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It’s Those Select Few
I’m always been mindful that if I were to devote myself to writing strictly photography based content, I would perhaps reach a much wider audience but my intention with this blog has never been to try to replicate better material than what’s already out there.
I like to focus more on the personal experiences through my writing and having the ability to weave my photographs into any of it has become the perfect structure to represent me and what I want this site to become.
There are a few readers that will stick around more than others and that small percentage that invest the time to probe deeper and discover what else to expect from this site, those are the ones that I have felt I’ve made a quality connection with already.
I can’t recall specifically where I came across this statement but it said that “if it takes you longer than 10 seconds to explain your blog, then you probably haven’t made sure it’s conveying the right message as to why it exist in the first place.”
My byline says it all. I’m a blogger, I’m a web enthusiast and I’m an avid photographer. That’s what this blog is about with a strong emphasis on photography and yet sometimes not just limited to that.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the sites I will always feel a stronger connection with are the ones that bundle their topic with a first-class personal story and whether I write about how much I enjoyed a movie, it just won’t be another film review as I will always strive to instill some personal meaning to it. Case and point.
I continually come across friends that stumble about my site via Facebook and they inquire what my site is about, hence this post. Is it for everyone? Perhaps not but I can tell you that it’s incredibly empowering to be able to relate truthfully about anything as long as you’re enthusiastic about it and even more so when you consider that people may actually read it.
You can never please everyone with what you write but even more important is remembering that you don’t have to. It’s those select few that matter.
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I Suggest You Read A Book →
I currently subscribe to 83 feeds most of which are blogs and I’ve become adept at reading them daily but I also always occupy myself with books or magazines because clearly they will serve as a funnel to breed great ideas that you can later write about.
Brian Clark of Copyblogger has some invaluable information on the value of not just relying on blogs as a source of inspiration for your writing. It’s truly a great way to break the cycle of repetitiveness on the web -
So many people are reading RSS feeds and joining the conversation and blogging about what other people are blogging about and guess what, it’s really hard to stand out when you do that type of thing.
So here’s an idea, read more books, read more magazines, take in other media and then add your own perspective to the new ideas that you’re exposed to. And all of a sudden you have a fresh outlook that no one else is blogging about.
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I personally like the ebb and flow of visitors to this blog. I don’t feel pressured to keep it up – I’d rather write when I’m inspired to write than write to a schedule (or write to say sorry for why I haven’t been blogging).
– Rachel Cunliffe on It’s Ok Not To Be Popular. The frequency of content published on this site follows this line of thought. -
Custom Preview Template in MarsEdit
Ever since MarsEdit extended support for Tumblr, I’ve used this blog editor exclusively to publish everything on this site but there’s have been moments when I’ve turned to Tumblr’s online dashboard mostly because I like to get a full blown preview of what the entry will look like before I publish.
If you’ve used MarsEdit before, you’ll know the software does have this Preview option already where you can see your writing live while you type but when using it straight out of the box, you’re really just looking at an unappealing blank un-styled page of everything you’ve written.
Formatted HTML/CSS so that MarsEdit previews a post exactly like Jorgeq.com To spice up the writing experiencing a bit more, I followed Matthias instructions in copying the HTML and CSS code he’s made available and placed it into the Preview Template Editor. After some CSS styling of my own, I’ve completely replicated the look and feel of my site into MarsEdit.
If customization is your thing, I can’t recommend this enough. I’m enjoying this piece of software even more.
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Breakdown of the Blogosphere →
Fascinating illustration of everything you ever wanted to know about who makes up the blogosphere, what and why they are blogging, and how much time is being spent doing so. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to chuckling as I read this because all of it is true.
My personal favorite fact -
63% of people say that blogging has led them to become more involved with things they’re passionate about.
For me that’s been photography and I’ve met some wonderful people along the way of writing and sharing my passion.
