Saturday, March 1, 2014

Refreshed


Mary Elisabeth, Lola, and Emily on Twitter
 photo 866de425-8336-4c63-9efd-1c4dd8bf0e62_zpsafe0d56b.jpg

36 comments:

  1. Your vlogs are always so great. I love listening to you talk. /productive comment

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  2. Glad you're back, Betsy! Have a delightful March.

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  3. Like everyone else, I'm glad you're back, and I hope you will be successful in getting back to why and what you want to blog about.


    [Long paragraph that just kept getting longer and longer deleted and going into an email.]

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  4. I emailed you back, but in your comment on my last post you said something about "taking blogging back" and, though I didn't speak to that directly in this video, I wanted to say something about it here!

    I don't think we CAN take blogging back. At least, I don't think that those of us who enjoy what blogging used to be can take it as a medium back to what it used to be. Blogging is just moving way too fast and millions of people are going at warp speed. I can't keep up and trying clearly makes me unhappy so I won't, but I think that means I have to make peace with the fact that I'm going to get left out/behind eventually.

    Thank you for letting me hijack your comment :)

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  5. In general I don't do anything blog related on weekends- I made an exception for this because I've been awaiting your thoughts. I've set a personal goal to engage less on a surface level and focus my attention, so this had been very interesting to listen to and I'm sure, will continue to be in the upcoming weeks. X

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  6. I love it when you blog. I really feel like you're talking to me, even though there are dozens of other people watching as well! I'm glad that you were able to sort through some of your feelings during the break and really look forward to reading your coming posts and questions. The point about having deeper relationships really stuck with me and made me remember that I shouldn't feel bad about certain things regarding blogging. (We've talked about this before and you wrote a great guest post for me on that!) We'll talk about this soon <3

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  7. I'm so glad you're back! That month went by fast! I'm excited to see where your newfound thoughts on blogging take you. Your blog is definitely one of my favorites -- 1) because you're awesome and 2) because I feel like you blog so authentically. I can tell you blog because you love it and not because you have some ulterior motive. Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

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  8. I love the Design Sponge posts on blogging and living online - thanks for recommending those! And great to see you back in blogland! Excited to see where things will take you!

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  9. aren't you in Cameroon right now? haha this can wait! I'm honored you stopped by :)

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  10. wow, then I'm definitely honored you watched an 11 (yikes) minute video - thank you so much! I don't think that those surface level interactions are bad or anything in and of themselves, I just... it makes me really uncomfortable to wonder, when I see a blogger tweet a link to a post another blogger has written, if there's actually a relationship there or if it's just sponsorship. (Not that there can't be both, of course, but you know what I mean!)

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  11. oh thanks, Whitney! I actually HAVE talked to you about all of this so sorry if some of the video was redundant :P

    And I was thinking about that guest post I wrote for you when I recorded this! Do you have the link? I can't find it when I search your site. But I do remember talking about how, in some ways, readers are consumers - SUCH a tricky concept when blogging is such a personal endeavor!

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  12. YAY thank you! I picked a short month on purpose :P Karen actually mentioned ulterior motives behind blogging - she called them side effects - in her email to me about this. I think that whole idea might be worth a post of its own...

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  13. haha I just really like the sound of my own voice :P thank you!

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  14. she is SO GREAT when she gets meta about blogging!

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  15. No worries... hearing you actually speak on it versus writing it in a chat are totally different. Plus I just love pretend like we're hanging out!

    Here's the link for the guest post that you wrote: http://www.theobservantturtle.com/2012/11/onoff-relationships.html

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  16. I love this! It can be really hard to stay authentic. Not following "blog rules" is t main reason I've never thought about opening my blog to advertising, even though I've seen blogs with less followers than I have sell ads. But sometimes I want to do "blogger trends" or whatever to gain readers; it's just hard to strike a balance with my blogging goals. Like I just received my very first VoxBox from Influenster, and as you'll see later this week, I had to be very creative to find a way to review the products without being fake. Like I told Beau, I have to review my free stuff if we want more free stuff! He was very patient last night when I told him we couldn't eat dinner until after I'd artfully arranged everything and taken pictures of it. ;)

    That was more rambly and less supportive than I'd intended... Um, basically you're awesome. Keep doing you. Rock on. ETC.

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  17. true confession: I'm doing a giveaway tomorrow to bribe people to help me answer some of the questions that came up during my Month Of No Blogging But Lots Of Thinking About Blogging...


    so I'm guilty too :) but thank you!

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  18. Ho.ly.goodness I feel like I have so much to say!


    1. I feel like the dorky girl who just got asked to prom by the quarterback for being mentioned in this.


    2. I am so delighted that you're back. Seriously. I don't know if I could take it if you didn't come back soon.


    3. I've been a blog reader for many, many years, but this is the first time I've been a blog writer in a This-Is-Not-My-Livejournal sort of way. I've seen the rise of blogging from the outside, really, and it's been insanely interesting to watch as things develop. When I first started reading blogs, they were messy and honest and had a homegrown feel to them (for the most part). But as blogging has become less of a hobby and more of a career opportunity, I've significantly dropped the number of blogs I read. It's not really a mystery as to why: things change when money gets involved. I'm not saying that I disagree with sponsorship or monetized blogging, but I think the introduction of money to blogging changed the way bloggers blog. (How many times can I say "blogging" or a derivative in one sentence? A lot, apparently.) It's like there was an increased pressure to write more content on a more regular basis, to have Nat Geo-quality photos, to essentially become more like a magazine run by a single person. I'm not really one to talk about community in blogging because I'm the actual WORST at commenting, but that hasn't stopped me from observing that a lot of blogs have moved away from the community aspect. It used to feel like people were writing for their mothers and best friends, and now they're writing for Martha Stewart and Cosmo. Not that it's always a bad thing, but it's just not what drew me into reading and eventually writing in the blogging world. I liked the real humanity of blogs--the sense that here was a person, saying to the internet, "This is me, and this is my life. If you'd like to be my friend, come hang out on my blog." It was a way to find like-minded people and to experience the lives of other people through their eyes. It was brave and honest, and reading blogs like that still humbles me in the best ways.


    Sorry for leaving that rambling nonsense of an essay, but organizing my thoughts on this is so hard! I could talk and talk and talk, but I think I'll leave it here.


    For now.


    :)

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  19. I'm so glad you shared 11 minutes of your thoughts! Much better than the snippets Twitter allows. Kind of to piggyback on the ideas @Mary Elisabeth wrote about, I think that in the past couple of years or so as bloggers have seen other bloggers making money, there has been this push to turn blogging into a career, or at least a side hustle. And you start to see ads and giveaways and sponsors and blogging rules and do this and not that. And I'm not necessarily opposed to people making money from blogging. But I think when the idea turns to everyone should be making money blogging, therein lies at least a part of the problem. In society right now, lots of people are looking at how to turn hobbies into careers, most likely because of the economy. And I don't fault people for that at all. When you need money, you need money. But there should also be a space for hobbies to be hobbies. And for that to be okay. I like writing and taking photos and planning parties because it's enjoyable. I don't want the pressure of doing that full-time. So I think when we put pressure on ourselves to blog every day or to follow blogging rules or whatever, it becomes more of a job and less of a hobby. And for some people, that's the goal and that's fine. I just don't want to feel guilty or less-than for not wanting that.


    I hope all that somehow adds to this conversation. :) Hah. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for opening up this space for a much-needed conversation!

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  20. I know what you mean. And am guilty of both. Both of tweeting just because someone is sponsoring but also tweeting a post out of sheer love. And being guilty of feeling a pang of jealousy when I see a blogger tweet something and have to squash the thought "Why not tweet my post? Why's that one special?" It's wasted emotion.


    I've realised how much it really means to me when people take the time to truly write out a juicy comment and I know I need to be better at reciprocating my appreciation.

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  21. I haven't listened to all of this because I'm sitting here with my husband and he doesn't understand the blog land vlogs =) I'll finish it tomorrow.


    Although you didn't blog in February I feel like I got to more you know just through Twitter, Instagram and from the few e-mails exchanged for the Runners Tell All and I'm happy about that. =)

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  22. I felt SO awkward finding the words I was trying to use to fit into a 140 character limit on Twitter, so thank you for not taking my responses in the way they sounded - which wasn't the way they were intended!


    I have a BIG post on sponsorship scheduled for the 24th - I want to really get into that part of your comment here, but I think that the comments/answers on tomorrow's post (you'll see!) will add even more to the conversation and it's going to get meaty and intense, I think, and so I don't want to give this comment short shrift by just saying YES I AGREE (though I do) because there's much more to it than that and I promise we'll wade through the weeds on it soon! thank you :)

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  23. SIDE HUSTLE. exactly. you're the third person just this weekend to mention that idea - Karen brought up "side effects" of blogging and Alyssa mentioned "ulterior motives." We all say "oh, I blog for me" but we wouldn't be publishing our words in a public forum if that were the only reason. There's ALWAYS side hustle / side effects / ulterior motives. And I think that I started getting into trouble when I started feeling pressure from other blogs/bloggers to have the same side hustle / side effects / ulterior motives as them... but it didn't feel like ME. And I did feel guilty and less than for not wanting the same as them! But I shouldn't. And I won't! THANK YOU.

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  24. WELCOME BACK!! I'm so glad to hear your time off was eye-opening and so productive for you! Exactly what you hoped for, right? :) I also think you've got a knack for vlogging…truly…because when I vlog, I say stupid words like 'fart' and talk about cheese too much. You, however, were collected and eloquent. Loved it!


    Loved the topic as well. I have to say, building relationships and having meaningful interactions are always something I strive for when leaving comments and wanting comments on my own blog. Those relationships are sometimes hard to build with a travel heavy blog (like mine) because many of the comments I get end up being "Nice photos…I'd love to go there someday, too!" Hard to respond back to that and build a meaningful dialogue. But I so appreciate even getting a comment, ya know? It's a tough balance sometimes. Of course, it's always the few and far between bleeding heart posts that tend to produce some great and lasting interaction…something I'm looking forward to exploring more as I move back stateside and away from travel heavy content. Blogging is always evolving…sometimes for the better, sometimes to our detriment, but it's nice to have a community of like-minded people to hash those changes out with! Looking forward to hearing more of what you've learned during your blogging time-out! :)

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  25. This was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. You are a truly inspirational thinker, and I admire your courage to come before the internet with your thoughts. This changed my life; I am not sure what I am going to do now, but just reflect on my own negativity. I have always been really negative, and this makes me want to change. So instead of being negative to other people, I am now going to be negative on to myself instead. This way, I can see the error of my ways and shatter through the opaque glass of reality and bring the positivity bells which are ringing right now, back into my life through doors. My husband, Leslie, was also equally as touched by your lovely post. We think we need to go on some type of positivity yoga retreat in order to reconnect with our inner positivity. We can't thank you enough for your bravery which has also really improved our sex life. We watched this video after, and Leslie said he felt more positive after the sex! Thanks again, and we will keep watching! xxx We are your biggest fans, keep blogging! We will say a crystal prayer for you my dear! You are such an inspiration! x

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  26. Minute 10:17 - "Is Bets having the relationship talk with us? I think she just asked me to go steady!" But seriously, the answer is yes (obvi.)

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  27. What an interesting discussion you have opened up here. I went through something like this back in September/October after growing frustrated with numbers and sponsorship, and decided to chuck the playbook and blog by my own rules. I've also been talking lately with my sister about how I feel like blogging can be a lot like high school (niches are like cliques, big bloggers are like the popular girls, and the outcasts tend to stick together out of necessity). As for the bubble bursting, from my perspective, I'm wondering if we'll see a shift to "blogging local" (like shopping local). I'm involved with my local blogging community, and I've made some real-life friends and seen just how integrated this group is. It's like blogging brought me back into real life. I agree with what some of the others have said about money sullying blogging a bit, especially if a blogger seems to stray from what they were initially. I prefer seeing bloggers promote one another out of genuine affection for the blog, not because of some dollars. And then there's the self-promotion game. Some bloggers seem to only use Twitter to promote current and previous posts, but never engage in conversations. But i suppose if they're choosing numbers over community, they're getting what they want (while leaving me cold).

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  28. Wow - this was so interesting! I totally feel like I have so many of these superficial relationships that you talk of through my blog, I would love to embrace a more real approach too. I want to take a bit longer when reading posts and commenting. I like this idea of 'slow blogging', it is a solely new one to me. I should probably try to embrace this idea a bit more myself - blogging less, and connecting more on a very real basis. I like it. Thank you!

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  29. I feel bad for being late to this, but it's good to see that you're back. :)

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  30. I think the concept of "blogging local" could easily become a "thing." I find myself connecting most to blogs where I have developed a real relationship with someone and that's been easiest for me to do with local bloggers who meet for fun events together. Even if they don't even write what I might usually be interested in reading, I'm 100 times more interested just because I know them on a deeper level than the comments section.

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  31. I've found the same thing. I'm a bit more invested in following blogs of people I have a real-life relationship with.

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I love reading your thoughts and suggestions! Please do leave a comment so we can get to know each other better.