In an effort to bring some balance back into my blogging ways, I created at the beginning of the year a sort of mantra: ‘Dig Deeper, Move Less Earth‘.
From the original post:
My ‘I’ is the Karen that wants to dig, yes. But deeper. See a point through; formulate an idea to its end. I believe I attempted to try last year when I suspected this was beginning to happen, but this year it may be more obvious. My posts will be scheduled more often so as to give me some breathing space, but not so much as to drain the essence of spontaneity and joy that makes many blogs successful and is part of their charm. I may post less regularly. Most of all I will try to shed the anxiety I feel whenever a post doesn’t perform how I wish it ought. I’ll be more focused on what I want to do.
Now the year is well and truly begun, I thought I would revisit some of my thoughts on how I have been doing in regards to what I outlined above, in context of what I saw and heard at the Blogopolis conference over the weekend.
First of all, as I also said at the AusBlogCon, I have gotten better at shedding angst if a post doesn’t ‘do’ as well as I’d hoped. It happens. Besides, I’m a firm believer that a piece isn’t necessarily ‘finished’ once it is posted – it can be revisited and reworked. No, my anxiety issues – ironically – have been on a personal front and there’s not much more I can say about that at the moment. And it is the usual way – I can work on months on a post and have it die or throw together something in five minutes and have it go gangbusters. I’ve been focused on what I want to do, yes, but not really been scheduling posts (other than giveaways).
This brings me to talk about this past weekend. I took quite detailed notes with the complimentary notepad on the table, but as the afternoon wore on I got rather hot where I was sitting – and a little restless – and so I went to sit down the back so I could step outside when I needed to. I forgot the notepad, though, as I was leaving. This is slightly annoying as I sit here now, but I’m sure the content will otherwise be blogged about the place or I can go chase it up later through the #nnb2011 hashtag. Instead I’m left with my impressions from talks and conversations.
There was the usual focus on content but I was more pleased to hear the words ‘story’ and ‘storytelling’ used, I suppose because for me that is the power of blogging and what I love most about it. What I didn’t get so much of what ‘writing’ and ‘craft’ – how one can improve their skills, not just their SEO or means to best deliver their work. The session I got most out of what the photography one, because that is what they covered: how to frame a shot, use your light, make the most out of the camera that you have, tell a story.
Ultimately the message of the day, and my desire to continue on, wasn’t found to be found on any powerpoint slide or in the bottom of a loot bag. It could simply be seen on the back of the wristbands that Lori was giving out: SPEAK.
Yes, yes, yes.
Conferences can be hard work. It is lovely to catch up with friends, but the visual and aural stimuli can be hard to process. Whispers of dissatisfaction and cronyism happen (whether justified or not). People come with such varied expectations and hopes that may not be met, no matter how hard it’s tried. I understand.
It is always interesting though.
After such events I usually sit and wonder what to do, how to implement change, feel the need to do this so as not to be left behind, this quick, quick mentality. This time, it’s different.
I’m happy. I’m content. I have clarity.
It’s nice.
