A picture...because it's worth a thousand of those words down there that you may or may not choose to read...
It's been awhile since I've been here. I (Trevor) always post a blog this particular recurring week because for some odd reason I'm asked to be the "expert" on blogs in a class on social media for our new members in Wycliffe. How odd it would be to show them the current view of the Traveling Schuhs site when my most current post most likely has a photo of my now 4 year old daughter while she was learning to walk?
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about this whole beast called the blog lately. I've gone back and forth on it, really. I know there's probably no one even reading this anymore because everyone is out of the habit, which is comforting really. I heard someone tell me recently that "it really isn't a blog if you don't post twice a day". Huh. I disagree. That would actually annoy me a bit, and I'm not easily annoyed, I assure you. I follow a blog like that, and it's not that interesting on most days.
I've also been pondering the merits of why I even have my own blog. Okay, why we have this blog. In my head I think I get it. We want to keep people informed. We want to tell stories, share pictures, maybe inspire our family and friends, stay connected. Some days it feels like I just want to feel a pat on the back. It's like Facebook and Twitter and the whole jumbled up knot of social media were created to feed my fame craving ego and I just want to be funny enough, or witty enough, or just plain profound or humble enough to go to bed with a smile on my face and rest peacefully so that I can start all over again in the morning.
Okay, that was pretty deep.
Many people try really hard to be funny in their blogs. They rarely succeed (I hope I'm listening). Some folks are just plain born with a gift of funny. I read those blogs.
Some people that I know and love are always (and I mean always) very (and I mean very) serious when they write on the internet. I don't hate serious things, and I really love profundity (and big words) (and also asides), but taking everything seriously can get pretty mundane and stale quickly. I know one guy who is probably one of the most energetic and riveting people you could possibly meet in person, but if you only read his blog you would think he was as dry as the Sahara desert! He tells better jokes in person than I write, too.
Okay, since this is getting longer than a blog post should be, let me get to the point.
Instead of trying to come up with the best reasons why I think I should blog, I decided that I would think of why I like to keep up with other people's blogs and just do that. Sort of a middle of the road approach. A little bit of funny, sometimes deep, occasionally mediocre, but hopefully always just plain honestly me. So that's what I'm going to do. Here's the beginning of my working list. Feel free to add to mine...
REASONS I READ BLOGS:
1: I want to see how my friends are doing
2: It's great to show pictures of faraway friends to my kids
3: We pray for friends and family who are sick (CaringBridge, etc.)
4: I catch up on the news
5: Funny people are always funny
6: Former/current Pastors can be a great source of encouragement
Did I miss any?
Any other thoughts?
Do you have a blog that we should follow?
9 comments:
I'm still here!! :)
Jess, I want to tell you that I may be the only guy (as in masculine...a dude) who reads your blog consistently. I'm not actually ashamed, but I feel like I maybe should be ashamed or something when I tell Sarah "you should totally read Jess Brubaker's blog today...her mantle looks amazing" or "I think clean eating sounds kinda fun".
Trevor, I was thinking about why I read blogs this morning actually. For me, blogs/feeds has become my morning paper. While I eat my breakfast I get my phone out and read the local news, national politics, and even the latest internet deals. So in short I read blogs to stay informed on things I'm interested in.
Chris (and Raquel?) - I'm adding that. I've recently become slightly obsessed with finding free or ridiculously cheap things. But only things that we actually need and don't have to go out of the way to get. I also went through a phase of checking the news way too much, but I've toned it down!
*I* would read your blog if you posted more often! In fact, there have been times when I was sure I missed something (cuz it had been so long??) so I have checked it. You know then end to THAT story....
On the other hand, I haven't exactly been posting a lot lately either, have I?
Ha! Mollie, you posted once awhile back and I came home to say, rather excitedly, "Sarah, you'll never guess who blogged today!"
Good post. And to your six points, I say, "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And, yes." Plus, you're on my blog's blog roll, and if you don't update at least every so often, you'll fall to the bottom and it'll say something like, "Traveling Schuhs last updated 3 months ago" and then folks will look at it and say, "Why does Ryan have this on his blog roll?" So please keep up with your blog so my blog followers don't think I'm nuts.
I like to read your blog.
I have a blog - you should read it sometime.
Deb, I check your blog faithfully. Every day. Last Tuesday was my favorite post. Made me cry the whole way home from work. Also, Sarah and I are having a contest to see who gets more comments on our posts...since I keep posting on my own, I'm winning 9-0.
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