I just wanted to write a short post about yesterday's post. When I welcomed The Frugal Girl's readers, I certainly didn't mean to leave anyone out! So I hope it didn't come across that way. It was just that I had gotten so many in such a short time from Kristen that I felt a particular urge to acknowledge you all were out there. I get a lot of new readers all the time from Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate, and Jonathan at Wasted Food sent me a lot of readers lately, and lots of other blogs as well. And some people come from google and blogger referrals. So I want to give a great big welcome to all of you, however you got here and however long you've been around.
The only place that doesn't seem to bring me many readers is my regular life. I could take that as an insult, but it doesn't surprise me. In fact, I got a distinctly irritated vibe from a few people when I told them I was writing a blog about joining The Compact. Maybe they think I'll judge them every time they buy something new. Which is certainly not the case. I'm positive no one in my family reads this, and very few of my good friends. In a way, it's kind of liberating. One of my friends who has a blog got into a terrible argument with her mother because of something she'd written on her blog. I said to her, "I don't know which is worse: your mother being insulted by something you wrote on your blog, or my mother being so uninterested she doesn't even register that I have one, or even what a blog is."
In fact, I can only think of five people who read my blog that I knew before I started writing this. And four of them make comments sometimes. The other one is too shy- that's okay! But I'm curious if any of my other friends are out there. Show yourself and make a comment if you are! I would also love to hear from any fellow Compacters. And anyone else who'd care to muse on any of this.
This was supposed to be a short post, but of course almost none of my posts actually turn out that way. I just wanted to make sure all my readers felt welcomed, because this experiment is becoming about much more than just not buying new stuff. It's really changing how I think about almost everything. Please leave your thoughts and questions in the Comments section.
April 29, 2009
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13 comments:
Being a blogger has reminded me of how good "applause" can make one feel! As a former performer, I guess I sorta miss it! Until very recently, I was discouraged with blogging and even thought about stopping for awhile. After all, it's nice to know people read and enjoy the things one writes.
A couple of weeks ago I started getting between 15-30 hits a day which, compared to none, is quite a lot. It's encouraged me to keep doing something new and different and something i love (writing)
THANK You Anglea for the "applause"
I'm giving you a little standing ovation right now!
All my family and friends read my blog, which is both a blessing and a curse.
I mentioned a friend by name last year which didn't like, so I changed it to a pseudonym. She then told me what name she actually wanted to called by on the blog. I now refer to her by two different pseudonyms, which it makes it look like have extra friends!
My mother does like to point out typos and grammatical errors, which is annoyingly helpful.
So there you have it!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
Yup, yup, couldn't agree more. At one time my mother mentioned reading my blog but I'm not even sure she still does. As for other friends and family I only know of one who reads regularly. And I thought I had a loving, close knit family. No, I'm sure they love me. They just are too intimidated to comment so I know for sure. Yeah, that's it.
Although if I knew for sure certain people weren't reading I'd have some really great stories to tell. Unfortunately I don't want to sacrifice a wonderful Christmas for a well crafted post.
It's the great online network that has developed from shared experiences, common themes and ideas that keeps me at it.
That and the occasional comments. I agree, I'm growing every day with this experience. Would a comment kill ya?
My 89 year old grandmother inlaw reads my blog every day and sends me comments via email. She says she is learning so much. :)
My mom called last weekend to clarify some thing - make sure I have my facts right. Which was greatly appreciated.
I think your so right about the Compact experiment changing everything... and I think it's great! We all need to be challenged some times, or we would stagnate. I'm finding already that Compacting is causing me to be more mindful in ALL aspects of my life - which can't be bad!
Oh and my mother has no idea what a blog is either.... no one I know in 'real-life' reads me :/ Oh well!
I discovered your blog about 5 weeks--either a reference in an article or a reference in another blog. I started blogging myself around the same time. At this point, all of my readers are friends and family...I'm not out in the big world yet!
Angela, some of my friends and family read the blog, but most don't. I think it is partially a lifestyle decision - if they aren't in on what you're doing, they may only be interested in the occasional update when they see you. Only people dedicated to your topic are going to subscribe and comment regularly.
It's really a treat - you get to meet a whole new world of people who are part of your "tribe" of nonconsumerism. And I love Katy's idea of using a pseudonym for other people - I don't ever blog about people by name unless I know it is okay. Not everyone is comfortable with having an online presence.
Glad you are getting so many new readers!
FM- Ah, you're so sweet. Thanks as always for reading. I still hope to link to your post about patching jeans the next time I talk about jeans. For awhile there, it seemed like all I talked about.
Katy- That is so funny that your friend had her own pseudonym at the ready. And your mom- is she a teacher?
Calimama- Yes, the network of shared themes and ideas is definitely what brings us together. I think you and I started with The Compact at the same time- the first of this year, right?
Kate- How fantastic that your grandmother is so involved. I still have one grandparent left and he's 89. Until recently, he was on the Internet, mostly keeping up with his stocks. I think he would probably read my blog if he still had Internet service. I've told him about it and of course he can relate because he went through the Depression. He never understood why people would need to replace furniture and said my grandma never complained about the couches he bought at J.C. Penney in the 1950s. They're getting pretty gross.
Sera- I agree with you about being challenged if we don't want to stagnate. And yes, I find myself looking at everything more MINDFULLY. That's a good word for it.
April- Thanks for reading and for your comment. I just went to your blog and left a comment, so it looks like you're on your way "out."
Betsy- Yes, it's definitely a function of whether people are interested in the topic. And I love the phrase "tribe of nonconsumerism." They're my new friends- not just Compacters, but anyone interested in all the related topics.
Thanks for the comments everyone!
I have tons of IRL acquaintances, friends, and family who read my blog. So, it's not exactly a place I can vent or air my dirty laundry! lol There's a message board I belong to where I do that sort of thing.
I do sometimes forget that so many IRL people read my blog...I'll run into someone and then mention reading it, and I'm always like, "You read my blog too????" lol
As far as I know, nobody I know in my real life knows that I blog or reads my blog.
My husband even commented the other day, do I have another life online, I think he might have seen my blog.....
Its just something I do for fun.
QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQA$EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ
I read your blog regularly and I always enjoy it (and it always gets me thinking). (Willie is even more shy than me - so I don't really know what he thinks about your blog -- but it was he that walked across the keyboard leaving his message above -- prompting me to actually go forward with a comment... Honestly.)
xo.
Kristen- IRL- is that car racing? I'm not familiar with the acronym. I don't think a blog would be a good place to air dirty laundry, whether or not friends and family are reading. Hopefully I'll be able to refrain from that.
lala- That's funny- my husband barely reads my blog, but he definitely knows I have it. this is fascinating- everything from Katy, who has her whole family and all her friends reading, and you- whose husband isn't aware of your blog! Let Mr. Techno check out your work!
lisa- Thanks, oh shy one! I know how much it took for you to put that comment out into the world... I do appreciate you reading this you know... I love Willie's comment. I was trying to decipher it.
IRL = in real life. Somewhere online is a list of all the TLAs (three letter acronyms, not all of which are three letters) but I don't have the url at hand.
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