For this update let’s talk about all the various problems that I have faced on here over the years, and how I have fixed them or am yet to fix them. As a (self-identified) internet old person, there’s always something new I’m learning about blogging and I thought it would be useful to share what I’ve worked on and what still needs work.
Speed
As a WP noob I spent a good part of my first few years on the site doing whatever I wanted – random themes, pictures, urls etc. Just dumping things on here without rhyme or reason. I learnt along the way that this wasn’t really a smart thing to do – it causes lags on your site and can even prevent your site from showing up on Google.
Take the time to compress your photos as much as possible and choose a really simple but eye pleasing theme. It’ll make it much easier for people to navigate and find your site. GIFs are cool but I generally avoid too many or putting them as my first image now. There are also a few more tech heavy ways to improve site speed, especially if you have a WordPress plan, but I’m no pro (and don’t have a plan either). Google is your friend.
Content
Man, there’s so much to write about, but I just keep piling ideas and never get around to writing. I always end up overthinking my topics and meandering – this is a terrible habit I need to kick. Concision is an absolutely undervalued asset, imo.
Knowing yourself and your writing habits is really important. I like to write in a more relaxed style, as if I’m actually speaking – this is fine for this blog but is obviously a no no if you’re writing professionally. My sister also pointed out to me that I love writing really gigantic sentences with no end because I feel that they flow better. Getting someone to point out your quirks and bad habits could be really useful if you have trouble identifying them.
I also feel this strange competition towards myself, as if I have something to prove on this site. Weird, I know, but at least it spurs me to continue writing. It also makes me think hard about what people would want to read, vs what I would want to write about. What would be easy to write & pump out, vs something that I really think & research a lot about. In the end, I think, I just need to find a balance.
Being Social
This is something that I’m still getting better at in real life too LOL. Being social doesn’t exactly come naturally to me, but isn’t it way more fun to have conversations with someone on a topic you’re both interested in than to just blabber to yourself? That is, after all, the point of social media.
I unfortunately tend to find it a chore to keep up with social media such as Twitter and Instagram – I do have better things to do with my life than just scroll through bad takes from strangers (kidding I know y’all are smart 🌞). The thing is, I could instead look at it as having fun and talking with friends. The problem, of course, is that internet strangers are just that – strangers to me. It’s going to be hard for me to really care unless I get to know someone.
Being social isn’t just about having fun either – it really impacts your site’s views too as people become curious about the thoughts of the person they interacted with. So it really doesn’t help that I’ve been absolutely terrible at Kofi. I need to hammer this in my head and just go for it, damn it.
Blubbyweb 