We are now heading into our third year of blogging. Sometimes we wonder how long we can actually sustain this blog. We often wonder if we will ever run out of things to blog about. We wonder if what we write is relevant, are we interesting, and are we helping people? As you can see, we always have a LOT to say so running out of content is something we probably don't have to worry about anytime soon. Now whether or not you find our content relevant to you, is up to you.
Today we wanted to share with you some of our blogging thoughts.
1. We often wonder, just what IS the life span of a blog? We engaged with some bloggers who started blogs around the same time we did but
unfortunately they have now remained dormant. Some have still stayed active on other forms of social media and some, well, we don't know what happened to them, which is sort of sad. I've come across some info that says the average blogger sticks with it for two years, and another post that said the average life span is 33 months. Who knows how accurate this information is anyway. Putting all statistics aside, we will continue with the blog as long as it feels comfortable for us to do so.
2. If you are a blogger that we connect with, we do think about you and we do worry about you. If you post daily and we haven't seen anything from you in a few days, we do wonder if you are okay. Some of you even pop up in our conversations "So and So made this meal on the blog today and it looked yummy" "Oh, that's the product So and So reviewed and it looked awesome".
3. I am a licensed English teacher and I write for my "real" job (magazines and newspapers) so there should be no excuses as to why our blog has typos and grammatical errors but I KNOW it does. I am hopeful that people can overlook it because to tell ya the truth when I read typos on other blogs, my brain knows what they meant to say even if the words on the screen don't reflect it.
4. We LOVE reading about products that bloggers like (whether or not they get them free from companies or not, we don't care). Some readers get really upset that bloggers review products because they feel their blog is too much like a commercial. We don't mind, at least it gives us a review of a product and for that we are grateful. We don't understand why others have a problem with it.
5. We share a lot about our lives and our thoughts on our blog. As a teacher, I know kids can be very bold in what they say and quite unkind. Until we started blogging, I never imagined that adults could be this way too. We would NEVER imagine writing something negative on someone else's blog or facebook post just because we didn't agree with them.
6. On the other hand, we NEVER imagined that we would become such a part of a wonderful community and meet such great people that we actually consider to be real friends. This by far is the best part of blogging.
What are your thoughts on blogging?
35 comments:
Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.
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That was interesting to hear the average lifespan of a blogger :) I blog everyday, but during the school year when I am busy, I can't be as active as I would like to be on other blogs. I still read the blogs if they post something I find interesting, but I don't always have time to comment, join link parties, and look for new blogs. Things like that sort have have to go to the wayside so I have the time an energy to post every day. But when the summer months come, I do like trying to be more involved since it is something I truly enjoy! I think about my blogger friends a lot too. I feel like I know them, even though I don't. :)
ReplyDeleteWell I hope you blog for many years to come because I enjoy reading! I'm not a Disney person, but you write about other things besides Disney so that captures my attention!
I love blogging, and am definitely hoping that I can continue to blog for...a very long time (basically indefinitely/til I somehow fall out of love with writing, which hopefully won't ever happen). I love the blogging community/friends I've made through it! :] I think about my blogger friends a lot too! I feel like a lot of the time, I know more about what's going on in their lives than a lot of my friends in real life! (They're all across the country, and I only get to see em' once a year. :[ )
ReplyDeleteWe have really enjoyed blogging and I had no idea that a blog had an average lifespan of 33 months. Very interesting. The best part of blogging and the interaction on social media has been the friends that we have made through running/blogging. It is great going to a race when you know that someone else will be there at the starting line to keep you company!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I enjoy interacting with other bloggers. I don't mind product reviews at all. I don't see them as commercials. But I do mind popup ads!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I joined this blogging community and connected with the two of you. I can see why the lifespan is fairly short however, it is definitely a time suck, but I can't imagine my life without it right now. So I'll stick around as long as I can without it effecting my family in a negative way! Keep up the great work ladies!
ReplyDeleteMy 3-year mark is this summer and I'm having just as much fun. A couple blogs I read haven't posted in quite a while, and I know life catches up, but I'll continue to post since I get ideas from everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that the average lifespan of a blog is 33 months. Blogging is definitely a greater commitment than I imagined it would be when I started, but I still enjoy it and will keep at it for as long as I can. And like you said, when a blogger posts on a regular basis and then they all of a sudden stop, I worry about them too. I really hope nothing horrible happened to them!
ReplyDeleteI'm coming up on my 7th year of blogging, so I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to blog longevity, lol. I do miss some of the bloggers who started around the same time as me, and wonder how they are doing. And I agree with you on why would anyone leave a negative/nasty comment - you KNOW they wouldn't do that to your face.
ReplyDeleteMy blog has sort of fallen by the wayside...and it has been this way since I strained my hamstring last spring. My life just because more involved with other aspects of my life, that my running blog was no longer a running blog. I still post occasionally, but I just don't have as much to say anymore!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the community is the best part about blogging! I figure I'll keep going as long as I enjoy it and that doesn't seem to show any sign of going away yet :) I have to say that I find your blog really helpful and informative so I hope you guys keep going.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought I would still be blogging after 8 years... & still not sure what I'm doing :) haha
ReplyDeleteBut you're right, I get to know people & worry when they don't post & panic when they disappear. it's a strange & wonderful thing, this blogging stuff.
interesting.....thanks for writing this. I went thru this with my hubby when I started: how long will this last, why are you doing it, where are you going with this etc. Geez, so many questions. So 2-3 years is the average huh? I do certainly enjoy it and feel like I have made a whole nother circle of friends and that is SO important. :) I love the reviews, recipes, race reviews- love it all- and I too wonder if I don't see a post in awhile from someone. :) I hope you are having a great week!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post! I'M trying to find my rhythm and while I have a lot of started posts I don't publish as frequently as I wish. I need to let go of the perfectionist in me, so that I can get more content out.
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! I've never really thought about how long I would blog for. I have wondered if I would keep coming up with enough to write about. I also love the community and how supportive they are to each other. I feel like I have a whole other group of new friends!
ReplyDeletegreat post-I personally love blogging! it is a great way to meet people and also a good way to keep myself accountable. I do think it is an individual thing-if you dont feel like blogging for a week then dont, if you dont want to write everyday then don't, it just depends on what works best for you
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the life span of a blogger. I'm right at 2.5 years and don't have plans to stop at this point. For the first year and a half I blogged every day but the past year I have just done 4 posts a week and that is much more manageable.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting topic and I think by all the interaction you get on your blog, you don't need to worry about people losing interest. I sometimes wonder how long I will continue blogging for too, but I don't think I will ever run out of things to say haha
ReplyDeleteI feel like the bloggers I've connected with as a reader or readers that I've connected with as a blogger as part of this sort of virtual community that cheers me on during tough runs or other struggles. I'm with you in wondering sometimes where people have gone and worrying that things are not going well. Even virtual ties can be strong. It's very interesting that the average blog last 33 months! The numbers geek in me is entertained that someone did that math. :)
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post! Blogging is never as easy as it seems and is a tremendous time commitment. Like many of the other commenters, I thought the lifespan comment was interesting. I don't usually get too spun up about dissenting opinions. I figure if I put my opinion out there, someone can respond with an alternative one. As long as it's respectful, I generally enjoy a spirited debate. Once it gets unprofessional or unnecessarily personal, I'm not a fan. Thick skin is a must in the blogging world! :) -C
ReplyDelete33 months... I'm kind of happy to know I'm past that time frame so maybe this thing will stick. I never thought I would meet such wonderful people through blogging. It started as something for me but here we are! Funny thing is, you never know what resonates with people. Sometimes I write about my training and people don't react. Sometimes they do. Then sometimes, you write something completely unrelated to running and everyone loves it! It has been quite an experience. Blogging has sure made my running journey a lot of fun.
ReplyDelete33 months... I'm kind of happy to know I'm past that time frame so maybe this thing will stick. I never thought I would meet such wonderful people through blogging. It started as something for me but here we are! Funny thing is, you never know what resonates with people. Sometimes I write about my training and people don't react. Sometimes they do. Then sometimes, you write something completely unrelated to running and everyone loves it! It has been quite an experience. Blogging has sure made my running journey a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I also love product reviews. And I agree completely about #5. I think it's fine to politely offer a different opinion--sometimes a good discussion makes a great post!--but I've seen just plain negative comments and wonder why anyone would do that. There is too much negativity in the world to begin with, but why be negative to a fellow runner/blogger??? One thing I love about blogs & that I think makes a great blog is just being genuine. You ladies definitely nail that. Your personalities really come through on your posts. Whenever I think of your blog, I think how nice you two seem, and I have never met you! I really enjoy your blog & look forward to reading it for years to come!
ReplyDeleteGreat post idea!! I didn't know the average span was 33 months, I am glad I survived it:)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading others comments on this post too, this is a bit of a fascinating topic to me.
Sometimes I think bloggers quit because family life needs to come first, and I am fine with that. I sometimes wish, when bloggers I follow decide to quite they would post a farewell post and just give a little explaination instead of leaving it for wonder. I have had a couple do that, and its been nice to know why they made the decision to quit. I also think it's awesome when even though they don't blog anymore, they still love the community so much they continue to follow me. I have a couple who do that periodically and makes my day they still care when they expect nothing in return:)
But I also have wondered why people take the time to comment negatively, I mean I can understand not agreeing, that is totally fine and expected. But to bash or say rude things, it just doesn't make any sense other than some just are negative people with too much time on their hands:)
Hope you keep blogging for years to come, you already know this but I really enjoy the blog you two ladies put together!
This was such a great post. I had no idea that the average lifespan of a blog is 33 years. I also worry about bloggers who "disappear" there have been a couple that I use to follow that no longer update their social media accounts - I hope everything is okay.
ReplyDeleteI am going on 3 years this month too.
ReplyDeleteI love the community, so I have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
These are all wonderful thoughts...as silly as it may sound, I agree with them all! :D This summer will make six years for my blog! (I honestly didn't realize it had been that long...and I only started daily blogging about 2 years ago.)
ReplyDeleteI have to admit to struggling for content lately. I'm not a big blogger and I only have a small readership in relation to some others out there, so I often wonder if it matters how often I post. If someone disagrees with me, that's fine. I would just appreciate it if people handled things with some tact instead of going on the attack. As for product reviews, I feel like there's a limit. I've actually stopped reading certain blogs because it seems like every post is some kind of product they've been sent to review. If that's what you want to write about that's fine. It just doesn't happen to be what I want to read. I'd rather know about your life, not the attributes of a pair of shoes. I can find that out through other research. The other thing I've notice lately is an increase on multi-level-marketing catching hold on many blogs. That can also be a real turn-off if it takes over someone's content.
ReplyDeleteI've been blogging for almost 4 years now (!!) and it's a miracle that I haven't run out of things to blog about! Unfortunately, the nasty people will never go away - I've had my fair share of awful comments over the past few years!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post! I'm working on year 3 right now and do often wonder how much longer I can continue. I'll do it as long as I enjoy it I suppose. I definitely think about ways to change it up or build on what I've done but those are long term thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I totally know what you mean about thinking about fellow bloggers, and worrying about them or talking about them or things they've written about "in real life." I never worry about running out of things to say because I figure for as long as I continue running, there will ALWAYS be adventures to share. ;) And I love that both write for magazines/newspapers as our "real" job -- trouble is, I sometimes spend more time crafting and re-writing and editing a blog than I do one of my paid assignments, LOL. ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic! I've been blogging for about 2.5 years now, and I've definitely had my ups and downs with it. At first I took it way too seriously and I was so fixated on page views and comments. Now, I've learned to just blog for myself, first and foremost, and to have fun with it. I think a lot of bloggers are focused on trying to convey a certain image, but I personally love the bloggers who just let their true selves show. I will fully admit that I'm one of the bloggers that gets irritated with all the sponsored posts - this is because I have enough advertising thrown in my face without seeing it on the blogs, too. But I am glad that you can see the positive from that side! I've definitely had times where I really struggled to come up with topics to blog about, but I get a lot of inspiration from others. I love all the blog linkups out there!
ReplyDeleteLove this post, super informative! I just had my 1 year Blogiversary last month. It's been an incredible learning experience - and takes so much more time than I ever expected, but it has been worth every minute! So happy to have met both of you through blogging, Meranda and Lacey. Please don't stop blogging ever! <3
ReplyDeleteI loved this post. I sometimes think what my blog might look like in 2 or 3 years and what I find fun is that I can see lots of options :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I had to go back and check on my blog's birthday and it looks like I am in the beginning of year three (about 26 months)! It's been great following along with you two! :)
ReplyDeleteI've been blogging 7 1/2 years and it was my husband who talked me into starting one. Before having a blog, I didn't know why anyone would want to read someone else's blog, but I feel completely different now - of course!
ReplyDelete