If someone asked me to describe this wonderful, life-changing experience which is blogging, I'd borrow from those great philosophers The Eagles and say it's a bit like the Hotel California - you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
2011 has been particularly horrible for a lot of reasons, some very close to home, others in a wider world context. Meanwhile in blogland, there were several moments over the past year when I seriously considered quitting blogging, one of the reasons being that I felt I wasn't delivering on the promises and (what turned out to be unreasonable) targets which I'd mentally set myself. And that's not what blogging should be about. It should be spontaneous, and fun, and all the things which resulted in me keeping three blogs going, as I still do.
The other problem was that it was impossible to keep EuropeCrazy topical and up to date, due to time constraints. A lot of blogging is about 'the now' and topicality is everything. Writing an album review a year after its release wouldn't exactly go down too well in music blogland, for example. So I had all these little unwritten posts in my head, but when the time came around to publish them, I just felt they weren't relevant anymore.
If you think all this is leading up to an "I've decided to quit blogging" announcement, well....it's not. Let's go back to The Eagles, because I'm going to check out for a while but have no intention of leaving. Because I love blogging, and I want to keep on doing it. I want to celebrate the 5th birthday of my first-born blog EuropeCrazy in March 2012. I want to take Planet Salem (which is 4 years old tomorrow) into its fifth year. And as long as there's food to eat and clothes to buy, there's a lot of life left in good ol' Random Ramblings too.
The big difference is that I'll be blogging a lot less than I used to, and won't be promising anything which I can't deliver. After the 2011-50 ends over at EuropeCrazy, I'm going to step away from the computer for a little while, however will still write the odd blog post. And that time will hopefully come when I've caught up with myself, when all the jobs are done, and I'll be ready to throw myself back into blogland with a vengeance.
2 comments:
5 years is a long time to keep anything going,whether you have the occasional break or not,so it will be great to see EuropeCrazy have its birthday next year.I have to say I didn't realise Planet Salem was 4 already- they grow up so fast :)
There just isn't enough hours in the day to keep a blog going as frequently as in the early days though.I've been reading a lot of travel blogs lately and I just don't see how people can fit in so much travel,write really good posts and work for a living too.I know I've not got that level of dedication anymore! That's why blogs like this one are always good and have a long lifespan because you're not writing about any subject in particular and can basically come and go as you please.
Anyway,here's to another 5 years!
Thanks! I know exactly what you mean about not having enough hours in the day anymore, the spirit is willing but by the time you get to the computer you're totally shattered.
It would be very nice to keep going for another 5 years as blogging's such a part of my life now that I really couldn't imagine life without it!
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