There was once a time where blogging was as simple as writing something on the very new internet, and pressing enter. Throwing it out into a world of the unknown. Not knowing who would see it or who would actually start following your writing. Blogging used to be more intimate, more sincere, and more individualized. Now it seems to be another way to make money or just another trend.
I aim to stay original. In this age of social media where everything is a competition and social media revolves around everything, I want to stand out in my own way. And not because I am like the typical blogger. You know, the Instagram page you follow that has the perfect picture, with the perfect set up. They have the perfect following and there life seems so perfect. They write about how there life is so not perfect yet portray this image to capture you and draw you into their world of perfection. It’s absolutely crazy!
In my mind, I envision the movie Julie and Julia. Where Julie sits at her desk in New York writing by her window, working her miserable job but going home to write every night. She is pleasantly surprised at her growing amount of followers and even her first comments. Mind you there was no “like” button or social media craze like there is now. It was just Julie, her computer and the unknown audience. That is what I picture when I think of being a blogger.
Now in today’s blogging world, it has, in my humbled opinion, gotten out of control. I like to support local bloggers. I like to blog and put my writing out there in hopes that someone, somewhere will read it and enjoy my piece. I know that once I press “Enter”, it’s out there for the entire world to see. But not knowing who will see it, is nonetheless, a bit exciting.
There’s an allure of being under the radar but also hoping to gain some attention at the same time. I like to think that maybe one day I can make this my career, or maybe I’ll remain as is until the end of time. Maybe one day someone will find all my work when I’m long gone and declare it a masterpiece–just as they did to Emily Dickinson. Ha! A girl can only dream.
What I wish we could see more of is original content. Maybe more original branding as well. I had a great discussion with some friends about how social media is so consumed in comparisons. We compare ourselves to the next celebrity, to the next blogger, to the next actress, and the next and the next. I appreciate seeing even celebrities posting original content and not conforming to the current trend.
I recently went into my list of people I follow on Instagram and un-followed people that didn’t make me happy. If there was someone or something that made me feel bad in anyway, I pressed that un-follow button. You see, it’s not about going with trends or following the latest famous person. It’s about what makes you happy in your life. If there is something that makes you feel bad then you should eliminate that from your life. Period.
Writing makes me feel alive. I have always said I never want it to become a thing that makes me feel like I don’t love it anymore. I never want to feel like it’s something I’m not looking forward to. Blogging is my way of getting a piece of me out there in this world.
To all my fellow writers/bloggers: I hope that you read this humbly and sincerely. I feel like in this generation we sometimes get lost in the scramble of wanting to conform to a current trend or we get lost in the craze of social media. Let’s remember our beginnings, let’s remember where we started.
Can you remember the very first blog you wrote and posted publicly? Can you remember your very first writing piece? I would love to hear about it in the comments below. Or feel free to shoot me a message. I got you.
I hope the take from this is that you see my view from a humbled writer, who wants the world (our audience) to see blogging from a pure stand point.
I hope that the purity of writing and blogging never gets lost in the shuffle.
xo Jovi
jovicasie.com 