As many of you know, I'm a baby blogger. I started the blog because a rock-star blogger-turned-friend, Heather, aka HEAB, made the suggestion, which got me thinkin'. Though I was a bit trepidatious at first, I decided to go for it. Once Heather announced on her blog that I was up and running, BOOM! Readers galore! That was August 9, 2009. Here is one of the main reasons for starting my blog: (and I quote myself- that's weird, oh well):
[I] "want to share my experiences when I believe that they would be of some value to others. I feel that I learn so much from the so-called Peanut Gallery (of which I am one of so many!) that even if one person gets something out of one of my successes or failures, then this blog is totally worth the time to write."
A few days into it, I decided that it would be fun to follow the statistics of the blog, so I signed up with StatCounter. There are huge amounts of information that you can learn about your blog traffic: number of pageloads, which posts are being read, time spent on each page, where your readers come from (geographically), where they come from in cyberspace (links from other blogs, google reader, google searches), numbers of repeat readers, etc. You can even "see" who is reading. For example, I know my (hypothetical) friend who left a comment at 4:36pm on 8/11/09 lives in Barstow. If I see that someone in Barstow visited at that exact time, I can deduce that the IP (cookie) is hers, and I can even label it with her name to see when she comes back to check the blog! Hello, Big Brother! A bit creepy, no?
At first it was fun to check the data... even intoxicating- and that had nothing to do with all those double-vodkas either. It was so cool to see that someone from Seoul or Belfast or Khazakstan had visited. Truth: I have a very dedicated reader in Hefa (not Haifa), Israel, so a HUGE shout-out to that person! Shalom, friend!
Checking the numbers daily was strangely addicting. It was soon becoming a form of validation. Turns out every day that my numbers were higher, I was happier. When they were lower, I was...well...low. Interestingly, anytime a "Big girl" blogger would link or mention me, my numbers would go ridiculously high. Heather, the quintessential rock-star, is a great example- I call it "The HEAB-effect". I joke with my hubby that all she has to do is sneeze, burp or fart my name in a post and my numbers go through the roof! It is truly wild!
In the last week or so, however, something has happened with the numbers. They have been falling. In fact I told Heather that it's as if the people who came and visited the blog, performed some weird feat of reverse-osmosis and "took back" the pageloads! I tried to figure out why: did I say something to offend the masses, did I make a Ricky Gervais-esque un-PC comment? Was I too opinionated? Not funny? Boring? Worse yet: not interesting? It started to really get me down. After a few teary conversations with my Dad and hubby, I realized that I needed to change my focus revisit the reasons that I started blogging.
For me, this should not be a popularity contest. It is an outlet for creativity (that I never knew I enjoyed) and an opportunity to share my experiences with people who can find them valuable. Turns out, it is also an opportunity to "meet" people who are stumbling along in life just like I am. (and really, aren't we all?) There are aspects to the health- and food-blogging community that I (HONESTLY) did not know existed until I started blogging! That's why I never left any comments for the whole first year that I read blogs- I did not know that it was all part of a big virtual conversation! I did not realize that relationships were forming.
Yesterday, the following quote appeared in my inbox courtesy of a blog I like, called The Happiness Project:
"We Feel More Satisfied...If We Have Stirred Up Our Minds."
“A man does not work only for the sake of producing, but to set a value on his time. We feel more satisfied with ourselves and with our day if we have stirred up our minds and made a good start, or have finished a piece of work.”
--Eugene Delacroix
I saw it as a sign.
So I did the blogging equivalent of throwing away your scale or kibboshing calorie-counting... I stopped checking my stats. I am blissfully unaware of how many people are or are not reading SmoothieGirl. And honestly, I'm ok with that for the moment.
The reality remains that blogging has definitely 'stirred my mind'. And sometimes, that might just have to be good enough.
So to my regular readers and commenters: a HUMONGOUS "Thank YOU!" Numbers be darned, you guys make it all worthwhile.
And let's face facts, at the end of the day, when you throw your undies into the hamper and you get a sudden "Meow" in return, you just have to laugh off the small stuff, right? Life's too short.
19 comments:
A wise and fabulous bit of "self-realization".
Cheers to you girl for it.
This was a great post Deb! I get cught up i nthat oo sometimes, but it's important to remmebr that we blog for US...it's just an added bonus to make friends and hear feedback along the way. Thanks for your SWEETEST comment on my blog! I truly appreciate it, and hope you will continue to check back often! xoxo,
E
awe the end of this post left me grinning. but then again ALL your posts make me grin. i have a blog on blogspot and i signed up for that stat counter website.. but that blog is just my one i used to keep up with the fam so the numbers were never anything to look at. i just liked to know when my crazy aunt was stalking me and never commenting ;) then when i started meals & moves i used wordpress and to my surprise it had a statistics program built into it. the numbers are fun to look at but what i like more is reading what people search in google and my blog happens to pop up as a result. people are funny! you are right, it is not a popularity contest.. it is a fun time. i have never let the # of page views get to me, some days it is super low and other days i am like "who the hell are these people looking at the blog?" and then i realize it is probably the person who googled "basset hound swollen boobs" and that explains it. when i started blogging it was strictly to stay accountable and i never thought anyone (except my mom) would read it! in fact up until the week before i started the blog i had no IDEA food blogs even existed! i was like what are all these blogs with food photos?! and then i slowly started to read lots and lots of blogs and now i am an addict :P but it really is such a fun group of people and i wouldn't trade the friendships i have made for anything, i just wish they all weren't so dang long distance! sorry this is real long deb! i love your blog and you and thanks for starting a blog because i get a lot out of it. xoxo
Ok first, Janetha's comment about swollen boobs is cracking me up.
I can totally relate, Deb! Sometimes blogging definitely seems like a popularity contest. I swear sometimes I don't get emails or responses from some of the "big girls," because I am not a big blogger. What, you can't take the time to respond to a question because you get more hits than me? How does that make sense? (Of course, HEABS wonderful and the exact opposite and I have also experienced the wonderful HEAB-effect ;) )
I am trying to pay less attention to the stats (ahh, what is this obsession with numbers that we bloggers share?!), but I do find the "Who's online now" thing fascinating! I, too, have a foreign fan...someone in Sweden. At one point I was actually getting freaked out that this Swedish person was going to knock on my door after stalking me for so long! LOL.
Anyway, I will ALWAYS read :) Sometimes I let posts build though, so if you see a big surge in hits, it might be me catching up! :)
AH! You couldn't have written this at a better time for me personally. I have been having a really difficult moment in my own personal blogland lately.
I don't have very many readers at JoggersLife, so when I lose a few, it definitely stings. I stalk my stats daily (sometimes more than once daily), and this past week has been especially obsessive. I like to succeed. In my mind, 'succeed' in blogland means that I have a billion subscribers. However, I have to think back to the roots of my blog (less than a year ago), and I started it for support while I was training for my races and to gab about food. Both things that have nothing to do with stats.
With the launch of the new site (letterstomybody), things have become really goofy in my head. I want everyone to know about the site and send in their letters so I can get them published and start *helping* others. The problem is that it takes longer than 1 week to get a website of this type off the ground and to get others on board. I feel like a failure because I only have 8 subscribers and a few letters sent in.
It's difficult to get things into perspective sometimes, especially when everyone around you is part of the blogging-elite. Last night, I was blaming myself for not having whatever this "it" factor is that everyone else has. What I've realized is that it doesn't really matter. I have to do what makes me happy, and I just don't think that the numbers are that important in the grand scheme of things. It's sort of akin to "would you rather have a few great friends, or a ton of acquaintances. In my own life, I would chose a few close friends anyday...so, why should my blog be any different.
We'll stick together on this one. =)
DEb you hit the nail on the head when you said popularity contest. I have been really trying to grow my blog and I have been, but it's work. And my posts are getting longer and more and more in depth and I always have a few fleshed out posts pre-written but not fully done and once those are outta my hopper 'bout Saturday, I am making an announcement mentioning I am scaling back my post length and increasing the frequency. Although the content amount will be the same, each post will be more spontaneous and less work for me. I need to be with my fam more and kitch more and 'puter less. I hear ya about gettign back to it being fun....I JUST had this convo last nite on a power walk w/ hubs. Great minds think alike i guess :)
I sometimes get too caught up in the numbers too, but when I remember why I started blogging I realize that the most important thing is that I enjoy it.
And I enjoy your blog too. Love the kitty in the hamper :)
Sweet Deb...I'll fart your name anytime my friend. :)
Such a sincere and heartfelt post, and I think ALL of us need to re-examine why we started blogging in the first place from time to time.
Just keep doing what you're doing - Smoothie Girl has and always will be a rock star blogger in my opinion. :)
I'm so glad you wrote this post, because if I had known about this status-checker thingie I would've been thinking exactly the same thing as you. Since I'm aware of that and because you've written a post about this, I know to just continue going about my business the way I have - ignorance (in this case) is bliss!!
I love your blog posts - you always say things that are very relevant to my life and you make me laugh (i.e. - the last little bit of this post). :) Plus I love seeing pictures of Samantha. So THANK YOU Deb for starting your blog!! I'm very glad I followed the link to it.
Well-timed post Deb, as I've also recently given up caring about the numbers! As a writer by profession, one of the main reasons why I started blogging is because I wanted to have a FUN outlet for writing, where I could talk about the things I'm passionate about. And maybe the strange desire I have to photograph my food :P I love the readers I do have. It may be a small handful, but I feel like I've been able to get to know them all a little bit because of that. That part has been pretty rewarding!
Hee... we call that feed crack and it is soooo addicting. I went through a stat-stalking phase too but you are so right, it only obscures the real point of blogging (for most people). Now I only check my stats once a month (seriously) and I only look at the averages, not teh day-to-day fluctuations. Glad you figured this out so early in your blogging career - you're doing great!
Rhoda- thank you :-)
Emily- I meant what I said in your post :-) I'll be back
Janetha- thank you so much for your long comment, which I love. I'm super jealous that no one is searching for me under Basset Hound Swollen Boobs (how did YOUR blog pop up I ask??!)
Thinny- Ha! Funny that you have a fan in Sweden. That's one country that doesn't know I exist, which is pretty hilarious considering I have a slew of relatives there (none of them, nor my "in person" friends know I have a blog, except my college roomate)
Jogger says: "It's sort of akin to "would you rather have a few great friends, or a ton of acquaintances. In my own life, I would chose a few close friends anyday.." I say: SOOOoo true. I need to put your other site on my reader. I totally have a letter for you- I'll send it when I can retrieve it from my "secret" blog. It's a great great idea- stick with it!
Averie- wow the timing of you talking to the hubs about it. Again, back to that pesky balance thing we're all wanting!
Low- Thanks so much, and Samantha is such a ham hock! ;-)
HEABs. Only you could have crying tears into my frozen yogurt at Golden Spoon. You are just too sweet.
Hayley- thank you so so so much. Means a lot to me. And know that most of the photos of Sam are up there with you in mind ;-)
Susan- great insight and attitude!
Charlotte- thanks so much for the insightful comment- I think you're on the right track with once-a month crack-feeding. I'll probably follow your lead :-)
The visibility thing is another interesting blog issue. My extended family don't know about it, but my immediate relatives do. Some support it, some don't. Might be another interesting blog post about who you tell, etc. Just a random thought!
THinny- yes, I'm all over that for a post. After one blogger (can't remember who) asked the question: who reads your blog? It got me thinking about doing my own post entirely about it, and why we tell who we tell. Good thought Lara! :-) And yes, with your family history of people making comments about you and your food/figure, I can see how it would be a mixed bag letting people know. Thanks for commenting again- a TwoFer!
I just talked about this today! :) we all get obsessed sometimes and it's good to take it back and realize that we do this just for fun, not for stress! :)
Coco- welcome! Thanks for the comment and you are right- stress is not the goal here!
You are so right! There are diminishing returns, too. Like, I got 3 comments on my most recent post. A few months ago, I'd be squealing with joy. Now I'm all, "that's it?"
Great post Deb! I too get so caught up in the comments and stats, it is hard not to! But I love reading your blog and I think that making sure you are doing it for you!
Haha! Great post! I can totally relate!!
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