My Top 5: The Return to Blogging

Content creation can be a strange thing; since the spread of social media (jeez, that phrasing makes it sound pandemic-adjacent), it has been easy to use blogs and other platforms to experiment, hone our communications skills, or simply to express ourselves. I never gave in to the “I’m going to be a blogebrity” (yeah, that was a word adult humans used at one point) craze but I got over the fear that nobody wants to read my musings (fact check: nobody wants to read my musings) to publish regularly over the years- just to do it.

This blog has survived so many upheavals in that time, from the extreme changes in public relations and social media tools and practices to the increased sophistication and variety of publishing platforms, to the whimsical decision by Google to update Analytics – for the better, but it did reek of Google wanting to throw some steep learning curves at people who were getting complacent (or something like that- maybe they just get antsy if they haven’t sunsetted a product in a while).

Why did I stop blogging? Upheaval. I took on jobs in new industries where I felt more student than expert (a good thing, but no excuse to be holding off here); the pandemic changed our priorities, in life and employment; and I spent a little time educating myself on the intricacies of the medical industry.

All that stops now; based on a survey sample of 0, nobody told me I shouldn’t start blogging again, so I will take that as a mandate. To keep some sort of continuity, I revert to my favorite “Top 5” format, and refine a post I put up on LinkedIn last week about the pros and cons of stopping and starting a blog. Upcoming posts will look at more current issues and trends in communications, as in the past. So, just to get things warmed up…

Top 5 Reasons I Stopped Blogging (2)….

1. Burnout: writing just for my own benefit (and a few site visitors who clearly got lost on the Internet) takes time and energy. Sometimes you just need to recharge, though I was alarmed it has been five years; the last several years have simply been crazy for all of us. I shall, however, refuse to call this phenomenon “blogxiety.”
2. Career Shift: I call BS on myself for this one. I got over the transition to working in SEO to keep writing years ago; I stuck with what I knew best, rather than pretending to be an SEO expert, and it was fine! (I wasn’t so bad at SEO either, particularly the content side– take that, imposter syndrome!)

and Compelling Reasons to Return (3)

1. It’s simply the best way to keep sharp: forcing oneself to produce keeps the mind sharp, and begets more productivity in other areas of life and work. It’s not about getting audience (though it can be) or making money on a blog or other platform (again, knock yourself out, influencer), but it is motivating, regardless of the outcomes.
2. Over the years, I have found this the best way to keep up on trends in my chosen profession; I force myself to actively seek out articles, and comment on new tools and trends (or make fun of them; that’s my prerogative). I have some catching up to do; during my self-exile, we have seen the rise of AI as a common tool, the continued trend in hyperlocal news, and a bunch of other stuff I need to force myself to find articles about. (By the way, I came across the image in this blog post by experimenting with different basic AI image generators. The image came with no attribution if there is any source material it drew from– I was just looking for a generic representation of a frustrated writer, so it did the job).
3. Confidence-Building: I refer, of course, to summoning the strength and gravitas to once again take up the fight against calling a “blog post” a “blog.” This is a hill I will fall ill on (not worth dying for).

More to come