Almost a month ago, my husband, Thom, got me started blogging; and while I do enjoy communicating my thoughts through this medium, all the techno-junk tends to drive me crazy!
Seriously, sometimes it feels like visiting a foreign country or speaking a different language! I will never look at a blog or website nonchalantly again! They are SO much work!
By the way: in the blogging world, traffic is the key ingredient. So, if you are ever touched by an article, please feel free to share it with friends. There's nothing better than personal recommendations. Comments are also appreciated; they keep the conversation going and give others the opportunity to express opinions. (I love hearing from all of you!)
Anyway, just as I was starting to get comfortable with the blogosphere, a mentor encouraged me to write articles for Squidoo. If you've never heard of Squidoo, it's a cross between a website and a science fair. Lots of people with different areas of expertise are encouraged to write article displays, which they call a lens, and post it on Squidoo. Then, as someone researches a topic, the keywords will bring them to your lens. So far I've written two:
Estonia and the Singing Revolution: http://www.squidoo.com/singingrevolution
Eliminate Postpartum Exhaustion: http://www.squidoo.com/sleepingbabies
Every time someone visits one of them, my ratings go up, and that increases my revenue from the Squidoo sponsors. Of course, I'm still a newbie and struggling to understand how everything works, but I've really appreciated all the visits (29 total!) my articles have already received.
Then, on Thursday, I created a Facebook fan page for WATLOK, which already has 19 fans (3 of whom I do not know!) You can't imagine how encouraging that is to me, and I thank each of you for the support!
The biggest problem I've faced so far is in learning how to prioritize. I'll start a project, thinking it will only take a few minutes, but a few hours later finds me frustrated and facing all the housework I should have been doing!!! Another challenge is getting enough sleep at night. I've averaged about 4 hours of sleep each night this week because of my new obsession. Not enough for a mom with small children!
Hopefully these things will improve with time and practice; until then, I just wanted to thank each of you for bearing with me as I stumble through this land of Cyber-Oz!
"Mrs. Mary, I love you so much that I even love you to give you hugs and kisses that you may do it so fast of yourself." - from Eden.
ReplyDeleteNice to know that I'm not the only one who gets on a tangent and pursues it way too long! :) Remember, 15 minutes! Don't neglect your morning and evening routines or your sleep! Think "marathon" - not "sprint" :) We want you to stick with this long term and not burn out.
Christie
Thanks, Christie. I've always been a sprinter and constantly need reminding in this area. With due respect to FlyLady, I'm not sure about 15 minutes. My computer is so slow I can barely get it started in 15 minutes.
ReplyDelete(Thank you, Eden for the Hugs and Kisses! lORD WILLING we'll see you tomorrow!)
I agree - it can sometimes take much longer to post something than you originally thought. I used to post so many things, but now I focus more on things that are of much higher importance, forget the smaller things, and make sure I have enough time to sit for an hour or so (or more if needed) to get my thoughts out properly. My children are older .. this helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteLord bless you as you serve Him in truth.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for visiting my blog!
Love in Christ,
Joanne in MO
Thank you, Joanne! It was great finding "Gossip Town" on your blog after so many years! Our Cane Creek school teacher had us memorize so many great poems and songs that I'll never forget. How wonderful to see them still being passed along!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting!
It is so easy to get wrapped up in all this. I can guess what it must be like getting started in the web world when you have little ones all day and night. My grands are only with me mornings, but time has been flying too quickly the rest of the time since I got back on the computer.
ReplyDelete