It's Almost Like Cocktail Hour

Jessica and Liz, two savvy and supportive bloggers, hatched Summer Blog Social, an on-line blog conference for those of us missing the flurry of the summer blog conference circuit.

Previously, I was under the impression that blog conferences were about cocktails, sparkly shoes, and dancing at parties, but it turns out I was confusing a blog conference with an episode of The Real Housewives of {insert your favorite guilty pleasure here}.

It turns out that blog conferences are actually about recharging your blogging batteries, networking, and discovering and refining the direction of your blog…while drinking cocktails and dancing with new friends in sparkly shoes.

See why I’m not exactly the right person to give blogging advice? 

But if you held a gun to my head, which is what a well-phrased prompt equates to in my world, I would accept the challenge! Sooooo…Before I began blogging, I wish I had known…

…you can blog in a bubble, but it’s not nearly as much fun

I started Tiaras and Trucks without any real goals except to paper my little corner of the internet with pictures of and stories about my adorable daughter. Gradually, I noticed the world outside of my own blog (and birthed my equally adorable son); there are seventy billion blogs out there, and a countless number of them are written by talented writers and photographers and simply interesting people. When I started reaching out, reading and commenting and making connections, I really began to understand the social aspect of “social media”.

…making connections means making commitments

When I was ensconced in my little private blogging bubble, I only needed a few minutes each day to keep up my blog. Now, I’m putting in hours at my laptop, and only a fraction of that time is actually spent on Tiaras and Trucks.  I respond to the people kind enough to comment on my words and go visit their blogs.  I visit blogs of people I met through blogging that I now consider friends.  I read and comment on blogs I've stumbled upon and love, even if they don't know I exist!  I try to think of my blog as my on-line home. Staying home all the time doesn’t work for me in real life, and it doesn’t work in my blogging life either.

…blogging can reawaken a passion in your life

One Christmas, when I was in elementary school, Santa Claus brought me a typewriter (I just seriously dated myself, but stay with me for a second.)  I sat for hours in front of that sleek, black magic machine, pouring my imagination and my emotions onto paper. As life chipped away at my writing time, I made choice after choice that took me down a road where writing wasn’t a central part of my life. But, as my blog finds its footing, I am beginning to believe that my road could once again be paved with my words, leading me to a world where writing is more than a cherished hobby.

(just because I still like to paper my walls with pictures of my kids)

Hop on over to the Summer Blog Social for more advice, discussion about goals, and maybe a glimpse or two into a crystal ball!