imagine a different world.

Currently, there are 28 definitions for blog on Google. As evidenced by these various definitions, a blog is many things to many different people. These days, everyone has a blog no matter if they are 8 or 80. Grandmother’s have blogs. Kids have blogs. Companies have blogs. Everyone has something to say that they want to share with the rest of the world. The problem is how do you get the world to listen? That is the million dollar question and the one I am just starting to ponder.

There are people who blog about their day and what they did, such as going to the grocery store and buying milk. Honestly, who wants to read that? I don’t and have never wanted my blog to be like that. I have wanted it to have at least some universal appeal so that people who don’t necessarily know me could read it and not become bored.

I have had this blog for awhile now, dating back to 2006 when I signed up because I wanted to have a place to share my thoughts. I didn’t care about traffic or random people reading; I just wanted somewhere to vent. Then, somehow over the years, this blog began to grow into something more than just a sounding board for my feelings. I updated the look of imagine a different world, moving away from the default design to something a little different. I have started the A Photo A Day project where I post personal photos and behind the scene stories for everyone to see and read. I am moving away from the daily posts about my personal life and have begun branching out into politics and movies among other topics.

This is where I return to my original question: how do I get people to read my blog? Better yet, what do I want this blog to be about? There are much better blogs out there about technology, politics, news, sports and so much more. I could and will never compete with those blogs so why even bother? I need to find my personal voice, a specific angle that I want to take on that will make people come back for more.

I believe I have begun to find that elusive voice with my last post, Inspired. People read this post and although they didn’t comment here, they did comment via IM. It wasn’t many, just a few, but it was something. According to one friend, It had that universal appeal I am looking for, searching for. It was timely and only somewhat personal enough that made it interesting. It wasn’t too long but it wasn’t too short. In between all the words, as I said, was my voice starting to ooze out onto the proverbial page.

That is all well and good but where do I go from here? Am I going to stick to writing only about politics? No. I don’t know enough to be interesting or dangerous. I have thought about having a weekly blog entry that I set aside to “my voice.” For instance, every Sunday I would write something new on a myriad of topics so that people know when to check back for something new, something interesting. However, there a few issues with that. One, I don’t really like schedules and am not sure how long I would stick to it. Two, what happens if I have something to write on Wednesday, do I hold it until Sunday? And what happens if I have nothing to write on Sunday, do I force it and write something boring and mundane?

I think the answer, for now, is to go forward with a free-flowing schedule…write something when an idea hits me. I will still have my updates with the A Photo A Day project and maybe some boring personal posts, but mixed in with all of that will be my voice, just waiting to be heard. Hopefully there will be someone on the other end, listening…

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...