A while ago, and I do mean a while ago - last year in fact - a favourite blogger of mine was in a bit of a personal rut. She co-blogged on a blog focusing primarily on books, but she no longer felt she wanted to blog books all of the time, and she felt a little lost.. It got me thinking, how many of us started our blogs with books in mind, talking about books, loving books, ranting books and showcasing books who now run blogs that aren't solely focused on that anymore? How many of us just blog whatever comes to us, whatever we want to share or talk about? How many of us have changed, and in turn, changed our blogs?
I personally, from the moment I started blogging, have changed what I do an awful lot. The biggest change being that I've gone from solo blogging to blogging with Stacie, but I've also delved into discussions not only about books, but about the experience of blogging, I've started reviewing films I've watched as well as the books I read, I've talked about my other hobbies, whether that be the shows and I watch and games I play, or my card making habit, I've gotten personal and talked about my life with depression and within all of this, I still share my love for books, but I'm no longer just blogging about the subject I started with, and I think that's perfectly fine.
It's understandable that with time, we, as humans, change and adapt to what life at us, and sometimes that influences things we do. You might have gotten a new job and the time that new job demands might be enough to change how you blog, or when, and you might even want to blog about the job, how you got there, the experiences your gaining, how it can change things in your life, the same way if you go from employed to unemployed, you might want to talk about how that changes your perspectives, how it affects your feelings. Some people, in the time I've been following their blogs, I've noticed, have become more personal in their post, they include things from TV shows they're currently in love with, to their chronicles of cats stories, and I firmly believe there's nothing to be ashamed of in doing this. Your blog may have started out as one thing, the same way you may have started out as one person, but with time, with influences, with experiences and development, you can change, and when you change, your blog changes with you, and there's nothing that you should stop you form embracing that.
Your blog is your voice. It's your stage, your platform. Don't worry about who you used to be or what you used to blog about, embrace the new you, the new quirks and the new hobbies and bring these into your blog. Blogs change over time, and that's what gives them life.
Omg, I love this post so much. I TOTALLY FEEL THE SAME! Believe it or not, I started out as a travel blog because I went to China for a month and my older sister just said, "You need to blog!" After that it was 90% writing focused...it was only when I accidentally stumbled on the book blogging community that I kind of said WAIT UP. HOLD EVERYTHING. I WANT IN ON THIS. And I've never looked back. I love book blogging, but it's definitely not where I started.
ReplyDeleteI think it's perfectly awesome and logical for people to change. *nods*
Really?! I would never have known that, and probably would never have found you Cait. THE CRIME. I'm glad you agree though, it's always okay to change, it's normal and happens :)
DeleteOKAY YOU HAVE SUMMED UP MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. People get caught up on maintaining a certain 'image' on their blog, like they feel they can't do or say certain things because they're worried what followers will think, or because they don't feel like it fits in with the 'theme' of their blog.
ReplyDeleteBut to me, blogging is blogging and people are invested in YOU and the way YOU make your content. So as your change, your blog will change and so might the type of posts you want to do. But I see that as a good thing, because it's like evolving really, into something better :)
I do think that after a while, you do come to see the person behind the blog, and you're interested in them and their content, so what they post, you'll read. You evolve with other things, you should with your blog too, so I'm glad you agree Allie :)
DeleteExcellent post!
ReplyDeleteMy blog is about whatever I want. It started out as books only, but then it kind of naturally grew and adapted to be about:
* Books
* Coding
* Blogging
* WordPress
* Life
It's not a "book blog", it's my piece of personal space. I post whatever I feel like. There are no rules or labels that you have to abide by. You don't have to have just a "book blog". Instead, have a "blog". And that's it. A blog with no boundaries or topics. blog about whatever you want!
Thanks Ashley! I completely agree, it's your space to blog, so just blog!
DeleteFact: I just love staring at your header. It's so pretty. <3
ReplyDeleteNext... YES!! I love it when people can embrace their blogs and themselves and not care what others may think, if that makes sense. Becca and I are very different from other book reviewers in that we AREN'T aspiring authors, we DIDN'T graduate at the top of our class, and we DON'T always use proper grammar and punctuation. Our spelling sucks, our tenses are all off, and most of our reviews are pure rambles. But that's what makes us US. You know? We just LOVE BOOKS!! That's all. We just love books and we don't have many people in our circle of family/friends that do as well, so we use our blog as a place to freak out about everything bookish. We do talk about other things on the blog as well, but mostly it's our book rant outlet. Our reviews are on the short side. We share very little info about the actual book. Most of our reviews are basically our feelings while reading a book. They're short, they're to the point, and they're spoiler-free. Yes, there are other book reviewers that write MUCH better reviews than we do, spending hours, and it shows. But honestly, that's just not us. We're not good at that kind of thing. We just LOVE BOOKS!! :D
See, there I go rambling again... LOL!
I love that the blogs I visit the most are all so different. Some share games, movies, and other life activities. Some I'm completely not familiar with, and sometimes not interested in, but honestly that's what makes us all so unique! I also love seeing how blogs I've been following for some time have evolved. My closest bloggy friends have changed so much over the couple of years we've been chatting, and it's amazing to watch. I love this community, and I love how each person's uniqueness shines through their posts.
Awesome post!! <3
Thanks Lisa, that means a lot! I do think it's wonderful to see people change and embrace the other parts of them and include them in their blogs like films and games, it really is nice. I'm glad you love how you review, and that you liked this post too!x
DeleteYESSSS! I don't think I could simply just blog "books". Honestly, it'd probably drive my insane, that rigidity, you know? I LOVE posts that are a little more personal, that share a little bit of insight into the blogger behind all the words. It's why I adore wrap-ups and whatnots, especially the ones that talk a little more about what they get up to, outside all the reading. But, our blogs are our own creative spaces, they reflect us in a way. And it only makes sense that it'll evolve and change, just as we will, over time. Brilliant post, Amanda! x
ReplyDeleteThank you Jess! I wasn't sure if people would understand, some bloggers are very certain on what they do and don't vary, but many of us do, and it's important that we accept that things, and times, change :) x
DeleteAwesome post Amanda! I think that regardless of whether you only blog about books or not - it's your creative space and you should be free to expand what you post about if you so wish. Everybody's blog is bound to be different in some way - either in design, content or writing style - and if you evolve over time in the direction you want to go in, then good for you! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Eugenia, it is important to evolve isn't it? I guess it comes with experience, the more confident you are, the more you embrace other aspects of your life, and that's more than fine! :)
DeleteI completely agree! But even though we started out blog because we loved books and wanted to talk about them, we "basically" started our blogs to talk about something that we love, or enjoy or just want to share, books, movies or whatever it is. Such an amazing post!
ReplyDeleteLisa
www.turningpages94.blogspot.com
Thanks Lisa, pleased I could relate to you in some way :)
DeleteA while ago, I took a bit of a break from following most of the book blogs I read... and when I came back, a number of them were now mommy blogs. I get that life changes, but if I enjoyed your musings on books, I don't necessarily want to see pics of your kid's food-covered face, no matter how cute it might be.
ReplyDeleteSo while I do think that it's your right to blog about whatever you like, you should at least be honest about it. If "Betsy's Book Blog" is all about wiping baby butts now, it's a little dishonest. Change the name or start a new blog; don't expect your previous followers to change just because you have. You might need an entirely new audience.
Oh, I couldn't imagine returning to that big of a change, that would definitely call for some renaming or rebranding and such, so you make a very good point. Small changes like including little snippets, but entire blogs dedicated, that could be too much..
DeleteWonderful post Amanda, it's so true that I see blogs evolving over time and I think it's great that the blogger is doing what fits them. When I started my blog, it was actually a haul post blog with perfume and game reviews and books, and now it's a fully fledged book review blog with movies and games on the side lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeann! I would never have guessed that you'd hauled perfume and such, it's easy to see how someone can change though and include more from their lives. You vary what you write about, and I love that, so you made a good call :)
DeleteI also started out as a blog with only bookish contents, but slowly I've changed it to something that reflects me as a person. I started to include short recaps of what happened to me in that month, I share my love for Disney and fairytales; I think it's great when blogs show more personality in their content :)
ReplyDeleteI think with time we become more confident and have more faith in what we believe in and what we enjoy and just start to share us, not just things we like and enjoy. It's lovely to see, and I love your variety Mel, it's always wonderful :)
DeleteMy blog is pretty much all about books, but who knows what the future holds? I enjoy reading my favorite book bloggers' posts about other stuff - variety is the spice of life, right?
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
You never know what you might blog about soon Nicole, the world is your oyster!
DeleteI don't think I've changed too much really. I've always been a little "beyond the books"esque, in a couple of my past features featuring fairytales and music.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I love "book" blogs that include other things like personal posts, tv shows,and other hobbies. I think it "rounds out" the person and makes the blog seem more personal. This is a great post and I hope more people will take into consideration other non-bookish topics they want to talk about on their blogs, but may be unsure of.
Thanks hun! I never thought about how it could encourage others, I just think that talking about other things is nothing to fear or be ashamed of, and it's good to delve into the unknown.
DeleteDefinitely! I think it's really great when book bloggers delve out into other things. That's why I have some features that include my other interests, like video games and archaeology, because I want my blog to really feel like mine. It definitely feels more individual when other more personal elements are added in :)
ReplyDeleteArchaeology is one I've never seen before, that is delving out Rinn! The more personal, the more you'll want to blog, and the more you'll enjoy it, I think anyway :)
DeleteI totally agree! I think it's actually sort of a coincidence that I stumbled on this post because recently, I've been thinking about this too. I've only actually had my blog for about half a year but I don't really want it to be exclusively books. I feel like my blog should be more than just me and books. I want readers to feel my personality radiating off of my posts and content... okay that sounds a little weird. But I want to my blog to not just be something I do, but an extension of my personality. Great post! I think it's helped me finally make my decision on how I do blogging.
ReplyDeleteYour blog does become more about you than just books, and it's amazing how it happens. It doesn't sound weird to me, after a while, your posts sound like you, you type how you'd speak, and that's the personality coming through, I do it myself, I do try to not let my common sounding phrases fall in though.. I'm glad I could help hun :)
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