PEOPLE TELL YOU NOT TO POST CONTROVERSIAL OR PROVACATIVE IDEAS ON FACEBOOK

This is something that I want you to remember: the next time someone tells you not to post a controversial or provocative Facebook post or the next time they chide you “Facebook is not the place”, you can remind them of this:

Nobody (or, almost no one) reads a dense non-fiction book to completion. They skip around or don’t finish it.
Fewer people are reading lengthy articles on the internet of any kind.
Fewer people are reading at all.
When people are “reading” they’re usually scrolling and capturing quick, short bits of information in a hurry.

The next thing you can mention is the EVIDENCE STRONGLY SUGGESTS that people spend LOTS of time hovering over and READING comments from various Facebook posters/accounts, especially if the posts are intriguing, controversial or even just slightly provocative.

I’m not talking about near nudity or explicit posts that generate the SAME kind of expected commentary. I’m referring to written posts that nudge people to read and then respond with their own intellectual take or perhaps push back with a logical and fact based retort. People are often considering all the other comments before posting their own. They don’t want to sound like they’re just repeating the same thing but have taken the time to think about the various comments and have arrived at a slightly nuanced angle. In other words, they END UP SPENDING MORE TIME on that post with lots of comments.

People are naturally curious. People also don’t always have the time to plow through a dense book that may be regarded as controversial. But somehow Facebook analytics and all the research we have until now suggests that people DO spend quite a bit of time in comment sections. If they’re not actively responding, their passively reading. And posts that make a person think for a moment will always generate more engagement, more time spent on that post.

This nonsense BS that FACEBOOK IS NOT THE PLACE TO POST SOME IDEA is NOT backed by evidence or what people are ACTUALLY engaged by or act upon. By far, Facebook is the place because people are more likely to be actively scrolling through Facebook than to be flipping through the pages of book–even if the book is controversial or engaging.

We need to rethink the common phrase “Facebook is not the place”. If you’re a digital creator, Facebook is most certainly the place. Of course you can lose followers but your reach directly expands for potential new followers or friends. Also, the algorithm constantly takes notes. It sees beyond quick likes where people scroll past rapidly vs. people hovering and reading and actually being fully immersed in a post or a string up comments below the post–even if they don’t click “like”.

I recently discovered that length of time spent is a STRONGER INDICATOR of reach and engagement than likes. Someone won’t like your post but they’ll hover over it and spend their precious time on it anonymously. Always remember that. The algorithm knows.

So if you have any interest in success measures like MAKING MONEY $$$$$$ or building a FOLLOWING in the digital sphere, you’ll need to rethink these overused expressions that really don’t have any bearing on reality.

SOCIAL MEDIA “CREATOR TYPES” ADVANTAGE!

The SOCIAL MEDIA SPHERE may already be saturated with accounts.

Here are a few things to remember while you’re vying for presence, subscribers, followers, noticeability, views and engagement:

It will always be easier to CLICK and SCROLL and CONSUME than to CREATE and to create regularly.

There will always be MORE PEOPLE in the population willing to waste several minutes of their day (and from the research literature, SEVERAL HOURS) scrolling than several minutes CREATING. Always. This is a fact. The most rudimentary fact of human nature is probably our tendency towards ease. We have an entire country filled with health problems and obesity, not bodybuilders. And most of this can be attributed towards our human tendency towards relaxation, comfort and often laziness.

Humans choose the easier path. This is good otherwise we wouldn’t have invented technology in the first place. But this is also good for YOU because it means that you as a content creator or blog-post writer or aspiring influencer have a distinct advantage.

Remember, you want to create. You LOVE the process, the act of creating both physical items and digital items. You’re spurred not solely by gaining some kind of number or position but simply by the fact that you love the creative flow you experience while making anything. You know what this feels like. You’ve done it before. You know how much better you feel after you’ve put in some effort. Sure, you’re flawed. Sure, other people will notice too, but you’re on this creative trajectory.

Think of it like this: some people try to acquire a college education for the sake of getting good grades or simply for the high paying career at the end. Other folks pursue education because they enjoy amassing tangible and abstract truths about the world. They love the interplay between disparate things. They love the “Aha moment” when they discover a useful link with something they’ve learned. They learn because they know it enriches their character, performance and intelligence. Learning becomes a long-term life goal.

In the same way, creator types who want to create and have that instinctive drive to create, are not motivated by gaining a following or establishing some kind of internet notoriety or making lots of money.

While it may be fun to track your progress and to see the views you’re getting, it’s even more fun to jump back into the act of creating, producing and synthesizing relatable ideas.

As much as I try to take a break from posting on various social media platforms, I find myself inexorably compelled to create and post whether it is my art attempts, my woodworking creations, my decorations, my gardening activities, my children’s summer fun moments etc.

I enjoy the process of making original stories on Facebook or composing short reels. I like posting on my ART facebook page. I like wrestling with my thoughts in my blog. I like attempting Shorts on Youtube every-once-in-a-while. I have an entirely separate blog where I posted philosophical ideas for YEARS and it has almost 300,000 views but only 98 subscribers. And, while I haven’t posted there for over a decade, I’m still gaining views! My 2009 posts are still getting views.

If the above felt relatable, you know you’re certainly a “creator type” and you have an edge already. You have intrinsic motivation and nothing can ever take that away because you’ve felt it too many times before. You notice you spend hours making things but only minutes (or less) scrolling. If that’s you, YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!

Think of all the BIG content creators out there. Do you think they spend a ton of time or effort scrolling through other people’s content? My guess is RARELY. They’re going to have to spend tons of their time working on, editing and thinking about THEIR NEXT PIECE OF CONTENT. It becomes a constant pursuit for them. And believe me, when they start to grow, it’s even more time consuming. So NO, they’re NOT SPENDING VERY MUCH TIME SCROLLING. I can guarantee where they’re spending their moments. They spend their time thinking about their projects and tossing around ideas for their next one.

The only thing you need to do is to convert SOME OF THAT TIME STARING AT YOUR PHONE BRIEFLY ON THOSE BIG ACCOUNTS TOWARDS directly working on your own projects. It’s a habit that you must inculcate into your brain. If you’re going to spend any time in the social media sphere, always do it for you!

HAVE JUST ONE HIGH PERFORMING BLOG POST!!!

Did you know that just ONE HIGH PERFORMING BLOG POST ON YOUR BLOG can significantly impact your blog’s success in terms of Google search? Even if you have 50, 150 or even 500 LAME BLOG POSTS and only ONE of them is doing well, your blog will be ranked higher than other blogs. This means people are more likely to discover your blog in the long run.

Let’s reiterate: Never underestimate the power of just ONE high performing blog post. This happened to me a few years ago. I continually reap the benefits of that one single post. Everyday I’m getting views and blog traffic from simply having one high performance entry. People stumble on my blog via that one post…often, they check out other posts. That one post has served as a hook– and it’s become very effective for my blog, overall. After some research, I learned that this is a strategy that most of the prominent bloggers have used to attract a steady stream of viewers. These individuals have taken steps to further their “brand” with books, YouTube videos, podcasts or various items related to their theme that they can ultimately MONETIZE.

When you have a blog, you want at least one GOTCHA POST where people spend some time. It doesn’t matter if you have a ton of content that doesn’t resonate with very many people or if they’re thinking MEH. BORING. We all have that experience WITH EVERY BLOG OUT THERE.

All you need is one high performing post. Additionally, you will need several other blog posts on your blog to establish your presence as a blogger—at least in terms of Google’s analytics and algorithm; this will help you stand out compared to other blogs. Those posts don’t have to yield a ton of engagement time or views. Just make your blog appear active, current and make certain it has some content.

Try to post at least twice a month. Make sure you’re writing posts in your own words! People can easily copy and paste your writing into an AI to determine if you’re legit or if you’re simply regurgitating copy and paste blocks of text from another AI generator. This tool is called AI Detector, and more and more people and companies are using these detectors to screen out computer generated writing from REAL human generated writing.

Something else I recently learned? Did you know that if you’re simply copying and pasting swaths of text from an AI generator, you’ll be NATURALLY PUSHED DOWN IN GOOGLE’s SEARCH ALGORITHM? YEP! The entire purpose of blogging is for humans to struggle with their thoughts, emotions and inner experiences–and TO WRITE THEM DOWN. Blogging is by definition the BLOGGERS THINKING. It’s your own thinking…what you’re currently learning and how you’re dealing with it. Writing is a wrestling act with your own thoughts and emotions and coming up with solutions in the form of WORDS. AI generators will not have the same human touch, that similar finesse with human experiences and situations in the human would. AI written content is quickly identified by complex computer algorithms and it’s pushed down in search. But if you’re a blogger you naturally adore the writing process, so this won’t be an issue for you! You’ll use AI to help you fully understand phenomena or learn the definitions of words and ways to improve your grammar. You won’t dump a bolus of text on a page constructed from another entity.

As you start to blog and write regularly, you’ll notice that you’re improving both your writing and thinking skills. You’re also developing a habit of writing! You’ll feel that surge of dopamine as you can both use your words to influence others and to simultaneously provide information about various topics. These topics INTEREST YOU. So, you’ll be motivated to learn and then watch and see if anyone else happens to enjoy your interests as well. You get to learn and write, learn and write! It feels like you’re building a memorable tower of knowledge that even you will go back to from time to time.

Anyone, even a SINGLE PERSON SPENDING TIME ON YOUR BLOG FACTORS INTO THE METRIC OF ENGAGEMENT. If they happen to find your blog and then leave quickly, this prices into the calculation called BOUNCE RATE. A blogs bounce rate is how fast someone finds your blog and then leaves after visiting one page. When your blog has a HIGH BOUNCE RATE it means visitors are not finding what they’re interested in. They’re less engaged so they leave after one shot. Google’s algorithm will lower your blog’s presence in search. Fewer people will find your blog. You have fewer chances of getting big. You have fewer chances of reaping any money.

In my opinion, The BREAD AND BUTTER of BLOGS are VIEWS. Not subscribers, not followers. These come and go. It’s easy to get into an emotional tither when people leave or unsubscribe. You express a political or religious view and people leave. You say something dumb. You get boring. You feel awful when you lose followers and your motivation dips. You stop writing and creating.

But views? Daily views are a signal that your blog is still providing relevant content to those asking questions on various search engines/platforms. Keep track of your daily views and let that inspire you! That’s been my main go-to in term of motivation for blogging. At least I’m getting views, even if not from loyal followers or subscribers. At least the algorithm is favoring my blog and engagement is UP!

You can let people go their way if they decide, but getting random views REGULARLY simply by speaking your mind will give you the impetus to keep going…to keep writing. Why would you want to be a slave to AUDIENCE CAPTURE? This is the phenomenon when a content creator starts to feel anxiety because they have to fulfill the expectations and interests of their audience. They become trapped. As a blogger you know you need A TON OF CONTENT TO GET NOTICED. How can you continually generate content that ALWAYS reflects the interests of your followers?

You can’t have it both ways. Either you generate a ton of content on various topics where you’re shrill and vocal–some that makes you lose active followers OR, you focus solely on what you think your readers WANT TO HEAR. Don’t do that! Be yourself. If you’ve created one momentous blog post, you’ll still be discoverable. There are so many fish in the sea and there’s way more to gain than lose if you keep presenting YOUR OWN VIEWS.

Cheers to blogging and creating that ONE POST that gets you noticed! You’ll get YEARS of success from that one single blog post.

FINDING CREATIVITY

Having everything done on my to-do list and my feet resting flat on the floor is becoming the trick to ushering in the expansion of my creativity. I’m whittling stuff off my to-do list. I’m simultaneously realizing I don’t need to keep taking expensive college courses that interfere with my life. I’m focusing more on my children and anything that truly piques my interest.

Nursing school was fine. I did it! I got my RN. Truthfully, nursing isn’t something I think I can be good at as a profession. There’s just too many demands at the same time. You’re never done. People fall and you have to catch their bodies. I’ve worked with nurses who are still undergoing physical therapy themselves due to catching falling patients. Working in a nursing home taught me that. I only did it because my Grandmother chided me for pursuing an Esthetician license saying “Do something real! Do something that’s actually useful!” So, I took on nursing. Now, I have both a nursing (RN) degree and an Esthetician license. Since graduating in December of 2014, I’ve only had a couple nursing jobs and a few volunteering positions.

I’ve SLOWLY and recently released the grips my ego has over me. My ego seems to want more college education–to go further! My EGO wants me to forge a path ahead and grab ambition and accomplishment and knowledge and squeeze their products into a pitcher as one squeezes lemons for the delicious result of lemonade. Like everyone else, I seek the same applause from effortful pursuits. There is another desire I’m finding… to see creativity unfold.

But…I’m realizing if it’s not for the sake of creativity itself, it is just a vain attempt to build a greater self-empire. The ego wants to behold itself and showcase all of what it’s done.

No longer. I want to exemplify creativity and seek creative pursuits in all their forms for the sake of creativity itself. Not for money, or recognition or fleeting applause and approval but simply for learning and recreation. Creativity is fun. It satisfies itself. It needs nothing more.

Creativity is about finding the interconnectedness between two things. It asks, how can we look at something from a BIG picture or a SMALL picture? Creativity is a curious endeavor and requires that we look at things through various angles. FOR INSTANCE, LAST NIGHT I HAD A SUDDEN EUREKA MOMENT. A volcano is like an acne pimple or lesion. There is swelling, inflammation and heat that starts to roil beneath the surface. The volcano lifts the surrounding terrain in a cone shaped form as does the acne pimple on the skin. Both the pimple and volcano explode out onto surfaces. For the pimple it is the skin and for the volcano it is the surrounding terrain. The damage done below the surface of the skin can cause an acne scar in the formation of a crater as the skin starts to settle. In the same way, as the volcano settles, the terrain can form a caldera or crater.

This is how creativity can start emerging. In the example above I started to look at two things as though they may be connected. When you do this you start to recognize intriguing relationships between disparate phenomena! And it just keeps going from here. It can get very exciting and addicting and you’ll start pursuing creativity for its own sake.

How can you find creativity in your life? What I’m realizing is that YOU NEED BLOCKS OF UNINTERRUPTED TIME. No tuned-out periods of phone scrolling, no children screaming in the distance and no interruptions from surrounding clutter. Clutter can be a huge distraction because it signals to the brain that you HAVE SOMETHING ELSE THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. Even if you try, it’s still there, it’s visual phenomena. It’s saying, “shuffle your attention over here from time to time”. Getting rid of stuff and cleaning your workspace will have a dramatic effect on your ability to engage in deeper creativity and approach the psychological experience called “Flow”. I’ve had flow several times and it’s one of the better gifts of human experience.

Thus, you need time plus an environment to start making creativity happen. It’s hard to get started but once you start rolling you start going. It’s really just an openness to possibility. It’s seeing every moment in a novel way. It’s asking, can I reframe this moment to make it better? You can adjust a tilted picture frame by moving it ever so slightly. In the same way, you can adjust your current reality by tilting it a bit and making it appear more novel. Take a moment to realize you can notice different things and then you take a different approach. Try zooming out with your focus and then zooming way back in. It’s all this adjustment and provides new insight and perspectives.

Also, don’t forget the power of sleep! I’m always way more likely to both think creativity and have more motivation to be creative when I get adequate sleep. When I’m well-rested, I have better resilience for my own failures or when people reject me or give me the cold shoulder. I have higher tolerance for so much more! When pursuing creative ambitions, you really need lots of tolerance because it’s a struggle to get going with creative pursuits and a struggle to KEEP GOING. You can have all the ideas in the world but its easy to flounder and stop.

Sometimes you do need moments of blandness and boredom to eventually get to more profound levels of creativity. It’s like your brain needs the contrast. I find that the most scintillating insights arrive when I’m doing very mundane tasks like moving about putting things away. My brain is slightly disengaged but yet there must be subconscious processes that are still occurring. I’ve discovered that very intense bursts of cardiovascular exercise seem to prepare me both mentally and physically for that calm that comes before the creative storm. I also feel good for exercising and exerting a form of self-discipline.

I’m eager to discover more synchronicities and possibilities with anything that I interact with. When you discover more and learn more you can see more connections that can lead to novel inventions, ideas or ways of doing things. I don’t have a formalized, set structure for discovering creativity but I’m deeply curious if perhaps there is a method that I will soon discover! I’m working on this!

WRITING TO DO LISTS IS MAGIC

What I have learned is that writing a to-do list WORKS! This has become my secret way of translating things…projects, ideas, etc. into forward action.

When I WAKE UP EARLY and write my to-do list on a sheet of paper and then place it right on the top of my counter, I am face to face with it. I am far more likely to attempt any one of these to-to tasks than if I didn’t write the to-do-list.

The psychological sciences have discovered why writing a to-do list is so helpful. One of the reasons is that writing is the act of GETTING THE MIND ON BOARD. That is, when you write something, your brain is inevitably reflecting on that piece of data. Your inner thoughts are transcribed into material reality. Thinking is the first step. When you write you’re thinking about what you write. When a thought is written down, it is directing the brain towards that thing. It’s the beginning of motivation and motivation creates action.

With a to-do-list, there is great reward in crossing off the completed tasks with a BIG BLACK MARKER. I can hear the squeaky sound of the black marker. I notice the thick, inky feeling as it glides over a task on my to-do list and BLOTS it out in full and final punishment.

The reward is also the knowledge that I’m making progress; that I’m being productive.

The number of list items that I’ve attempted (and completed) from simply writing them down is ASTOUNDING. It’s as if the brain realizes, “Hey if I write this stuff down, I better at least do some of it.“

Now that I know this method of WRITING A NEW LIST DOWN EVERY SINGLE MORNING on a sheet of paper and placing that paper right on the top of the counter so that I can read it, I’m wondering if I could make other thoughts happen. You know, manifest into reality? I believe that this and more is possible. What you think is power. Continually engaging your mind in your daily activities by thinking about those activities and writing them down will push you toward them. Think about it, it certainly won’t push you away from them.

Often, I refrain from writing challenging (to me at least) things on my to-do list because I’m afraid to try them or they seem to take TOO MANY STEPS TO COMPLETE. Sometimes the steps involve personal embarrassment or being uncomfortable or even an ego bruising! I tell myself “I won’t write this down because I won’t try it anyway.” Well lately I’ve come to realize that writing the difficult things down DOES INDEED spur me to take a few steps towards the goal or item on my list. Even just a couple steps is better than no steps.

So yes, writing ANYTHING DOWN is MAGIC to your goals. It’s really the first step because you have decided to actively reflect and think about it and turn it from inside your mind onto a piece of paper. That’s it!

I want to go even further here in my goals and pursuits. I want to do actions that spur the creation of new ideas and inventions. Not for the sake of ego and selfish goals but for the sake of learning and finding ways to help humanity. Will I start with writing? Yes, that’s where I will start. Taking the time to write about anything and everything related to my goals, wishes or ideas will be the first step.

When you FEEL better you DO better!

When you “FEEL BETTER” you DO better and you ACT better. By selectively paying attention to the positives and your strengths, you create a reinforcing loop of positivity that can help you get through the moment.

One of the things I’ve noticed in life is that the people I encounter who are in the best shape of their lives and who look GREAT are uncannily happy too. These are the people who are full of exuberance and energy for life. So whatever there doing, they’re setting themselves up to FEEL better. It would be very hard to feel awful if you’re Sofia Vergara.

Let’s reiterate: it starts be selectively paying attention to what makes you feel both happy and in control of your life. Emotions matter. The negative thought cycle starts like this: someone else acts in some way/says something that makes you feel bad or triggers your ego in some way. Whatever is said starts to make you doubt yourself more. You don’t doubt yourself, what THEY SAID ABOUT YOU makes you doubt yourself. Before you know it, you’re in a vortex of hopelessness and self doubt that seems to penetrate your entire being. You don’t quite know how to get out. Now, if someone insults Sofia Vergara, she can easily brush it off. She can just remind herself of her physique (which I’m sure she’s worked hard for) or she could remind herself of some of her accomplishments. She won’t stay in depression for that long. I’ve discovered that the best way to get out of this kind of depressive funk that gets most of us down is to start actively getting in shape. Next, start thinking about a couple ideas or things that interest you and motivate you. You don’t necessarily have to reflect upon “what you’re good at”–because so many of us feel that we’re not terribly successful at anything. Rather, think about some things you can try (or try again) that excite you. You are momentarily distracting yourself from the present state of negative feeling. You can choose to think of anything you want, so why not expand your thinking to POSSIBILITY? Sometimes it takes a day or two to jettison oneself out of a bad mood or a negative feeling, but it’s good to know that these are fleeting emotions. We can get back into positive emotions by building up a muscle of “seeing the positive” of “thinking about positives” and selectively paying attention to positive things over negative things/incidents. We can selectively decide to forgive ourselves and MOVE ON. Getting your physical body in shape takes considerable time and daily application. In the same way, getting your emotions and mind strong and resilient take daily practice.

Becoming a BIG SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER, THOUGHTS

When blog posters or social media influencers tell you things you already know…you already thought of…you already know how to do and yet they have HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of followers and subscribers, do you become resentful or irritated?

Why, you could have been doing or saying or writing the same thing–but like 23 years ago!

You may be disappointed in yourself that you didn’t start your internet game earlier. Those years of waiting “for the right time” led to thousands of other people jumping on a social media platform ahead of you and saying stuff you could have said–and gaining followers and $$ in the mean time.

I think we all have these thoughts when we stumble across various big social media accounts. Why are they doing this? Who are they to tell us things we already know and also, make a passive income on it to boot! Why didn’t I do this when I had the chance?

It’s tempting to write this whole game off and say “ah well, all the good ideas are already taken!” How could I possibly contribute now? There’s nothing more to invent, say, write about, design or suggest. People will just stumble across my content and think “I’ve already heard/done/thought of this before”. I’m done here.

I don’t think these are good enough reasons NOT TO TRY to become a creator on social media. It’s pretty clear to me that all the ideas aren’t taken, and certainly, all the possible angles on the ideas out there aren’t taken. And, even if you do happen to unintentionally recite, repeat or recycle the same stuff your readers have already heard or read or watched, it won’t be the end of the world! It certainly won’t be the first time anyone has done it. And if people unsubscribe or unfollow, no harm done! Thanks to the population of planet earth, there’s plenty of fish in the sea.

The popular children’s Youtube creator Blippi started making videos for children in 2014. He now has over 17 million subscribers on his Youtube channel. 2014 wasn’t that long ago. I think the recipe that he found was that he found an area that he was interested in and then he kept on track. He continued to upload video after video until he started to have a snowball affect. People start to see you as a legitimate youtuber, blogger, instagrammer etc. if you have a big following, and so, that leads to even more people pushing that subscribe or follow button on your account. It’s all very psychological at some point. That’s when the snowballing starts to happen.

But what about those months, years or decades before the snowball affect? During that period it’s all about consistency and regularity and not giving up. It’s about recognizing that you do what you do because of your intense curiosity for the subject! You like to write in the first place because you love the act of wordsmithing….making your words dance on the page. Maybe you like to make little videos showcasing your artwork or you like to build things and post before and after’s of your projects. You enjoy doing it this in and of itself, so why not use a social media platform and just continue doing what you love?

In the end it’s not about gaining a massive social media following but doing what you love and proving to yourself that you’re not a quitter. You determine for yourself that you will start creating digital content of some kind and you’ll upload and post regularly. I’m pretty sure this is the exact mindset of all thoes instagrammers, and social media influencers.

Finally, remember that everything on the internet is constantly in flux. What/who was popular last year is less popular this year. Some social media accounts will fall by the wayside because not everyone can stand the boredom of uploading and posting regularly. Not everyone can get out of the perfectionist mindset and JUST DO IT routinely. This means there is always room for new people who can (potentially) gain massive followings.

Our Blogs On Their Way Out?

I’ve recently become extremely curious about the way blogs and written content on the internet is being viewed.

Are people going to write and READ blogs anymore? or written content on the internet? Are we, as a civilization, done with reading long sentences or…*gasp* paragraphs?

Has the influx, the demand and the reliance of fast paced Tik Tok videos and Instagram reels brought us to the lowest possible level for our attention spans?

I am worried that we have reached a new level for our brains. People want to consume information in bite-sized chunks more readily than lengthy paragraphs. This trend doesn’t seem to be going away. In fact, it seems to be getting worse.

Studies have found that the average human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2015, which is shorter than the attention span of a goldfish (9 seconds).

This is shocking information! So many things in our lives require focused attention for a lengthy period of time. Learning requires attention and time!

Imagine what this “attention shortage” means for the future of education and careers? Not to mention everyday duties like household chores that are often long and BORING?

As much as I want to ditch blogging for good, I think I’ll stay a luddite for a while longer. I want to develop and increase my own attention span. Blogging large blocks of text will help in this process. This requires both my attention and time.

I believe attention is like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets.

I stretch every day and I do cardio exercise each day on the Peloton. I neglect my attention span. I think it’s important to commit to a period of attention everyday. Picking a topic to blog on and working on it for a half hour or so is a way to train my attention span.

It’s important to remember that there are plenty of people who are still looking for content to read and not just “watch”.

You’re a Blogger? Just Who do you think you are?

I think every blogger or online creator has thought these thoughts. Who am I to think that I could be somebody? Who am I to think so highly of myself to think that I should be heard? Compared to everyone else, I’m nobody. I’m not some expert, published writer/author, or someone who is part of the elite or celebrity class of online creators.

And you know exactly what I’m going to say next: Anyone who became a prominent online Creator or blogger started somewhere–usually at the bottom. Some people have long paths ahead of them to get where they want to go. Some have to work at it much harder than others just to amass a small following. Life isn’t fair. Some people have naturally superior writing ability and creative prowess than others. They will have an advantage.

When we glance around online, we typically only see the “big ones”; those who have accumulated huge followings. So we are immediately shown a distorted view of things and how success and “progress” actually work.

Anyone who has become successful at anything has given it lots of awkward efforts. There have been tons of bumps and slumps along the way. If you’re lucky, you’ll get one or two people coming back to “check up on your blog”. Most of your spectators will simply move on, finding nothing valuable or intriguing with your content. No snow ball effect just yet. But it can happen. It just takes a certain threshold.

Really though. You know why you’re blogging and that’s all that matters. You just LOVE it. Some people build stock portfolios and study the markets, some build sand castles and you build blog posts. You enjoy the creative process. All those feeble attempts to find just the right word. You like the integration of writing and pictures. You like the fact that even if you’re often dull and bland at least you’re “working on your writing ability”. Maybe when you’re 50 you can publish a book.

Recently the Mega Millions Jackpot was at 1.5 billion. Do you know what that means? It means that despite people constantly ‘hatin’ on the rich–all those “Wall Street Traders”–all those evil one-percenters–people actually don’t hate the idea of becoming rich themselves. It’s not fair when other people have significantly more money that I do. Buuuut, when I win the lottery? All bets are off.

The numbers in lottery ticket sales are undeniable. People may hate rich people and think that it’s terribly unfair but they certainly don’t hate the idea that they might get rich. The evidence is in our behavior. Buying lottery tickets is a behavior. Let’s be honest. The majority of humans would have a surprised, pleasant feeling if they suddenly awoke and were in control of over 1.5 billion dollars–even if it was just to give away.

On a different note, I would love to make lots of money on my blog. So would you. Anyone would! But you know what? Unlike the random, “free” nature of the lottery (i.e. you only invest a few bucks to get a chance to win tons), it’s the market that will ultimately determine whether I EVER MAKE ANY MONEY ON MY BLOG. It’s also the effort, time and consistency that I put into it. It’s the customer–the reader (or skimmer)–who determines whether they are interested in my (your) content. That said…

My goal isn’t to amass an enormous following and then suddenly be “restricted by my readers/followers as to what I can write”. I want to be able to write and post my creations for me.

I don’t want to feel like I have to censor myself for fear I’ll lose followers along the way. This is a struggle that many bloggers experience. If you’re not big yet, you may start to become big because of one blog post. You’ll find that you have to reduce your blogging because your future blog posts may not all appeal to your current subscribers/followers. You’ll have lots of ideas slamming themselves into your consciousness, but then you’ll have to weigh them against your audience. Will they approve? Probably not.

You don’t want this to happen. Blogging is free. It’s a fun hobby where you get to polish up on your writing and communication, a skill that is considered invaluable in today’s attention economy. You get to weave your creativity and pictures into your posts.

I want my blog to be a grassroots process. That is, interested patrons coming back regularly because they are legitimately intrigued by my content…or how far I’ve gone (or not). It’s only just recently that readers are finding my blog via search engines–Bing and Google. This is completely new for me. I consider this progress! Now, if I can just retain those readers. 🙂

A Slice of My Trash, Travels and Tots

A Slice of My Travels and Baby Blog

Tag: blogging