I know a lot of bloggers who keep a schedule.
A blogging schedule.
They blog on a consistent basis posting X number of posts on days A,B & C.
I see posts saying 'I'm sorry I've been gone, I'm going to post more regularly from now on'
or something along those lines...
Does anyone even know they are gone?
Maybe.
I know I go looking to see if some folks are ok from time to time...but I don't ever often notice if posts aren't made on M-W-F or whatever the schedule might be.
I'd rather read quality content, instead of just content.
I'm more apt to read posts from said blogger if when I do get to my reader (rare occasions these days) there are only 5 posts waiting for me, instead of 55 from that same person. That 'mark all as read' button has become an integral part of multi tasking for me, unfortunately.
If you are familiar at all with me, you will see there is no rhyme and reason to when I post.
I post what I want, when I have time for it.
And I am in no means saying that my content is quality.
Much of it pertains to me, and only me. Us, and only us.
We find some pretty fun adventures along our journey of life, and we love sharing those...but a lot of this is documentation for me, for us.
I don't follow a schedule, although I do often keep a list of things I want to blog about, so that I don't leave anything out. I used to sit down, dump all of my pictures onto the computer and hammer out blog posts based on the photos. That was my tried and true method, and hopefully will be again when I get a new computer. My crusty trusty old laptop isn't doing me any favors, and getting photos onto it, and then off of it again, is often a time consuming challenge - one that I don't have the energy, patience, or time for...
But none of that matters.
It is what it is...
My Why I Blog is much different than almost every blogger I've ever met.
My Why....
At the end of every year (though I'm pretty behind right now...having just wrapped up 2010) I slurp my blog posts into software from Blurb.com, and move & remove, resize, reshape, and reconfigure my posts from the year into book format. I delete some posts, if they are for random give aways or upcoming events, I add in more pictures if I have more fun ones that I didn't use in my blog posts.
These books are the encyclopedia of our lives.
These books will give our kids a record of who they were, what we did.
What we did, TOGETHER.
My birth mom died just before I turned 3. I have a handful of pictures of her, and nothing else.
In this day and age of digital, I love how well we are able to document the good, the bad and the ugly.
I have 2 years to knock out yet, to get caught up...but again, that laptop issue is hindering me.
Well, that, and the fact that I seem to not have much time leftover in each day ~
Seeing 3 hard copy books labeled Gust Gab on my shelf is pretty cool though.
Maybe I'd better not hurry up on the others...
Soon it's going to be one of those big encyclopedia sets from when I was a kid...
And then what?
What will I do with those?
I'm hopeful, that one day my kids, and their kids, will have fun flipping through the pages of these books, saying...Remember When?
In fact, I find them doing that now...
Remember this Derek? Remember when we did this?
I wish I had more 'Remember When' to look back on from when I was a kid...
You can never have enough great memories.
13 comments:
Lovely! Now I wish I blogged!
Stephanie T
I love the purpose of your blog! I started one long ago and never kept up with it due to privacy concerns - I wanted it to be a 'private blog' which kind of defeats the purpose? I started doing a yearly slideshow of photos which I like a lot too. :) Brenda
@Stephanie T ~ It's never too late to start!
@Brenda ~ I don't know that being private defeats the purpose. You can have your blog password protected so no one (unless you want to share with grandparents, etc) can ever view it, but still use software like Blurb to make it into a book...plus, it's fun to go back and read what you've written along with the pics. Maybe you should password protect your old blog and resurrect it?
There's no rhyme or reason to my blog posts, time is really the biggest factor.
I really love the idea of turning blog posts into books, a great memento for the kids.
Darcie, I love how you have your blog posts in books. That is such an awesome idea!
I know what you mean. There has been such a push to improve your blog by doing X,Y,Z and I admit, I have jumped on the bandwagon a bit. But when it comes down to it, you have to stay true to yourself and your blog. You'll a much happier person :)
I'm soooo proud of you for all your hard work Darcie!!!! Even ONE blog post a day means 365 of them in a book. Even if you can't sit down for an hour....put 10 minutes into it. Makes a big difference in getting to the end! You.can.do.it!!!! I have also found that setting goals like, put all the posts in from a month and then take a break. Or have I ever told you that I do my nooks in phases? 1)get posts into book with proper formatting 2) adjust pages so double spread posts are together and not back to back on different spreads 2) make it look good (this is finally where the designing happens) 3) screenshots for videos with correct link to YouTube 4) read the book for errors with the text 5) final tweeking of layouts.
This means I can fly through some portions and get in my groove with other tasks. I find it keeps me from getting overwhelmed to not have to make every page perfect the first time.....
Nooks? Geez. And that is why I spell check books a couple of times :)
The kids won't care though :)
@Carolyn - you totally could do it! And you should!
@Stacie Sayz So - Your blog really does call for you to follow the 'blogging rules' because you want to stay somewhat competitive with your information. It's different if I post regularly, just to post...without any reason behind it. My reason is my end result, the blog book...that's why I don't follow the 'rules' -
@MamaBear - you know I still do the auto dump and then move every.single.page around right? Ugh. So much work! I want to try it your way...but I might not start 2011 until I have a new computer to work on. I know there's a less clunky way to do things ~ there has to be! Your way scares me though! It's all so overwhelming - so I just stick to what I know - which isn't much!
I SOOO want to do this (put into a book format) but everytime I start to do this, I get sidetracked (TIME!? What time!? LOL) and push it off for later, which will most likely not happen for quite awhile...*sigh* I admire your dedication to doing it. Like you, I want the blog to be a readable print for my girls when they are older, as I initially started blogging for and about them and my journey! :)
I love every bit of this! I wish I had blogged more when Zoe was a baby - most of my blog is dedicated to my weight loss journey - I think it's time for me to get back to blogging about our adventures. Those books - PRICELESS! My girls love flipping through the wedding albums, etc that I have and the few picture books I did of them early on. What a gift! You continue to amaze!
@Soupy - It is a very time consuming process, for sure - but so so rewarding when you finish your first project! Don't give up! Break it up into years, like I have done - and that will make it easier!
@Jen - You AMAZE ME! I think your weight loss journey is a great adventure in and of itself! It's never too late to go back and fill in the blanks...take it in chunks...
But there's no time like the present...start blogging the fun adventures you have with the girls! DO IT!
Woohoo! Thanks for the post! It's always great to read how people are using Blurb.
Kent from Blurb
@Kent from Blurb ~ WOW~! How exciting to have someone from Blurb (on a non-sponsored post!)show up and leave a comment! Exciting! I do really love the product - now, if you could just invent more time for me to finish my projects!
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