Wow! Thank you, dear readers!
Today I celebrate 1,000 views of this blog after 19 posts since July 4 of this year. How exciting for me to know you're reading! Well, I know some of you may have just hit the link when you were looking for something else and not read, but that's a fact of search and browse, so I won't try to estimate the percentage of lost searchers and web surfers who never come back. But I will share with you some reasons that I'm enjoying this blogging experience.
Now don't let the title of this post mislead you and don't be disappointed. This entry won't model The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort, that famous manual originally published in 1972 that features hairy, musky lovers.
No, no naked pics, but yet I have no shame and will steal a format made popular by David Letterman and do this as a top ten list. But I can't promise this topic will be as funny as Dave's. Eh, even Dave wins some and loses some. With that said,
Top ten reasons I like to blog:
10. Blogging is a wonderful outlet for creativity. Even the best of day jobs are work. Blogging is play. And I love every minute I can find to dedicate to this play. Blogger allows me to start a draft and work on it here and there, and I can write in advance and schedule. Wish I could blog daily like Julie Powell of the Julie/Julia Project. Wouldn't that be fun? Maybe in retirement. Or in my next life.
9. The blogger dashboard shows me what countries my audience comes from. So fascinating! It's fun to check out my stats and see what country is visiting today. Of course, 88% of traffic is coming in from the United States. And I understand that the visits from Guam were my daughter and son-in-law, who, now back in the states, lived there the past two years. And I'm even supposing that the representation from the United Kingdom might be my cousin (Hi, Jim!), but every day new countries pop up in my list: Germany, India, Canada, South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, France, Russia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Thailand, and Latvia, so far.
It's even better when the numbers for a country continue to go up, so potentially it's a repeat visitor. I'm not naive. I realize that maybe the international visitors are just a lot of individuals from, say, India, looking for a job "working to live" in the U.S. I even imagine that some are practicing their English language skills trying to read my blog. I'm sure they're confused by all my references. Sorry!
8. Google search results can be rewarding. And intimidating. I checked to see where I showed up searching a number of different ways. Lo and behold! Who'da thunk I'd show up in top results right under Mother Teresa of Calcutta and above my namesake Saint Thérèse of Lisieux?
Without diving into the fundamentals behind the Google search algorithm, I understand and see that I could search on different days and get different results, but regardless, I'm in the mix somewhere, usually in the top 20 list. Very cool when you're looking at 17 million or even 47 million results.
7. Community blogging means more access. My daughter Melissa Brooks is on staff at The Times Herald. Her Babbling Bride blog is featured in the Times Herald's Life section. And now I'm listed as a community blogger a bit down on the page, below the fold. But hey, I saw a spike in readership after this placement, so the access is appreciated. Now readers include others in addition to family and fellow Facebookers after I post. Love you all! :)
6. It's fun to say "blog." The word "blog," with its first known use in 1999, is short for Weblog, or web log. The definition is a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also, the contents of such a site. I like words in general and have some favorites. The word "blog" makes the list: so fun, it just rolls off the tongue. The "bl" sound when I push my tongue up against my upper choppers says "blaaaaaag, blaaaaaaaag." And I can say it with my Count Dracula accent for even more fun. Okay, maybe this reason is funny. It made me laugh.
5. Blogging lets me share my passion. For life, adventure, fun, learning, cooking, family, friends, and travel. It's wonderful to share my thoughts about things I love and think about. I'm really happy about the themes I chose. The possibilities remain to share so much and I'm excited about the potential. Now if only I could make some time to code some custom HTML and spiffy up the things that are bothering me about the template I chose. I'll be happy that I'm writing for now. Design is next on my list. Speaking of lists...
3. Blogging lets me share a little of myself with others. Those who know me at work and play may not readily agree that I have a shy side. At times, when I'm in a social mood, I can be loud and gregarious, first one on the dance floor, as I've told you before. But I do have a quiet side, an introspective tendency, and I like being alone just as much as being with others. And although I will readily share with others at times, I'm not always interested in sharing my deepest thoughts. I'm very aware, though, that this forum is quite public, so it's actually been an interesting experiment to share with you, my readers.
And the #1 reason that I like to blog:
Somebody's got to blog, so why not me?
Well, thank you again, dear readers. I hope you enjoy my perspective and the thoughts I share with you. And my hope for you is to find joy and share what you love, whatever that may be, and enjoy life to its fullest. Life's not perfect, but I truly believe we can make it what we will.
Until next time, yours in fun and blogging...Therese
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