... She wants to be taken seriously.
I knew I should have figured out how to do this before BlogHer, but that whole damn life thing just got in the way. I knew going in to BlogHer that my intention was to be more serious about what this blog is. Not that I want to write about serious stuff. In fact, since my lifelong dream of being a stand-up comedian is never going to happen, why not pretend I'm funny occasionally on the Internet. That is however beside the point.
I've been mulling over what I want from my blog, and it comes down to a few things.
1. I want Integrity. I took the pledge even. I think it will help me focus on being a better writer.
2. I want my own domain. I've gone through registering ameliasprout.com. I had thought about rebranding, but I heard over and over again this weekend what a cool blog name it is. Especially when you know why it is.
3. I want a new design. I think I want to break up the photo stuff from the writing. I also want a section without advertising. I'm not saying that I want to do reviews, I just want a place that isn't governed by contracts. I will, no matter what, disclose what goes there. See point number one.
3a. About the ads. A domain, hosting, etc, do not come free. Just in case you were wondering, ads don't pay any bills. I'm keeping them because they may some day make a dent in things.
4. I need a better bio. I would much rather be a blogger who has a kid than a mommy blogger. If you've noticed things around here recently, I don't blog nearly so much about my kid as I do my fat (shrinking) ass and my garden. My bio should reflect that. However, I'm still not sure who I am.
5. I want to do things outside of the blog. I've been dreaming of doing those little pieces on NPR for just about as long as I can remember. I've also been dreaming about Oscar acceptance speeches. One of those is attainable. If I am going to call myself a semi-professional writer, I need to actually put some effort in to the semi-pro thing. It could all suck horribly, but then again, maybe not.
So, what do you think? Nuts? Weird? Something worth doing? I'm guessing with the hour or so every other day I have to think about it, this is going to take some time. I've got to find someone who can help me some design stuff and hope to god that the tweeps will be there to answer any questions I have along the way.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
a) you already have a GREAT blog and I enjoy reading your writing and looking at your photos
b) focus is great. sounds like you've chosen a few areas you want to tweak/improve. More power to ya.
c) I've done a few of the things you've mentioned, like purchasing URLs and redesigns... if there's anyway I can be of help, please let me know.
Rock on!
I brought this up a year ago, and bring it up again now. It's probably time for those who are interested to form a Minnesota Mother's/Women's blog ring. It would be a group that could then pool traffic to offer to potential advertisers. As a network, especially a women's network, it would have great appeal to many different places locally, both in the for and non-profit arena.
If this is something people are interested in, I can get it started. My only requirement is that we let in all local women blogs who are interested, regardless of their focus, assuming it's not pr0n or something offensive.
Love your blog and looking forward to any updates you end up doing. And I appreciate you taking the integrity pledge. That does mean a lot to me as a reader. There was even a piece on NPR after BlogHer about it and it makes me wonder if I've been "sold" something from online blog reviews that I didn't know was more of an ad than an independent opinion. So, thank you for your honesty.
I'm so glad I got to meet you at BlogHer, even if it was during that craziness that was the Thursday night Room 704 party!
When I read this post I thought my head would fall off from nodding along so much!
1. I took the Integrity pledge today after seeing it on your blog. Thank you for introducing me to that!
2. I also want my own domain. And, yes, stick with AmeliaSprout.
3. I also want a new design, both in the appearance and in the way I blog. And about ads, don't feel guilty for them. It's something that will always be controversial.
4. I love the way you describe yourself and a blogger who happens to have a kid. That's how I feel lately, I just didn't know how to word it!
5. Working outside your blog? Go for it. Just from our few minutes of meeting and the few posts of yours that I've read, I can tell you have amazing talent!
Ok, sorry about the super long comment. Just wanted to reply to every aspect!
good for you :-) i say do with it what makes you happy. i mean... why else would we be doing this???
it cost me $10 to get a domain name, and it's still hosted by blogger - really easy - no need for a separate host (and bill).
I've been having many of the same thoughts since BlogHer last year. (Although I didn't go last year either. Next year! I swear!) I have a lots of notes about what I want in a redesign. I have a long list of blog designers that I've considered. But I still haven't done anything about it. Probably because I've also been having a bit of a blogging identity crisis. I'm having a hard time writing, because I'm having a hard time finding time to write. That's coupled with the fact that I'm no longer clear on my focus and I'm sure exactly what direction I want to go from here. Gaaaaaah.
So I'll be watching your journey closely. And I'll probably have a lot of questions for you along the way. Good luck!
Post a Comment