You know how people are always talking about cutting back on caffeine? Well, sometimes I think I should increase my caffeine intake. I don’t drink coffee, but I do drink black tea every morning. Some mornings I have two cups of tea, and then I feel the buzz! This morning I had a little extra time, so I sat in Starbucks, drinking tea and working on a blog post.
It was incredible! Profound and philosophical. Just think, if I actually drank coffee– I would turn into a genius!
OR, an insufferable bore. Later on when I read the post I was like “Um…. what?” I couldn’t figure out how to put it together in a coherent post. Sigh! The second-to-last day of NaBloPoMo is like when you’re doing an interval workout at the track- the penultimate lap is always the hardest.
So in lieu of an “amazing” post full of deep thoughts, I present you with some questions.
Would you continue to blog if no one was reading?
I wouldn’t. I guess it would be nice to have an online journal, but for me the real satisfaction is in the connection with other bloggers. The same way I wouldn’t do my own version of NaBloPoMo in July- the fun is that we’re all doing it together.
How are you feeling about NaBloPoMo ending?
I’m guessing most people feel the same as I do- sad, but relieved. I’ll miss it- I’ve been loving all the daily posts. But I’m tired! I want to just curl up on the couch and binge watch episodes of “Christmas Cookie Challenge.” Or, finally finish the book I started three weeks ago.
If you’re a non-blogger (hi Ashley!) or someone who reads but doesn’t comment, would you say hi in the comment section?
I would love to hear from you!
I’ll be back tomorrow for NaBloPoMo2023 wrap-up!
Header photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
30 Responses
I agree SO MUCH with your NaBloPoMo sentiments, and I know exactly the coffee buzz feelings you describe 🙂
Yep, I’m pretty sure we all have the same feelings about this month ending!
Thanks for the shoutout 🙂 that’s actually part of the reason why I stopped blogging — I had previously had a great community of fellow bloggers with my old blogs but then many of them stopped posting and when I started my new blog I didn’t get any comments so it just didn’t feel the same. But now I’m tempted to start again because this community seems so supportive!
Seriously, Ashley- if you started blogging again you would have an instant AWESOME community. I really think you should- you would have all sorts of interesting stories to tell about your trail running in Arizona, and your ultras. I know I want to hear about it!!!!!
If I ever cut back on caffeine, you should probably check on my family. They will not be okay.
How am I feeling about NaBloPoMo ending? To be honest, it’s been really hard for me to keep up this year and I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of posts. And I haven’t even been participating in the writing part! In my defense I have a big project on the go and there are just so many hours in a day, you know? But points for trying.
Would I continue to blog if no one was reading? For me blogging is yes, community, but also it’s a huge creative outlet for me. I love crafting posts. (“crafting,” like I am a Serious Writer or something). But I do, I do like writing something fun and entertaining, and I like connecting with community. So I’d probably still blog but it would be a sad situation, not having the community!
Nicole, you have been an AWESOME reader and commenter all month long! I know we all really appreciate it. Now I’m interested to hear about this big project you have…
“If I ever cut back on caffeine, you should probably check on my family. They will not be okay.”
Cue hysterical laughter from Elisabeth 🙂
I always enjoy your blog posts so I will miss them.
Relieved that I only post 3x a week…
If I am home working – only one cup of coffee but if I’m working outside the home and pass Starbucks, there’s a stop.
Oh, you won’t be rid of me that easily! I’ll still be here 3x a week, same as you. Thanks for reading and commenting all month!
I like having fresh content to read daily, so I will miss that… but I am also having a really hard time keeping up with everyone’s posts. And I’m struggling to come up with anything to say these last few days!
I would definitely still write even if people weren’t commenting, but it would be less satisfying, I think.
Yes, I will miss having tons to read EVERY SINGLE DAY. It did get a little overwhelming though- I couldn’t keep up. I can always go back and read some of the posts I missed though.
I’m like Nicole – check on Phil and the kids if I cut back on caffeine. 😉
About 3 years ago, I was blogging with very very very few people reading. I still blogged because it was just part of my routine and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. It was kind of a sad stage of blogging, though, and I feel more invigorated now that I have a bigger community of people to interact with now. A lot of what i write about it capturing this fleeting stage of life, though, so it still serves it’s purpose. Like I just went back and read the posts from when Taco had RSV last fall to see if that was worse than our current illness or similar? It was not worse/similar. But yesterday I took him to the doctor and he has the beginning stage of pneumonia so yah, this is worse. But my memory of last fall was so foggy that it was helpful to get some clues on the path of that illness.
Yes, you’re in a special phase of life- I regret that I didn’t keep a journal or something when my kids were little. And what is this- pneumonia? You guys really can’t catch a break! I hope he’s feeling better soon.
I blogged for YEARS without anyone reading. Honestly, it’s delightful to have a record of that time in my life, even though there was no engagement. But I can see how it would be defeating for some people.
I’m sad about the end of NaBloPoMo. I love having so many new posts when I open up my reader in the morning. Although, maybe I’ll be more productive in my life without it!
Ha ha… I’ll definitely miss all the content, but I’ll be way more productive in my life!
I guess I’m not sure. I feel like I could view it from two sides: one, if I knew people were reading but no one ever commented or two, literally no one was reading. I think in the case of the second, I’m not sure it would be as fulfilling at all; it would basically be a private journal. While I do think I mostly blog “for myself”- to keep records of things like our trips, for the creative outlet, for the fun of it, etc- there is a certain satisfaction that comes with knowing maybe someone out there is relating to what I wrote, or smiling, or nodding along. Now, if I could see from stats that people were reading it but NO ONE ever commented, I guess I might continue, because like I said, I do really enjoy it. And at least I’d know that “someone” in the great big out there was consuming my content.
But it is definitely more fun to have at least some engagement with readers. I do feel bad when I don’t have time to comment always on blog posts that I read… but sometimes I find it reassuring, actually. That I am reading someone’s blog and NOT commenting yet I’m still really enjoying that person’s content. This probably means there are people out there who are reading MY blog and not commenting/interacting and still are enjoying it.
Also, think about more journalist style writers… they often publish posts or articles and there isn’t even an option for commenting. And they still write. I actually knew a guy who turned the comment feature off on his blog as he just wanted to focus on his own writing and putting out content, without worrying about if people would comment or not, or like it or not. He just wanted to keep it simple. So I guess it’s different for everyone. When I first started blogging there were not many people reading or commenting, and I think I get less comments in general than some others do (likely because I simply do not have time at this stage to comment on so many other blogs, and like it or not, I feel like blogging does have a bit of a tit-for-tat culture within it (people who comment on tons of blogs often tend to receive lots of comments in return). No? OR maybe I just do not produce as much comment-worthy content. LOL). But either way, I am happy that I get enough engagement and interaction at least that I feel connected with a bunch of other people and it feels very fulfilling on the whole.
Okay, so many good points here. You’re right- if I knew people were reading but not commenting, it would still be satisfying- although not quite as much fun as having the interaction in the comment section. BUT, I agree- sometimes people are commenting mostly to get people to comment on THEIR blogs (or at least partly) and if they were reading but NOT commenting, then you would know they have no ulterior motive… I feel like this is getting really complicated but you know what I mean.
Caffeine is everything. Now mind you I limit myself to one cup of coffee a day, but the size of the cup may vary. My body doesn’t register tea as having caffeine.
I think I would blog if no one was reading? I mean, that’s kind of what it was like from 2011 to 2018 so I’d just be returning to my roots. But that doesn’t mean that I want to give up our community. Also I think “blog like no one’s reading” is great writing advice.
NaBloPo has made me realize that I don’t have a good blog reading “slot” in my schedule anymore. It will be easier to stay on top of the bloggies once NaBloPo is over, but at the same time I don’t want the daily posts to stop! Oh well.
Yep, I feel the same way. I won’t feel so overwhelmed, but also will miss the glut of blog posts!
I continued to blog when I was down to 2 regular readers (Ally and Nance!) for a long time, but my posts were REALLY infrequent. Sometimes I would post a couple of times a week, sometimes I would go a month or two without posting anything. I was reinvigorated by my trip to France last year, and then by finding San’s NaBloPoMo group via Engie commenting on my blog several times. So if I had zero readers? I suspect I would hang it up. But I do really like going back and looking at the snapshot of my life, since I’ve been blogging for so long (2005)
I feel like San really invigorated a lot of bloggers by promoting NaBloPoMo! She deserves a huge thank you.
same feelings…. sad and relieved. it was a fun ride though.
I love the smell of coffee so I’d just drink it many times a day, sometimes decaf to moderate caffeine consumption.
I want to like coffee so much, but I don’t like the taste! I’ve tried… blech.
Well, I don’t have a caffeine problem. Don’t drink coffee or tea, just (*sips diet coke*)… what? No, don’t take my caffeinated cola drinks, I need them… my… preciousssssss…
ahem.
Moving on,
Would you continue to blog if no one was reading?
Yeah, but it definitely would take the wind out of my sails a bit. I started blogging a couple of decades ago and it was a lot of fun to share the dialog with friends about what we were doing in our lives. Then Twitter, Facebook and all got popular and so many people stopped blogging that it was just me writing my journal for the sake of having a personal journal. It’s been fun to feel that interaction again with this NaBloPoMo and get to know new blogger friends.
How are you feeling about NaBloPoMo ending?
You put it well: “sad but relieved”; complicated but true. It’s been good to get back into blogging more regularly, and I hope I can keep the momentum going, although I won’t pretend that will mean posting every single day. That’s a tough pace to keep going. But I’m glad I made it through to the end this time.
I feel like I started blogging at such a great time. There seems to have been a real invigoration in the “art” and I really lucked out with the timing.
I think at this point it would be hard to keep going without readers/commenters. The feedback does mean a lot to me, but I think that I appreciate the DEPTH of the comments I receive. Like it really feels like the comments (and e-mails behind-the-scenes, WhatsApp messages etc) go beyond just hello! I read your post. Some of the “big blogs” have a very sterile feel in the comment section. But I feel like in Cool Bloggers Club, it is like…giant, ongoing conversations. Where we talk about how we wash our face and what we ate for breakfast and our favourite oatmeal toppings…but also how hard parenting can be, the loss of a parent/pet, mental health challenges etc.
Without THAT engagement, I think I would stop. I love writing and I really do write the posts that I “want to read” and primarily look at it as an audience of one (myself), BUT…knowing how rich and wonderful the community is now I think if that all evaporated I’d stop writing online and just start a newsletter or keep up with my blogging friends offline?!
I’m also sad but relieved about NaBloPoMo. Plus, I tend to blog 5x a week, so it’s not a huge shift for me to be done, but I just gave up trying to keep up with everyone very early on. Can’t do it and that’s okay!
I’m sad NaBloPoMo is ending! I haven’t been able to comment much but have loved all the posts – it’s been nice hearing more “random” things from you and about your life. I found your blog last year through NaBloPoMo so now I’ve read it for a year! 🙂
I would not blog if no one is reading. I think I keep my blog 70% for me to remember things later and 30% for others, but without the other people reading I wouldn’t do it at all.
I have a (somewhat) private German blog that is more like a day-to-day diary and I usually don’t get comments over there although I do know that my Mom and sister read it regularly. And I do like to have it as a personal journal. So yes, I would probably keep blogging even if I didn’t get any comments, but of course the community on my regular blog is really what makes blogging so special (especially in the last few years with more genuine bloggers that have come together!).
Thanks for being such an integral part of that.
I would still blog without readers. While the community is what makes this stage of blogging so much fun, I’ve had a lot of years where I didn’t have any readers or maybe just my mom was reading (lol). And, for me, blogging is a creative outlet and that’s the main reason I blog. But damn, my life would be so much less rich without all of you amazing bloggers to lift me up and support me!
I AM SO GLAD NABLOPOMO IS OVER. Haha. It was so nice to not have to worry about writing a post for these last few days. I loved doing it, will do it in 2024, but it’s always kinda nice when a challenge is over.
I would blog even no one was reading. For years I think San was the only one who ever left a comment.
Of course having a community is so much more fun. And I love everyone coming to stop by my space.
I am sad NaBloPoMo is over but also I feel I can finally get some things done again.
I’m a non blogger who only very occasionally comments. I do enjoy all these blogs, though! I hate the Instagram format for trying to post blog-length posts. It just seems like not the right format for that.