Monday, May 07, 2018

Hangin' With This Chick For Thirteen Years

Baby chicks at Atwoods Ranch & Home
So today marks the thirteenth year of this blog.  THIRTEEN YEARS, people.  Happy Blog Birthday to me!  With the exception of the first two months, May and June 2005, I have written a post for every single day. I have written over 4,720 posts and included over 3,080 photos I have taken.

The last two years have been much more challenging because for 19 months we've been on a dedicated run which didn't allow any variety in our travels.  I've tried to find interesting things in Tucson, where I live, to fill the days.  I've posted many pictures of cactus, of the birds in my yard, and of the mountain everyone on my side of town talks about.  There have been sunsets of the southwest, restaurant reviews, and recipes.  I've written about my husband, my mother, my brother, and my friends.  I've gotten behind and had to catch up by posting all the happenings in a week, in one sitting.


It's like having a second job that's harder than my first job.

I have been putting a lot of thought into changing things up.  I considered closing down the blog completely, and still may do that, but I haven't had a chance to formulate a new plan yet.  We were going to take another dedicated route starting this month, and that worried me because the stress of having to write daily when there's nothing going on is just too much for me.  It's really hard.  I got some feedback from family and friends - some people said to wrap it up, but more people said to keep it going.  I'm not sure what the right path will be.

I've also been doing research about blogging.  As you might imagine, there are a million things out there on how to do it, why to do it, when to do it, etc.  Some people say daily blogging is too much, others think it's worth their time.  Some people have advertising that relies on daily blogging, others blog about current events (which to be current, usually means it must be daily).  There are many sites that claim blogging less frequently has brought more traffic to their site.  Other sites say people are overwhelmed with so much content in their RSS feeds, that the daily bloggers often get cut from the morning reading list of those people.

This is an emotional decision for me.  I have put a lot of time into this endeavor.  It started out just as a way to keep in touch with family and friends and turned into having readers all over the world.  And not just readers, but friends.  It's pretty amazing to meet someone in person who only knows you through words on a screen.  I love that I've had those opportunities.  I feel obligated to continue to provide something.

I was thinking that blogging once a week will allow me to formulate better posts.  Although many people have told me they love my pictures (when I get lucky enough to get something good), I feel guilty when I just post a photo and don't write anything to go with it.  And honestly, some days I have nothing to write, and those photos become fillers.  You don't hate me, right?

My idea was to start this thirteenth year, today, with a modified name ("The Rant" instead of "The Daily Rant") and a plan for a new posting schedule.  Once a week, twice a week, I'm not sure.  I do like offering past year's posts at the bottom of each day in case people wanted to delve into the archives,  and if I were to discontinue blogging daily, that would go away.  Of course, the archives are always available in the sidebar, but they wouldn't be right there for the clicking.

My head hurts.

I'm going to be very busy this week and since I haven't made an official announcement about the posting schedule, I will probably keep the daily thing for a while.  But, I will be working on changing that at some point.

Readers do have the ability to receive posts in their mailbox when they are posted.  You can sign up for that in the sidebar where it says "Subscribe To Me!".  And whether I post daily or weekly, you'll get the newest post via email so you don't miss a thing.

There may be things.  


If you feel compelled to give me your opinion, I will welcome any comments, suggestions, or criticism.  What do you like?  What do you not like?  Is there something specific I should focus on?  Whatever you think.  Let me know.  You can leave your input in the comments section or email me at salenalettera@gmail.com.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep marching on.  And if you're still with me, many thanks for sticking around for so long.  I'm thinking maybe this thirteenth year will be a lucky one.  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017: 
Twelve Years Of Flitting Around

2016: The Magnificent Eleven
2015: My Baby Is Ten Years Old
2014: A Contented Living
2013: Eight Takes The Cake
2012: Seven Years And Still Ranting
2011: Don’t Worry, Daily Rant. I’m On Your Six
2010: So This Is What Niche Feels Like
2009: The Sum Of Its Parts
2008: Look At Me, I’m Three!!
2007: A Trucking Style Birthday Celebration
2006: A Perfectly Uninteresting Event
2005: The Day The Blog Began

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmm... I have been reading you for a lot of years, first from Spain, now from Luxembourg. Only in a few times I have commented your posts, which I regret, since I guess interaction with the readers is a motivation for the blogger in order to keep writing.
I started reading you because I love driving in the USA, which I have done in several times during my vacations, but after all this time I found any your posts so amusing and interesting, doesn't matter the subject, even the family related posts, with your husband and mother's stories, your family pictures... Wow, it's very courageous by your side to expose yourself that way.
Anyway: I understand your fatigue, and honestly I couldn't tell you "hey, keep writing, please". So, my advice is: do whatever you want that makes you feel right with yourself. I will subscribe right now, and will read you when you want to publish. I only can be thankful for these years of amusing reading, and it wouldn't be fair to ask you for more.
I wish you and Ed the best.
Pablo.

Ed said...

I want to point out that Salena has been writing this blog every day for the readers. She doesn't make any money off of this blog worth keeping it going as an income source. There are rarely advertisers and of those few advertisers, there's hardly any monetary income. We have entertained courting advertisers, but didn't want to relinquish control of the blog to any one point of view. It would be greatly appreciated if her readers would provide some feedback and even spread the word about her writing and talents. I know she loves blogging, but it's pointless without her audience. We both greatly appreciate all of the readers, supporters, and friends that we've had the privilege of knowing over the last, can you believe it? 13 years now. I continue to be amazed at her resolve to keep this blog alive. It really has been a labor of love.

The Daily Rant said...

PABLO: Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I appreciate your readership and I love that you’ve read throughout your travels around the world. I have not had many commenters, but I can see from my stats that people are coming and I assume, reading. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the variety of posts. I’d like to keep writing daily and might keep that up for a while, so you’ll be getting posts in your email while that happens, and then you’ll also know if anything changes. I imagine that people outside of the U.S. might be curious – especially if they’ve never been here – about what our country looks like from coast to coast, border to border. Compared to smaller countries around the world, especially in Europe, we have a LOT to see. Thank you again for your continued support.

ED: I’ve already thanked you in person for this sweet comment. I appreciate your support and your help in making my blog possible. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to travel our great country and see all the places I’ve seen. You’ve made our time on the road a great adventure! 143.