I have been on blogger for almost 8 months now and I wonder about my readership. Does it really matter? Of course it does. Yes, I love to write and I would write irrespective, but the thrill of having people read my work, makes everything suddenly more worthwhile. I guess, it’s a form of validation. I try to think of ways to get my blog more readers. Well, to be honest, I am clueless about such things. How does someone find my blog anyway?
I wondered about how people got chosen for “Blogs of note” and looking it up on google, I realize it’s really random. Or so they say? Also, I notice there are a lot of bloggers out there. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. How does one compete with that for readership?
I know, I’m supposed to share my blogs on Facebook as often as I can and write as often as I can but the topic of this blog is challenging myself. I’m going through a few challenges, but for now, for this post, my challenge is to get off Facebook. Not completely though. I think it would be more accurate to say, to use Facebook in a non-addictive way. I find myself checking Facebook every hour as though a very important status message will show up, or someone will make a comment on my post and when I sit back and think about the truth, it’s pointless.
Facebook, to me, has become this vehicle for narcissism. Here’s my selfie and I’m putting it on Facebook. Don’t I look cute? I’m sorry, but I’m not into the bragfest. As a matter of fact, it annoys me when there’s too much unwanted sharing. There are some amazing articles that are shared that I truly enjoy. I have used that as an excuse for being on Facebook, but I’m really trying to downshift. I’m taking a self made Facebook challenge. A form of detox, if you will. I’m trying to get more control of myself. I’m tired of being the Facebook zombie starring at a screen, thinking the world will magically change at any given moment.
So, where does this all relate to my blog? As I mentioned, I would love to grow my readership. I know Rome wasn’t built in a day. Instead of staring at a Facebook screen, I would like to challenge myself to write more blogs and after a week of no Facebook to just go on to post my blog. I would also use Facebook for my business and post there to keep things moving forward. Also, I plan to limit my Facebook time to maybe a maximum of 30 minutes, if that, a week.
I took the challenge yesterday and it has officially been 24 hours since I have checked Facebook. I feel that when I get back on Facebook, I will have a blog to post and I will have my priorities straight. Instead of watching the craziness of the world, I can just delete the people I don’t want on there and streamline my friends. If I keep my blog posts public, I can perhaps grow my readership. We’ll see.
I know my blog about being a Muslim and the Ferguson verdict got a lot of hits. I don’t really want to be known for religion or politics though. Blogging is such a balance.
Enough of my rants for now. I’m still fasting from Facebook. When I get on, I’ll pick a few of my blogs to re-post, perhaps.
Best wishes all,
TTR
