Over the weekend, I finally closed out my other major online presence.
It was an old blog, one that had been started after this one and one that was "published" under the auspices of my real, actual name. Originally I was following the idea of Otis, who had published a business related blog writing about his career field. Sounded like a good idea, I thought. I should do the same.
Like most of my ideas, this was the one that was going to "take" me on to fame and fortune. This was the blog that was going to put my keen insight on my career field and success on display for the world to see as me. This was going to move the goal posts forward (finally) on my writing career.
As you can suspect by the fact that I shut it down, it did not quite live up to my extraordinarily high expectations.
It would perhaps be fair to say that my writing on such things is not all that unique. To succeed in the world of career and business or achievement blogging, you need to provide solutions. I am not so much of a solution provider as I am a theoretical thinker. I can take the thoughts and words of others or even myself, but I would just as soon theorize as I would provide solutions.
Oh, I got hits - far more than I ever received here. But the tracking device revealed the unique hits were no more than I have done here over the years; I had become a magnet for spammers trying to post links to their products.
I did get some good out of it: I learned to write fables pretty well. Articles I am not so good at; fables are much more challenging and yet easier. If I did no other good, I did that.
So this weekend I carefully archived everything to my computer (we never lose writing here), and then quietly began the process of eliminating and shutting down the blog and all its links.
Besides just tying up another loose end online, I was surprised by the sense of relief that flooded me when I was done. It was like I had been carrying around this burden of an old project that had never been completed but not really sure what to do with it. The situation has been rectified, as with any good spring cleaning. The InterWeb Desert, if you will, has once again wiped the slate clean.
It feels good to shuck a load, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI had to digitally declutter a few years ago and yes, it felt great. I've had good ideas for blogs too, but a lot of them have opened, shut down etc...minimal is best for me!
ReplyDeleteReverend, it does. It has been playing at my mind for almost two years, since I shut it down. Glad to be done with it.
ReplyDeleteRain, I have tried a number of blogs over the years. I am really only able to keep up one with any sort of regularity or quality. This one has been the longest running and in some ways is the best: by writing as completely not my actually self, I am able to write out things in a place that I can actually think and process them. I suspect that some that know "me" would be rather shocked at what all goes on here...
ReplyDelete