Hey folks, I hope things are going well for you – whatever you’ve been up to.
I’ve seriously been struggling with this blogging business over the last couple of months. The number of posts I’ve started and not finished has been dramatically higher than it used to be.
The issue I think is not knowing what I want to do with this space. I mean, if I am going to keep an active blog I want it to serve some purpose.
I’m a bit unsure right now what that purpose should be.
Here are some questions I’ve been asking myself related to this.
- Should I be blogging about personal stuff?
- Should I be blogging about work?
- Should I be blogging about personal projects?
- Should I be blogging about photography stuff?
- Should I even be blogging?
I haven’t figured out what I want my blog here to be about.
Do you have any thoughts?
Let me expound on a couple of the previous things. Maybe as I process the thing of writing about these I’ll find some kind of clarity going forward.
Personal Stuff
What does personal stuff even mean?
The first thing that comes to my mind is my new diet. That’s pretty personal. I hate knowing that I should lose weight… and then struggling to stick to anything when it comes to diet and exercise.
I’ve been on the slow carb diet for two weeks and have lost 7 or 8 pounds. It’s a good start, but I’ve got a way to go.
The second thing that I think about when it comes to personal stuff is my struggle to figure out the spiritual end of my life. I mean I know a lot of the basics of what I believe, yet I have a lot of questions.
I suppose either of those two things could make for interesting and possibly helpful blog posts.
The Work Angle
The thing about work, at least the work that I’m doing right now, is that it is quite repetitive.
Learn about a project. Dissect how I’ll need to approach the testing part of it. Test it. Approve it. Deploy it.
I guess some general knowledge things around making work, work could be interesting? Maybe…
Or maybe I should turn the blog into a Jira and Confluence “how to” blog! <~~ Not doing that… 🙂
What Personal Projects?
For the past seven months or so I’ve been slowly building another site/blog related to WordPress stuff. Specifically overview and setup screen captures surrounding plugins and themes.
If you go over to ImagineWP right now you’ll see that I posted a couple of weeks ago and that was the first one for a long while. So… maybe it would seem like it wasn’t much of a “current” project.
What doesn’t show up is that I’ve been doing a lot of things behind the scenes and will be creating more content more frequently going forward.
So I’m beginning to build something of a community/following around WordPress, maybe there would be some blog posts relating to that kind of stuff that could be beneficial to “the world at large.”
The Taking of the Photograph
I’ve found myself falling back in love again with the click of the shutter on a camera.
Still photography is the same incredible experience that it has always been. There is simply nothing more amazing than being outside around sunrise looking for subjects and good light.
Of course the cool part is that once an image is captured it can be turned into something else once I get back to my computer and Lightroom and Photoshop and OnOne software and Nik software. That’s one of the funnest parts for me.
Another side of things that I’ve been digging into some more recently is the moving image process. Video. It’s a whole different animal and the learning curve has been nothing short of brutal. I’m not super confident in my video capabilities yet… but it’s getting better!
Should I Even Blog?
Is it weird that I am writing on my blog about not being sure if I should blog?
Does a blog really need to have a direction?
Blogging is a lot life… sometimes.
Conclusion
At any rate. That’s pretty much all I have to say tonight.
It’s fun to type and put down words.
I’d love to hear what you think I should blog about. What would you like to hear/read about?
Maybe I should take up writing fiction… “Once upon a time there was a young fellow. He was struggling to figure out what to blog about… so he went on a diet, worked at a university, started a side project and took more pictures… and then he blogged about the fact that he wasn’t sure what to blog about…”
pam j says
I think you began by asking yourself. And that *is* a good place to start. You won’t be able to please everyone though. I enjoy your pictures, reading about your church and family life, even positive steps you are taking in your personal life because it is encouraging. You could attempt fiction I guess, but only if you like that . I believe you going to work each day etc.. Is non fiction.
Eldon Yoder says
Thanks for the feedback Pam,
I do find that writing things like this blog post does help me to think through my options and “break things down…” I’m not sure that I always end up at the right place but it is one of my favorite ways to process how I really think or feel about something.
As you said, I won’t be able to please everyone, and I don’t think I really want to. However I do want to write about and share things that are at least relevant to “some people.”
The fiction thing is something that I’ve toyed with in my head but probably am not going to pursue… I don’t think I’m really good at fiction writing at all, but I did always enjoy the “I’ll give you a sentence and you write about it for 5 minutes” exercises that my high school teacher gave us. They weren’t overly brilliant but they were fun to write.
Not sure where all this will go, but I do want to try to take it somewhere. I think.
Again, thanks for the comment…
Clifford Ambers says
Maybe the question isn’t what you should be blogging about but rather “what is the point of having a blog?” In the cliche’ LinkedIn lingo, “what is the goal of your blog?” If it is to stay in touch with your network, we really don’t care what it is about. We like to hear from you. If it is to develop and promote your “personal brand” (puke me out, I know), then you have to have a vision for that and stay on that track all the time, unwaveringly, and frequently. You’ll have to find all the latest “trends” that relate to your “brand” and bandwagon on all those as much as possible to “get hits” to grow your “network of followers.” Sounds like an awful lot of time in front of a monitor that might be better spent in the fresh air with family and friends. Soldier on!
Eldon Yoder says
Hey Clifford,
That’s exactly what I’m struggling with for sure. In the past its been pretty clear what my blog was “about…” It was all about photography at one point. At another point it was about updating friends and family. More recently I was hoping to position myself for an entry into a technical career.
Now I’m not sure where to go with it, but I think I’m starting to lean towards working at it from the angle of keeping in touch with my network.
Hope all is well with you!
Timothy says
To me, writing about what I know comes a lot easier, than writing about something I know nothing at all about.
I enjoy writing. I love poetry. I love fiction. I love capturing photos of sunrise, sunset, and like the painter John Constable I love pictures with sky and clouds.
For me to write about machine shop or small engine repair, I could not do. I think others whom know me well enough would not expect it.
I read, write, and take pictures. I think that ye have plenty to write about. I enjoy what ye have done with thy blog thus far.
What should ye do? That would be the same as if I ask’d thee: What do ye think I should do with my blog? First ye would have to look into it, read posts, and then, since ye know me, leave suggestions. That is all I could do for thee, only I do not think there is a thing I could ask ye to include. Unless it be poetry!
So, do not worry. Eliminate stress, as I need to periodically, and press onward. Be encouraged. Be happy in God our Father. Then as Martin Rinkart so well writ:
Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
God be with thee!
Eldon Yoder says
Thanks for the comment and encouragement Tim…