Maven&meddler celebrates a first anniversary

I wasn’t sure what would happen last August when I created this blog. I’d previously had a brief fling with another blog, and that was a good thing … meaning that it was short-lived. I think exactly six people read it.

Friends who regularly read blogs gave me their best advice on why they read certain blogs, and not others. I read a lot of blogs and read a lot of books on blogs.

One of the goals I set for myself was to have 1,000 readers a month by the end of my first year. I had serious doubts up until a month ago, and then whoosh! the maven&meddler went over that magic number. I’m still not sure why.

My lovely and wise step-daughter told me that one reason she always checked in with her fav blog was that the author had a new post every single day. I’d noticed that most blogs didn’t come anywhere near this, but after trying to keep up with a few of the ‘publish occasionally’ variety, I found that Ms. Maven Junior was right about daily publishing. I didn’t like it, when I kept checking back on a blog, the same old post was still there.

I determined that I would publish every damn day. That’s a tall order by itself.

To make it all more complicated - as is my fashion - I decided that to keep a broad spectrum of readers, I would have a variety of pages devoted to things like food, health topics and aviation - a passion around this house.

Obviously, I can’t keep all the pages fresh on a daily basis. Like many of you, I work, have a family and all that. I do my best, and you’ll find a certain sense to it all if you hang in there. Themes kept it more manageable, like the Friday Fish Wrap and the Sunday Anti-Sermon. There were some themes that got left by the wayside, too.

Having the Purely Maven - Main Journal and the Impurely Maven page helps. Then I can be as good or as bad as I wanna be.

I think the Funnybone is essential, since laughter is key to good mental health.

There are probably apologies due for all the tweaking of the basic design I’ve done over the year. I’m sure it looked like I couldn’t make up my mind. I don’t write html, so have to rely on pre-designed templates, and finding the one that is a good fit for your unique material isn’t very easy. I think I’m close now.

One of the great things about the blog are the people I’ve gotten to know. Some say that computers and the internet are an isolating factor in today’s society. That’s only true if you let it be.

I’ve gotten to actually know, collaborate with and meet fellow bloggers here in Reno and elsewhere across the country. I’ve heard from friends and strangers who make comments about the posts, which are always appreciated even when I don’t agree. Comments mean you’re reading.

Through the magic of Google Analytics I’ve discovered that there are people all over the globe reading the maven&meddler. From Australia, to Ghana, to France, to Mexico and Columbia, to Brazil to Sweden and all across the United States and Canada. That has really amazed me. A sort of shirttail ex-brother-in-law who flys a Boeing 747 for a really large non-sched airline reads it, and I can sort of follow where in the world he is.

The blog has enabled me to really have a voice and make an impact occasionally on issues that I feel are of importance. It’s also a means of shouting kudos for businesses and the efforts of local folks that need a little extra notice.

At the end of the day, the maven&meddler is the best mental health insurance I could possibly have. I have a tendency to get all wound up over this, that and several of the other things. The Maven&meddler is my outlet.

It took nearly two weeks just coming up with the name maven&meddler. It had to be memorable, roll off the tongue, not be too hard to spell, not have another one somewhere on the internet, have an available domain that I could purchase and all that. But it also really does describe who I am and how I function in this crazy world.

Finally, I want to thank all my maven&meddler readers. I really do appreciate your support over the last year. Without you, it wouldn’t be any fun at all.

maven

Comments

[LB]

Congratulations! The volume of material on your site continues to amaze me.