Back to Basics

I’ve been thinking about this blog a lot recently. It has been woefully neglected this year and while part of the reason for this is because my attentions have been elsewhere – dips, work and various home improvement projects – I have also lost my way with blogging a little bit.

When I first started writing Grenglish it was as a way to record stories from my son’s early years that I could eventually print out for him to keep. After a while, I found a community of other parents doing the same thing and we all supported each other, commented on and shared each other’s ramblings. At some point, I became a ‘blogger’ and all that entailed. I was writing sponsored posts – not loads – but a few here and there to support my accessories habit. I attended blogging events and was even shortlisted for a couple of blogging awards. I turned my hobby into something more and I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that blogging has changed my life in so many positive ways. But, I sensed the online environment in which I had once felt so at home begin to change and I was out of my depth.

People were filming segments of their day and sharing stories with tens of thousands of people via Instagram, Facebook and something called Snapchat that I have still never managed to get my head around, while my page views were rapidly diminishing (I am, however, still incredibly grateful to the 35 people who checked in to read my last post). Where my news feed was once full of new blog posts to read, it now streams live videos. Don’t get me wrong, some of the videos are hugely entertaining and fun to watch but, I prefer to tell my stories in the written word.

I enjoy social media, but I couldn’t keep up with – or perhaps did not have enough inclination to try – all the other stuff that I felt I needed to embrace in order to become a successful blogger. Eventually, I suppose my initial enthusiasm for ‘blogging’ fizzled out.

It has been almost 6-months since my last blog post, although many have been composed in my head since then, and I have missed keeping this space updated. The break has given me ample time and opportunity to think about where I want to take it and in fact, whether I actually want to continue writing it at all.

I think I do.

I love writing about my little family and I hope that my son will enjoy reading it just as much when he is older. I have realised what I don’t enjoy doing, is promoting it. This blog was never a business to me and I was never really cut out to be a social media influencer. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m taking Grenglish back to basics. I will blog only when I have something to say and not to a schedule. I no longer want to confuse myself with SEO, rankings or algorithmy thingys. Social media is a brilliant way to connect with others so I will continue to share posts, but I am not going to start filming my entire day (no offence to those who do, I love watching!). I have no interest in trying to create noise on here, I want to create something I love and can feel proud of. Maybe some recognition will follow, but if no-one ever reads my musings again, then so be it.

Saying that, I’d really love you to stick around.