Blog like it’s 2004.
I had an AHA MOMENT a few weeks ago when this lovely lady said those very words. Back in 2004, this giant world of blogging was a much smaller place. Back in 2004, we wrote because we loved to write. We wrote because we were pregnant and uncomfortable. We wrote because we had small babies who were not sleeping, teething, feverish, potty training. We wrote because we were crying. We wrote because we were laughing. We wrote TO WRITE. We wrote some of our deepest, most personal thoughts and we let the world in.
And slowly, slowly people started reading. My audience of, well, my husband, turned into two readers, then four readers, then five hundred readers, then a thousand. And slowly, slowly people started commenting. They let you know that they were reading. They agreed. They disagreed. They commiserated. I didn’t think about big words like SEO and monetization and ad networks and pr pitches and twitter parties and brand ambassadors. I wrote in my little space almost every single day, and I visited others in their little spaces.
But then this small little world started growing and growing and growing.
There were more sites I wanted to read. Each site I clicked over to was written by someone smart, someone funny, someone interesting. There were moms. There were dads. There were fellow lovers of Anthropologie and snark. I was connecting with more and more writers and my wee blogroll was growing into something out of control. I was making friends for life.
But I was also doing other things, like using Facebook and twitter and working and writing for several sites and going to conferences and hanging out with bloggers in real life and not just on our screens. I was introduced to a FEED READER and learned how to read some of my favorite blogs on my smartphone. I was spreading the love through stumbleupon, even though I STILL have no idea how it works. I was getting PR PITCHES. I was learning how people monetize their sites. I was hearing about enthusiasts.
I was reading more, but commenting less.
But I really want to go back to 2004.
I want to go back to the days when I was reading to read. And writing to write. I want these amazing writers to know that I have been there, to know that I’m reading, to know that I’m loving.
So, here it is.
Project 20.
Twenty comments.
Every day.
Who is with me? Who is up for a little love spreading?
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