Summer Blog Social Redux

First of all, thanks so much to Jessica and Liz for hosting this fabulous week of posts and prompts and interesting reading!

 

I learned so much, thought out and discussed some goals and fears about my own blog and its future, and met some great new-to-me bloggers.  I could write a week's worth of posts about it, but that might be overkill.

So here's a short recap...

 

People rule the blogosphere.  There are common threads running through so many of our blogs: children, hobbies, music, a love of shoes, and those threads twist together to form a community stronger than each of our individual blogs!

I loved seeing some familiar faces at the conference, like The Kir Corner and Mommy is in Timeout, and enjoyed meeting some "new" people, like A Lady in France, Literal Mom, and Life as We Know It.

I learned that other people worry about finding their niche, like Mama Insomnia.  Breaking into the freelance writing market is a goal for many of us, judging by the responses to Four Plus an Angel's post looking for advice.

I have Mom Got Blog and The Miss Elaine-ous Life to blame for fueling the live conference fire that was already in the back of my head. 

Seriously, I could blather on, but I won't.

I have an editorial schedule to work on, new blogs to read, and always, always these little monkeys waiting for me with open arms.

Can I Buy a Niche at Target?

I feel my cheeks flush, a momentary flash of pleasure bubbling to the surface before I force it to retreat.

“Thank you, but…”

“…it’s the jeans.  They hide a lot!”

“…I really need to work on the dialogue.  I don’t think it sounds believable.”

“…there are so many more talented writers out there.”

Graciously accepting compliments is tough.  I shrug them off, finding it easy to rationalize the words into kindness or obligation instead of actual admiration.

So when I saw the Summer Blog Social prompts about “advice for me,” encouraging us to speak to our strengths and also areas we would like to improve, my mind skated over the strengths facet of the post and went to the weaknesses in my blog.

As I ventured out of my blogging bubble, I worried I would lose steam and run out of ideas.  Instead, I have a little notebook filled with jotted notes and post ideas, and I’m beginning to worry about those notes. 

Abs singing the wrong words

More random run thoughts – leis, Proud Mary, small towns

Preschool beginning next month

(pause for emotional moment)

Each of my notes is a little seed, a seed I fertilize during runs and while driving in the car, a seed that takes shape and grows into a post.  And that, I think, is one of my strengths.  I can manage to find a foothold in an idea and climb it like a beanstalk into something substantial.

But are my seeds too different, too haphazard? 

Where is my focus?  My direction?  My niche?

These questions creep into my thoughts as I try to find a cool spot on the pillow at night.  They sting my eyes as I rinse shampoo out of my hair. 

I love watching my little seeds grow into posts, but I’m beginning to wonder if it’s possible to plant heartstring-tugging toddler posts next to irreverent running posts across the garden from serial fiction and possibly even venturing into the cultivation of a vlog or two. 

I’m not a gardener.  I don’t know if it’s reasonable to plant strawberries and cucumbers and tulips and peonies and hydrangea in one garden without it turning into a giant mess of weeds.

So Summer Blog Social readers, are any of you expert gardeners?  Can you help me understand how to define and refine my blogging niche without sacrificing my little seedlings tucked away in my notebook, waiting to feel the sun?

he's confused, too

A Fact, Two Goals, & Some Beads

Little known fact about me...I was a philosophy major my freshman year of college.  I thought that I could ponder life’s meaning, write magnificent papers, and eventually become a judge or possibly be on an ethics committee. 

Mediating snack sharing and taking turns with my kids may be just as complicated as any ethics issues I was considering when studying St. Augustine and free will, but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind as an idealistic eighteen year old.

Enter another Summer Blog Social session!  Liz and Jessica suggested that we spend some time thinking philosophically about our blogs.  I may not be the best person to give blogging advice, but I am certain that my two semesters of philosophy classes absolutely qualify me to write on this prompt: What are your overriding goals for your blog and social media presence? How have those goals evolved over time?

When I began blogging, my goal was to create a virtual baby book and a place where my friends and family could have a glimpse into our life without me e-mailing pictures and stories about our lovely daughter, ad nauseam. 

Over time, our family has changed; I have changed; my goals for my blog have changed.  Only recently have I found the confidence to admit, even in my own head, that I have developed two distinct goals for Tiaras and Trucks. 

Personally, I want to capture the humor and beauty that weave together with the ordinary moments in our lives to create something extraordinary.  I hope that Abbey and Dylan will be able to look back one day and feel the emotions involved in building their childhood, feel how utterly invested I am in being their mom. 

One day, even later, I hope that they will look back and discover the facets of me that aren’t about motherhood; I hope they can appreciate my writing and running and rambling and know that my most important role may be “mother” but I have other roles as well.

Professionally (ok, I just hyperventilated a little that I dared use that word in relation to my blog,) I would like to use Tiaras and Trucks as a medium to explore writing opportunities. 

Yesterday, I confessed that blogging has awakened my passion for writing, and the lack of sleep over the last three years has led to delusions that I may be able to convince someone other than, well, me to publish my work.  My blog is helping me discover my voice, and I hope that I can convince someone, somewhere to take a chance on that voice for some freelance writing jobs.

Be gentle on me; this was a tough post for me to publish!  Putting my hopes about freelance work into words feels a little like telling your birthday wish when you blow out your candles.  But this week, this blog social, is about growing and learning, and that involves a little risk, right?

her goals are simpler

wear as many beads as possible at one time

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!