I used quotation marks in the title because I don’t feel like a Blogger with a Capital B yet. Technically, I suppose anyone who creates and maintains a blog is a blogger. In my mind, though, a Blogger has a certain number of followers, a certain influence and reputation among the literati.
I’m not certain my aspirations are that big. But I do get a thrill, I tell ya, out of every “Like,” every “Follow,” and certainly every comment on the blog. (Please, feed my feeble ego and keep ’em coming!)
Y’see, I spent most of my corporate career as a communications strategist. We worked to understand the business need and develop the best mix of communications tactics to achieve specific objectives. As much as we interfaced with client teams and production staff, really, we were behind the scenes.
My writing was limited primarily to plans and reports. Metrics mattered more than prose, and it was rare that my name appeared as a byline in a company publication. (We had responsibility, but not visibility. Accountability, but no authority. Yeah, not going back there. Nuh-uh.)
So, yeah, it’s thrilling to me that I can use a keyboard to bring my thoughts and experiences to anyone and everyone.
Now, I’m an avid reader, but not a skillful writer (insert snarky comment here).
So I’m taking advantage of WordPress University — a series of free online courses for the beginner blogger. This post was my first assignment in the very first introductory course: define the purpose of your blog.
For now, I have three four goals. These may change over time.
- Keep friends and family “in the loop” on our activities and location
- Improve my writing skills
- Create an online journal that I can reread in the future, as my memory is not good!
- Inspire others to think about the RV lifestyle
I just added that fourth one as I typed this out.
Most of the blogs I am now following seem to be dedicated to aiding current RVers in navigating this new lifestyle, and encouraging those who are on the brink. These folks are masters of the written word (and in many cases, video!) I’d like to learn from them and help grow this new community of ours.
Why are you tagging along with me? Tell me what you’re interested in learning about; it will help me focus and give me some ideas on what to write about next!
Thank you for posting this. I can relate since I have written several posts but haven’t yet published any. I will have to check out those classes, maybe they will get me going. Thanks!
Well now I’m following you, Jo, so I’ll get notified when you do! Meanwhile there’s always Facebook 🙂
I love your writing style and how you make the “everyday stuff” interesting. Plus, I like your RV stories😊. Great work!
Aw, Kay, you’re such a sweetheart. Thanks!
I am intrigued by your Get Out of Town solution!
You inspire me every day to consider the RV lifestyle! If I could just figure out how to keep the SheHive running from afar (and make $$ in the process), we’d SO be out on the road with you!
Is it on your Life List? 😉
I love reading about your & Shawns adventures. Thank you for sharing.
I also appreciate the mention of the free on line class about blogging. You may have inspired another writer.
Hurray! There’s room for more! 🙂 I’ll share other resources as I find them useful.
I so get this. You are already a Blogger with a capitol “B.” I keep trying to convince myself of that fact, too. Happy to follow your adventures and hope to meet on the road someday. Safe travels. Dawn
It’s funny. I’ve spent all morning checking out the blogs that people posted on the RV to Freedom Facebook page yesterday. I am always looking for new blogs to follow, mostly because blogs are where I get most of our travel ideas. (We’re actually heading to San Antonio next, so I was interested in what you had to say about your visit there). I find the suggestions on RV blogs tend to be more in-line with our interests than those we find on regular travel websites. Not sure why, but that’s been my experience. Additionally, it’s nice to develop a community of like minded folks on the road. We get to see other people dealing with the same challenges, and enjoying the same benefits, we deal with on a daily basis.
I SO agree! I think I’m following about 65 RV travel blogs in WordPress, and another 50+ on other platforms. This world is ballooning like crazy! If you send me a mailing address, I have a massive coupon book for San Antonio that I’ll pass along to you. Drop an email to a_elkins1 [at] yahoo.com. 😀
Well, Andrea your entry into the blogging sphere, seems to have inspired many others. It’s interesting that your opinion about your writing skills and mine are lock step. Maybe that’s our Communication Strategist experience talking? I feel very much the same way myself. You taking the step into creating your blog, along with others encouraging me to do likewise, lead me to launch mine. So, now in addition to telling our travels on the Adventures of Princess Zoey on Facebook. I took a step out in faith to talk about my faith on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration. I hope to see more on your travels soon, and really enjoy reading your adventures. I think you’ll be successful in your endeavor!
You are doing just fine! And never forget that you write for whatever reasons you write. You don’t have to please anyone but yourself. Just take a deep breath and go for it every time you put fingers to keyboard!