I guess that is not a very nice thing to say in a birthday greeting, at least not if you still want people to remain interested in your enterprise. Every year on October 19th, the anniversary musings come with sweet as well as bitter sweet reckonings about the health of the blog. It is increasingly evident that we are now in a completely different state of blogging regarding enthusiasm, frequency and readership volume from the heydays of just a couple of years ago.
There is nothing terribly interesting to say this year about traffic, new authors or sensational links that created a lot of interest. The past twelve months have seen a real dip in new writings and naturally, in traffic. Of the dozen authors listed on our roster less than 50% have contributed on a regular basis in the past year. Often short links (something I don’t like very much) have filled up the space on the front page in lieu of substantive commentary. We have pivoted away from political blogging for the most part, current political events specifically, have not received much attention.
Time, as Sujatha pointed out in her anniversary post last year is a major obstacle to blogging for most authors. But that is not the only reason. As I once speculated and Sujatha pointed out, crowded and more interactive social media too have played a role in the reduction of readership and postings.
My thanks to Sujatha, Norm and Omar for blogging here with some regularity on varied topics and to Dean for keeping the comment threads lively. I also appreciate the contributions of other authors (Dean, Prasad, Jesse and Cyrus) who have posted when time has permitted. Joe, Anna and Andrew have not been seen here for a long time. The former became busy with his new job and the latter two with their new baby. My own rate of blogging has fallen precipitously. I noted in a comment on Sujatha’s anniversary post last year that a lack of enthusiasm for the political scene is one of the many reasons why my blogging spirits have flagged considerably. Some of us think that is not necessarily a bad thing. Now with a messy election season coming up, our attention may once again turn to politics. Who knows, the urge to hold forth publicly on issues that matter to us may pick up once again.
Many thanks also to some regular readers who continue to drop by despite the paucity of new material and reduced frequency of posting. Some, like my friend Elatia, are invariably supportive and add to the discussion with their interesting and thoughtful observations. Despite the anemic condition, Accidental Blogger remains a comfortable zone for some of us to share our thoughts and talk to each other. Do continue to check us out.
Several times in the past whenever I felt (sometimes mistakenly) that the blog was in the doldrums, I used to weigh the option of closing down Accidental Blogger. Joe always said that he didn’t believe I would ever do that. He was right. I do not want to lose a huge and interesting archive of material contributed by many different authors and commenters who put in a lot of thought and effort in adding to the discussions. The contents of the blog will be maintained as they are whether or not blogging ceases altogether here. I have decided that TypePad is as good a venue as any other on the web to maintain the blog in its original format. A.B. therefore will remain available to its authors and readers for the foreseeable future.
To add some color to the bland musings, let me share a painting of mine with you. The composition is a bit stark and bare. Perhaps the solitary musician is not entirely unsuited for the mood of this post. We are not quite whistling past the graveyard but sometimes it feels a lot like singing in the wilderness.
(click to enlarge)
Congrats, Ruchira and A.B. !
Has it been 6 years? Somehow, the past year seems to have moved faster than the year before it. I think the pacing of posts, even if slower than in previous years, may have been just right for me, with all the things that I'm juggling.
Posted by: Sujatha | October 19, 2011 at 05:46 AM
I wish I was more disciplined and came here more regularly..but definitely keep it going. Happy 6th birthday!
Posted by: omar | October 19, 2011 at 09:27 AM
Happy Birthday! I predict between now and October 19, 2012, the fur will have flown! Torn out in big clumps by writers here! There were times in my life as an artist that I didn't draw very much -- for so many reasons. "I'm NOT idling," I would say to people who knew this. "I'm saving trees." I suppose everyone here could say, "It's not that I'm posting lightly. I'm reducing my carbon footprint." Yes the action has shifted to Facebook, but has the dialogue? The real dialogue? Maybe not -- one writes and thinks very little there except for a few stock phrases. So the salons of the blogosphere have morphed into receiving lines, with their etiolated pleasures; I say, wait it out! Thank you for mentioning me as a faithful reader -- I will be that, though AB moves to the dark side of the moon!
Posted by: Elatia Harris | October 19, 2011 at 09:49 AM
Happy anniversary to AB, Ruchira, and all. At the risk of sounding like some vapid television self-help guru, I think it's okay for a forum like this to experience a degree of anomie and uncertainty. I also continue to believe that the technology itself--the software, the wires, and the blinking lights--contribute their share of difficulty to the process of posting and commenting, never mind whether or not one has a good idea eager to be expressed. It so happens that this will be a topic broached incidentally in an upcoming post. But as usual TypePad is determined to sabotage its premier. Although I saved my draft immediately prior to logging off, the version retained at the host site is an earlier iteration. And weren't there four comments appended to this post just minutes ago, the last a response from Ruchira?
Posted by: Dean C. Rowan | October 19, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Happy Birthday! My artist neighbor has a bumper sticker that reads, "Stop The Stupids!"
TO THE BARRICADES!!!
Posted by: Norman Costa | October 19, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Happy birthday! Keep the blog going. I'll try to blog more often, but between working and childcare I am just slammed.
Posted by: Andrew R. | October 19, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Elatia, it is always a pleasure to see you here. Your "two cents worth" on any topic is unfailingly more substantive than its face value.
Yes, it is six years and we embark on the seventh. Thanks for sticking around, everyone. Perhaps we will pick up some pace again soon. I don't see the frenetic energy of the first couple of years returning. But a slower and steadier rate of writing isn't impossible, even with the World Wide Web's many other distractions.
(Dean, that comment you saw and then didn't see, wasn't TypePad's mysterious handiwork. I withdrew it for some edits)
Posted by: Ruchira | October 19, 2011 at 07:03 PM
Salutations and congratulations on another year. I am glad to see the blog hanging on, as well-- not only for the archived material, but as an oasis of reflection to which to retreat from the blather of facebook, however frequently or infrequently the opportunity offers itself.
Posted by: Anna | October 20, 2011 at 06:30 PM
Happy birthday!
I actually prefer the reduced output frequency of blogs today. Outside of political blogging which remains minute-by-minute, the pointless navel-gazing and status-updating has essentially migrated to twitter and facebook, leading to meatier posts. I think most blogs I follow these days update no more than a few times a week. I wonder if the length of posts as a loose proxy for weight has increased even as the count has gone down. At the least I expect that it hasn't decreased by as much as post frequency.
Posted by: prasad | October 21, 2011 at 10:16 AM
Keep on truckin', Ruchira and others! And happy anniversary!
Best wishes from your admirers in the Tyrol!
Posted by: Abbas Raza | October 22, 2011 at 01:38 PM