Well crap, watching all the other mother hens having such fun with FTSF has burned me to the core with jealousy, so I’m last minute posting in order to pretend I’m a respected member of the group. Just FYI, nobody has inquired as to whether or why I’m not posting at all, but I’m not bitter.
The sentence today is simply: My blogging goals for this year are…
Yikes.
I can honestly say that I’ve not given this one iota of thought until this very second.
I’ve blogged for just over a year now. Ironically, my wife encouraged me to give blogging a try, possibly because she recognized that I liked to talk out my ass and there are a lot of like minded morons online who like ass originating information. Or, she was simply steering me to you guys, my gentle readers, as a way to avoid having to endure all these inane conversations herself and risking the chance that the kids will overhear the word fuck in one of the many forms I use it in everyday conversation.
I say ironically, because there was a time last year when I felt like when I was blogging, that I was doing something naughty. There were always a million different things that I could be doing instead of staring at my computer screen.
How fucked up is it to be blogging about wanting to spend more time with the wife and kids while they’re in the other room totally available to be spending time with?
When I wasn’t writing I was thinking about what to write.
In order to build up a following, I had to not only read other blogs, but comment and like those blogs repeatedly. Then I had to respond to my own comments and then there’s the trying to get the post noticed on Facebook or Twitter or wherever.
It got to be ridiculous, quite honestly.
I suck at blogging.
I don’t think I suck at telling stories or making people laugh or cry or whatever from time to time, but I do suck at trying to show my posts to multiple social media sites or going to BlogU or BlogHim or whatever they are conventions and interacting with fellow bloggers to discuss blogging so that we can blog about what we learned about blogging to become more successful bloggers.
What?
What makes a blogger successful anyway?
I suppose there are some people out there making money with their blogs, but I have no ambition for that sort of thing.
I have some followers now. I have about 700 mostly real people following this blog. Is that good? Is 200 not good enough? Am I not successful as a blogger unless I have 1000? 10,000? OMG, I have under 200 likes on the donofalltrades Facebook page! Surely, that means I suck at blogging!
I did have a lot of fun in 2013. I was a contestant on Blogger-Idol, and that was a lot of fun (mostly). I was also Freshly Pressed, which I didn’t think would ever happen, honestly. Maybe I blew my load too early in my blogging life? Too much early success can make for a letdown later on, or so I’m told.
Most importantly to me, I made a lot of great online friends through blogging. Sure, you might all be pedophiles or closet racists or baby hating, puppy kicking assholes in real life, but I like the online fake you well enough to overlook such possibilities.
In 2014, my goal is to continue to blog when I feel like blogging and to not blog when I don’t. I will not waste time wondering if I’m missed when I don’t post or force myself to rant about a fat guy sneezing under the sneeze guard at Ponderosa just to have a post for publishing.
If I don’t feel like posting, I’ll simply say, “fuck it” and post whenever I’m ready. I spent a lot of time forcing posts this past year and it shows at times.
Blogging has always been meant to be a relaxing, enjoyable release, but it became a bit of a pain in the ass at times because, deep down, I’m a people pleaser. That’s hard for some of you to believe, I know, but I do like most of you and I want to read everyone’s blog and answer every comment and comment on your blogs and then go like your post over here and there and everywhere. Bah!!
Being a good blogger takes a lot of time, and since our time is limited, we must take time from something over here, if we intend to use it over there.
All I want to do in 2014 is keep this fun for me and get comments like “you made me spit my drink out” or “I showed this to my husband and he peed himself laughing.” That’s my favorite part of blogging right there, the interaction. I wish I could observer people reading my garbage when I’ve written a funny piece. Making people laugh is great.
I have also, just this very second, decided to add the goal of having my pal over at Snoozingonthesofa name his third son after me. How random is that?
This whole post has been random and totally sucks, but it’s all you get because I’m off to work job 2 of 2 now!
Cheers to all for a great 2014, blogging and otherwise!
Oh, and before I forget. Ryan from ThatGirlRyan (her name is Ryan and her husband’s name is Ryan. You can’t make that shit up!) Anyway, I’ve inserted an intentionally grammatical error for you to find, even though it’s pissing me off having it there. You’re welcome. Hint, that you’re I just typed isn’t it.
Go check out the hostesses with the mostesses and Kristi too and play along with us.
Janine: Janine’s Confessions of a Mommyaholic
Kate: Can I get another bottle of whine?
Stephanie: Mommy, for Real
Kristi: Findingninee.com
