The conversation around social media being bad is boring. Maybe I’m just bored with it because I’ve spent my whole adult life trying to understand what it means to me; how it makes me feel and how it shapes my perspective.
I stopped using Instagram a few months ago. It’s a little bit like travelling long term. The place you’ve left behind keeps running, and given I have taken breaks from Instagram before, I know my return would be greeted with an unchanged feed — the same stories, the same people — a consistent noise.
Maybe that’s why quitting social media is such an emotive topic for some people. It’s like someone deciding to leave their small country town. I can imagine if you’re still living in the town, it gets you thinking.
Like travel, leaving one place for another is only one part of the experience. Arguably, the biggest experience lies in what you decide to do when you travel. Where you go. The people you meet. The things you discover about yourself.
I wish more of my friends had blogs. I say it with the same tone as “YOU’VE GOTTA VISIT INSERT CITY“.
It’s hard — well, at least for me — to not become evangelical about new discoveries. Rebuilding my blog (where you’re reading this) has provided so much joy.
Blogging is more of a rediscovery for me. I wrote my first blog post around 2004. It was a unique time for blogging. WordPress was just in its infancy. There were services like Typepad, Blogger and micro-blogging like Tumblr.
My philosophy on personal blogging to keep it fun:
- There’s no specific topic or niche. Share whatever you want.
- Mix formats — share photos, write and curate.
- No rules on blog post size. A few words is fine. A photo with a heading is also fine.
- Don’t actively share it on social media. The blog should feel like a discovery for the reader.
One of my favourite parts of a blog was the link roll. This is where the blogger would share their friends’ blogs and other websites they like.
I wanted to create a link roll on this blog, then I realised very few friends blog. If you do, and you’re reading this, please comment and let me know know!
