porch talk

last week a roundtable discussion on the land of  blogworld had lots of folks shedding light on feelings of jealousy and comparison. while neither of these are issues for me, i understand where they come from and how natural it is to let these gremlins run amock. i think it is one of the best discussions circulating on blogs right now, creating a crack for more authenticity to shine through.

i did share sometime feelings of…yoohooo, anybody out there? and if you are could you leave a note in the mailbox here and there that i’ve felt from time to time (also very natural blogger feelings). however, i think it’s important to know that 95% of the time, i don’t think about this at all. i don’t follow stats, i have looked at them, when i started blogging someone helped me get going on twitter, fb, hootsuite and introduced me to the world of stats. but only when a friend who has been around from day one mentions “have your readers increased?” do i think of even going back to see. yes i would like people to read, yes i love hearing from readers, but not to the point where i want to be like another blog, to compare myself to another or be jealous because whatever blog has 20 bazillion readers.

i am not competitive by nature, i think this helps me greatly with the jealousy gremlins. i don’t look at a pretty shiny blog and think why does their house/hair/blog have this or that and i don’t. but i do think it’s a great opportunity to take whoever or whichever (in this case) makes those feelings stir, and turn the jealousy/comparison into inspiration. think of design*sponge for example, she probably has, well i don’t even know how many readers, but how unfair to compare yourself (or myself) to that blog, she’s been blogging for eight!!! years, i know i haven’t blogged a quarter of that yet, you? why compare a newborn to a grade schooler.

and as for the green eyed monster. i love other blogs for the opportunity to learn something, find something new, to be creatively inspired, and this is where my frustration in lack of original content came forth. the internet is this amazing media that i want to take full advantage of and what more fun way than blogs, but not if they’re all doing the same thing. if you feel jealous over another, look a little deeper to see what exactly you’re jealous of. i truly don’t believe we have the capacity to recognize something in someone else that we ourselves cannot achieve in our own way. i think if it were impossible for us, we wouldn’t recognize it to begin with. so if you feel jealous over your perception of someone let it instead fuel your fire to do more, to make changes. what is it that you really, really covet that they have or are doing and what can you do in your own life to incorporate or build towards that? as many have shared during this discussion what they portray and what lies behind the curtain are two different things anyway.

i’m not jealous and don’t compare myself to others because i have no desire to be like another blog out there. yes, it would be nice to have the success that some have reached, but i want it on my own terms. i don’t know what twists they are having to make to have that success, it may not be worth it to me if i knew what they had to do to get it. i have always valued time over money. would i like a big pile of cash? uh. yeah. do i want to work 100 hours a week for it. no. if that were the trade-off, i’d happily choose less moolah, more whatever-i-want-to-do time. a lot of people in this country that have a lot of money, work an enormous amount of time for it, and thereby sacrifice in many other areas of their lives. i don’t think it has to be that way necessarily but make sure you know what it is your coveting, it might not look so pretty if you could see the whole enchilada.

my goals for blogging have been very personal from day one. and one of my main objectives was always to be completely my own blog. i want to be original, authentic, share our story, our walk down the yellow brick lane. i can’t compare that to someone else because it’s mine, it’s ours. i want to share my unique take on things, our travels, our diy, our lives, it’s personal with the hope that some of what i/we share just might be beneficial in some way to someone else. i love having this little corner of the world and to be a part of the big, big world of bloggers. i work very hard on this blog, but it is driven by my desire to be happy with what i put out there. i’m more of a runner competing with myself and reaching personal goals than i am a team player trying to be as good or the same as the rest of the team. i’m working constantly to be the best i can be, to put forth good stuff that compliments other good stuff in cyberspace. i’m reaching for my personal best and love blogs that are doing the same. the good, successful blogs are just that for a reason. i dare say they have been reaching for new personal heights year after year to get where they are, and you too can reach your own best if you dig deep, and along the way, remember.. enjoy!

→ → → to see the original post that inspired this one, go here.

(photo)

Filed Under: porchtalk
Tagged: creature comforts blog, jealousy, porchtalk, things i'm scared to tell you *please & thank you* link back to us if you re-post something you see here. Comment »

blogland

there’s a little whirlwind in the blog-o-sphere this week. it’s all about authenticity and the portrayal of real life versus pretty blog life. i read about it on a blog i recently started following and love (go here to read), and it all got started here. do you have things pop up that have been percolating for awhile and then all of a sudden it’s everywhere? that’s what this was like for me, kind of.

i say kind of because i don’t really mind so much that blogs don’t share lots of daily stresses, tales of woe, i mean.. inspired over depressed right? (fyi – the challenge being put forth is to put less of a perfect shine on life and be more real) but, i am frustrated with the blog world all the same. a few things i’ve thought, but not shared (and kudos! to all that are sharing their thoughts too, a complete link list by ez of creature comforts, thanks for getting us all together!).

1. everyone gushes about how open and friendly the blog world is and how they’ve met TONS of other bloggers. uhmm… i’ve actually become good friends with one (maybe something about us both being tiffany/i’s), and have been surprisingly disappointed with responses or rather lack of responses from many. maybe stats have to be at a certain level before the responses flow? (and i’m referring to direct emails, etc.. not just general love your post comments) for example, i contacted a local blogger by email, introduced myself and asked if she would be interested in getting together for coffee, etc. and i got a one line response back saying that if she gets a group together in the future she would contact me. what? i was totally confused. but it was a response….

2. i am 100% behind doing your own thing on your blog, make it yours, create your own good stuff. BUT. and this has really been bothering me. i can’t tell you how many big time blogs shout to the rooftops about original content… i’m with you, with you, with you… until i see the same photo on 10 of said original content bloggers. and this past month i swear at least that many all had the original content of how great method brand cleaners are (i too love them, but this is not the point) and if not method, some other fabulous eco friendly cleaner. i am finding it hard to believe that all of these bloggers had this same, unique idea all in the same two week time span?

3. i’ve fallen.. i should stop, i’ve never been totally on board with facebook. it’s really not my thing, but i’d love to have people read some of my stuff and everyone says facebook!!! twitter!!! instagram!! flickr!! oh and the blog of course. where’s the blog in all of this? i actually am, very late into the game i might add, becoming more of a fan of twitter. but i just wonder could blogs be popular just through the actual blog? what about that?

4. i wish more people commented. it shouldn’t matter. but sometimes it does. and it’d be nice.

5. i’ll blog as long as i feel good about it, but sometimes i wonder if it’s worth it. most of the time i really enjoy it, but sometimes…. if it’s just me and three other people, maybe we should just facetime. (;

*** while these things might not seem scary to air, i’ve been completely shocked at how ruthless comments can be when cloaked in anonymity, and i don’t write my blog for debate. i’m trying to put good stuff out there, not trying to offend, and maybe, just maybe, even offer something helpful..and airing a less than bright eye on blogland, which i am a part of and want to continue to grow with, be kind is all i can say. please & thank you***

→ → to read the follow up post to this, click here..

Filed Under: everyday // bits & pieces
Tagged: backtalk, creature comforts blog, make under my life blog, things i'm afraid to tell you *please & thank you* link back to us if you re-post something you see here. Comment »