the same.

I'm the first to admit I don't like change and probably could use some more in real life friends. I've also grown attached to blogs I read with loyalty because they've really meant a lot to me. I know things changing isn't wrong or bad at all, but I thought I'd just say that I do miss the blogging days of old.

Most importantly I want to thank those of you who've shared, and documented, and posted away over the last years, whether you had a giant following or not, for letting me see a slice of your life. What we write and share matters and does really touch other people on the great expanse of the interwebs. To those of us still posting regularly, if less often - me most definitely included, thanks for keeping a great thing going and doing what you want, how you want.

Our little niche of Catholic mom blogs is a beautiful thing, I'm so glad it's here.








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68 comments:

  1. I totally agree, Christy. 100%.

    (and don't tell anyone, but the more "professional" a blog becomes the less I read it.)

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    Replies
    1. Me too. I got in trouble for saying that before ;)

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    2. I worry about this, and it's what holds me back from being more pro, it would mean... well less me. I've been reading lately blogging rules from the big pros and it's all about 'find a niche' just one and write one.
      Well I think and think, which one? and realise I'd lose my creativity to be me, to say what I feel compelled to say when the muse strikes. If I just wrote on one topic I'd run out of material
      So I settle in being small again, and happy with it.

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    3. You said it, Bonnie! When blogs turn into sponsored posts multiple times a week, I'm out. I want to read about families and real life...that's what a blog is supposed to be about

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  2. I'm with you - I miss the bloggers whose blogs were just stepping stones to bigger and better things! I'm happy for them, but I still miss their blogs :( Don't you worry though, I bet I could come up with a naptime angst post if I weren't so beat by the time everybody was in bed!

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  3. Christy, this is very well said. Thank you for sharing such a delightful blog-I love how your blog is one of those that just feels like a glimpse into your Catholic life in Canada, and are always super personable! It seems that so much of the blogging world has become its own industry of professionalism, which isn't a bad thing necessarily, but it can really turn things from a "commuion-building" experience to a "money making" experience. I am super grateful that the first Catholic blog I ever truly followed is still pretty much the same as it was 4-5 years ago-an honest picture of the life of a dear friend of mine. This summer, I definitely went through a period of questioning if I should try to become a "big name blogger" someday, but the more articles I read and the more I thought & prayed about it, I realized that I got into blogging because I love to write and explore how God works in people's lives, and in all that, to build relationships. So I basically said "forget this professional blog thing, I'll keep a small audience and do what I (and God, hopefully) want (s)!" :P (though I do try to be a little more organized than my very stream-of-consciousness blogging of my early days, because that could be super hard to follow haha)

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  4. Yes, yes, yes! I get it, but I miss it too. I loved the solidarity or piggybacking on someone else's moment of enlightenment. #bringbacktheblog

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  6. Yes! I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I know I'm guilty of posting less, too. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who misses the old days. :)

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  7. It's so true. You articulated my thoughts very well.

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  8. There are some new "up and coming"? Dar I say? Young moms who are beginning to blog and do over share and freely share and post lots and don't edit every picture and have a "niche" or sponsored posts etc etc they are just hard to find (because they are little?) so maybe it's just an evolution in each generation of bloggers

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  9. There are some new "up and coming"? Dar I say? Young moms who are beginning to blog and do over share and freely share and post lots and don't edit every picture and have a "niche" or sponsored posts etc etc they are just hard to find (because they are little?) so maybe it's just an evolution in each generation of bloggers

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  10. I agree! I want to do the posting but I don't have the extra time or energy with the way our family has grown and with other things I'm doing. But I miss it, too. I have to be honest, too, and say that I don't like that for many instagram has replaced that outlet we had. I don't find it as personal.

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  11. Oh man....remember Livejournal?! Are you old enough for that, lol?!? I honestly just miss having time to READ blogs to my heart's content and how interactive it was.....like, people would comment ;) getting lost in that rabbit hole. WHich is still possible, but I havent spend an entire afternoon reading blogs in a looooong time.....

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    Replies
    1. Haha, yes! Got more comments back when my livejournal had 10 followers than now on wordpress with quite a few more! #bringbacklivejournal

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  12. I also miss the nap time nursing sessions that made it possible for me to read and comment on so many of them. Now, I'm lucky to have a moment grabbed here or there to browse my feed reader.

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  13. I love this post and so agree! I still am under that stream of consciousness blogger about nothing too important and I know I have found myself posting less because I feel like people don't really want to read that kind of blog anymore and are looking for more substance. This gave me the little boost I needed to just keep being me and posting about potty training and homeschooling and night weaning and the like when I like. :)

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  14. Me too! Thank heaven for the podcasts and radio shows, though! ;-)

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  15. Same, girl, same.

    And I agree with Jenna, this gives me the boost to just POST.

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  16. Oh Christy... me too. I'm so trigger-shy these days with blog posts because I'm afraid everything I have to say is so boring and poorly written. Why add to the internet din? But I do miss it. And I miss everyone who has slowly started to disappear with me. I'm going to keep trying! (I'm reminded of the scene from the Peter Pan musical where everyone has to clap to keep Tinker Bell alive. Clap with me, everyone!)

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  17. Yes, totally agree. I've been wrestling with this idea for awhile now and worried that I should be making "more" out of my blog to make it worth the time. But in all honesty, I just like to blog for the sake of blogging and I like to read the blogs of ladies who feel like faraway friends (like you!!)...I may be the last one standing, but I hope to keep on keepin' on :)

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  18. Thanks for your inspiration: https://growtheroses.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/i-miss-blogging/

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  19. This exactly. It makes me a tad bit sad when I think of the many blogs that I started reading several years ago that are all but defunct! And I think back on the good 'ol days of tons of 7QT and What I Wore Sunday posts linked up...things have changed a lot.

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  20. Wow..yes, you have articulated a lot of what I was thinking. I miss the old days as well. This past Sunday, I thought about linking up with WIWS, but then never did, because I felt silly linking up when not many other bloggers linked up either.

    I definitely have not been posting much lately. Life has just been so busy and hectic, that I barely get any time to read blogs, never mind write them.

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  21. Omg! This came at the perfect point for me, as I was pretty much just about to stop all together, but I do miss it! You may have just changed my mind...

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    1. Don't stop Ana! I would miss your blog so much

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  22. Really appreciate this post...and totally agree 100%!!! Me personally, I just like it for the hobby and connecting with other women like you:)

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  23. I totally agree. I've only been at it since 2011, but I've noticed people are posting less and less...myself included! With me, it's mostly because my children are grown, getting married, having babies--and they all live far away. So I'm on the road a lot. And I just don't seem to be able to blog regularly unless I'm home.

    I think I'll keep at it, though, even though I've never had a big readership and I doubt I ever will. Because I enjoy the writing process, and I enjoy connecting with other Catholic women.

    I just hope all the blogs I've come to know over the past few years won't disappear completely! That would really be too bad.

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  24. I took a break from blogging for a few years and have just come back to make a new blog and couldn't agree with you more. It's just not the same at all as it was in years past. It's difficult connecting with other bloggers and I feel that monetizing makes a blog lose its authenticity because it's all about the money. (hope that makes sense) I think I'm just going to continue blogging simply for myself.

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  25. Thanks for this. As a new blogger, writing because I need to get ideas out of my head, I totally have days where I feel like anything I say is a bit random, and my pictures are really not that pretty (I instagram in spite of it all though!). I am so grateful for all the awesome blogs out there, but it's nice to know that I can also just carry on with my little thoughts and not feel like I have nothing to add to the discussion. :)

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  26. Me2 I'm so tired of all the top 10,25,75 lists that I see. I hate how everyone thinks things need to be so perfect, with stock images and links and collages before you can publish it. I just want to write and not worry about all the "blogging rules."

    I know I post less but I feel my life is too boring to blog. I work, hang out with friends, do housework, etc. Nothing all that entertaining comes through my head but maybe that is the kind of stuff people would be interested in. You have my wheels turning. :)

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  27. Yes. To all of it. I think joining FB was the beginning of the end for me. Because when blogging was just to share funny stories about my day with my out-of-state family, it was free and uncomplicated and pure. But then FB took that spot, and so my blog became ever more self-concious, like some awkward teenager hanging out on the sidelines of the dance, wondering what the purpose to it all is. "Why am I here? Is anyone looking at me? What if no one is looking at me?" (sorry; I find it shockingly easy to re-identify with my gawky teenaged self).

    Far more "followers" on my IG than I ever had on my blog, yet the connection is different, more thin.

    It's a weird post-modern lamentation, isn't it? That we had the chance to share our diaries with the world, and somehow, the pressure of it blew the whole experiment up.

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  28. I've been blogging for nearly 9 years now and popping in to read you for many years too:) And I agree there have been many changes in the blogging world and some are inevitable, and healthy I guess but what I miss the most is the sense of community. Which probably is why I still hang out with the 'smaller bloggers' who still blog the everyday mix, that's what I'm drawn to, a mix up of posts, and ones that share the same passions and interests I do.

    Actually I do feel we can promote a come back a little, well I'm trying to in my own way. I only read 30-40 blogs, comment on them regularly and only have family on fb. and try to keep instagram to a minimal cause blogs will always be no 1 in my heart. and that's where I want my energy to go.

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  29. Oh Christy. Yes! I can't believe I've been away from blogging for two years now. There was a time when I thought I would NEVER stop, but I just don't like what blogging has become and I can't get into it anymore. I, too, miss my favorite blogs. But I think they served a great purpose for a specific time in my life and that time is over. I don't think I'll ever come "back" and I'm at peace with that. I don't want to monetize, worry about image quality, find a "niche", and I'm ok with that.

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