When I started this blog, I had only a vague idea about where I was going and what I wanted to say, so I set a targeted number of views and agreed with myself that, when the blog-views reached that number, I would assess and adjust as necessary. I’ve reached the agreed-upon number.

But now that I’m thinking back, I can’t recall why I started the blog. I wonder if vanity played a role: was I attempting to satisfy some inner need? Was it a desire for affirmation, an exercise to test whether people would actually visit my site (and enjoy it enough to return for more nuggets of my personal verve and élan)? After some honest thought, I have to admit that there was an element of vanity, but it wasn’t the motivating force.

I enjoy writing, I’m presumptuous enough to think I have an adequate mind (I had to tone that down while my ego wasn’t looking), and I honestly enjoy distributing knowledge (whether real or imagined), ideas, thoughts, found facts, and ‘yips, yaps and barks in the dark’.

I had few goals, other than to persevere no matter what (i.e.: if nobody visited, I’d continue to post).

I didn’t want to have a blog theme that was too specific; my interests are varied, and I wanted to share enough of my personality to develop interest from others, but not enough to scare people off.

So, what has happened since the beginning?…

I’m happy — and somewhat surprised — that I’ve had visits from around the world.

I think I’ve written some good posts, some bland posts, and others that were ill-advised, hackneyed, or not as witty as I thought at the time (and I recall at least one post that I deleted after-the-fact).

I have deviated somewhat from my natural voice: I’ve spent too much time trying to figure out what others want to read, and I’ve strayed somewhat from the kind of post I want to write. It’s satisfying when people view posts; but, deep down, what I really want to do is dig at my thoughts and distribute the shovels-full into the blogosphere. If a post generates views or provokes a response, great; if not, so be it. My focus moving forward is on getting back to the type of post that flows from an inner source. I want to share my zest for the mysteries of this wondrous universe. Far too few posts have provided a window to my soul.

I have a bad habit of posting before proof-reading carefully; my apologies to anyone who has tripped over spelling mistakes, grammar disasters, and/or awkward structure. I’ve been attempting to slow down recently, but I’m not sure it has helped. I think I need to slow down even further.

Time is a valuable commodity, and I wish I had more. I’ve spent a fair amount of time on my blog, but I haven’t devoted enough time and energy to visiting other peoples’ blogs. In particular, I haven’t spent enough time viewing the posts of people who have decided to follow my blog; from time-to-time I’ve perused their posts, but I haven’t searched systematically. After all, if they’ve enjoyed my blog, chances are good that we share some common interests and I’d enjoy their posts as well. I’m considering committing a post to a follower every now and then (which would have the added benefit of easing the burden of developing new post ideas).

In a similar vein to the paragraph above, I haven’t spent enough time looking through the posts of people who’ve liked my posts. I always take a quick look, but I’m going to make an effort (try to find the time) to crawl through their blogs in the future.

That’s about it; but, before concluding:

Thanks to those involved with the day-to-day business of making the blog platform work as well as it does. I’ve been using WordPress for over a year: it has been an enjoyable experience and the people in charge seem energetic, friendly, approachable, and eager to improve the product. Kudos to all involved!

And I appreciate all the visits to Almost Falling; in particular, thanks to those who have liked a post (it gives my ego the boost it sometimes needs), thanks to those who’ve taken the time to leave a comment (feedback is very useful (but please be gentle with negative feedback; I bruise easily)), and — last, but certainly not least — thanks to those who’ve chosen to follow the blog (I’m assuming you enjoy the content (or at least enough of it to want to come back)).

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dbj 2012-09-12

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