Saturday, September 28, 2019

Think you wanna be a blogger?


Hello dear readers.

Do you want to be a blogger?  You should give it a try.  You might have something worth saying that other people might want to hear.  Never know until you try.  And it's free.

There are a lot of good reasons to do it but that's not the reason for this post.  Let me know if you are interested in wandering down that rabbit hole.

But what I have to say today is just about the time commitment.

I have been working on an upcoming post about the Kenmores 1030, 1040 and 1050 and just happen to have kept track of how long it took.  You might or might not be surprised.

One blog post, one, repeat ONE has clocked in at 9 hours.

The first two hours were a fun playdate with Barbara, in which we did a side by side comparison of the three machines, taking photos and writing down the characteristics of the machines.

The next 7 hours included:
  • Editing all the photos.  They might be rotated, cropped, brightened or all of the above.  It doesn't take long per photo to make them look a WHOLE lot better.  In a couple of photos I also added arrows or text to make things clearer.
  • Creating a "new post" in Blogger. (takes seconds)
  • Writing the text.  Re-writing the text. 
  • Adding photos to the text.
  • Realizing what was missing from the first photo shoot, getting the 1040 back out and taking more photos.
  • Editing the additional photos
  • Writing more text
  • Emailing Barbara to ask questions about things I was unclear about.  Twice.
  • Re-writing some more.
This was standard procedure.  When I first sat down to write the blog post I thought "Oh, this will be a snap because so much of the text is already written".  The notes from the playdate became the bulleted list of characteristics of each model.  But there was so much more to say and explain!  So it became just like all the other blog posts, which all take about this much time.

I'm not complaining btw.  I like doing this and there are those previously alluded to benefits.  But nobody pays me to do this and if I didn't want to do it, well, I just wouldn't.

Just thought you might be interested in the process, especially if you have thought about blogging.

If I was not an empty nest retired widow I seriously doubt if I would be doing this though.  Time is one resource I have plenty of, and this is one of the things I enjoy doing with it.

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Do you blog?  Why not share a link with us in the comments section below.  And let me know if it also takes you this much time.

 Or if you want to blog, what do you want to cover in your blog?

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Edit:  the post on the 3/4 size Kenmores is scheduled to be published on October 6, 2019.

9 comments:

  1. wonderful post. Yes, blogging takes a lot of effort. I am so grateful for your blog. I am truly grateful that you share your knowledge.

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  2. I blog and wish I could be more regular. The amount of time to take, load, and correct photos is a lot. Writing comes hard for me. I love reading blogs that are genuine and kind. I have been enriched by them. Thank you for keeping yours going.

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  3. I’ve been blogging for just over ten years and find it is a great resource to look back on when I can’t remember when we did something or want to show someone a photo, as well as a great way of keep a diary of sorts. I’ve been amazed at how many friends I have made through my blog and how many have moved from virtual to real life friends. The first blogger I met was when we visited the Isle of Man, having met online through a Christmas swap organised by a lady in outback Australia. We’ve stayed in close contact and she will be visiting us in Oz in just over a week. I can’t wait. I do get behind in my posts, usually due to technology, but then have a mad catch up. It’s a rather time consuming activity, as you say, but so very worth it.

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    Replies
    1. I forgot to mention that my blog is jannimary.blogspot.com

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  4. I don't keep up with mine because it takes too much time. thank you for doing yours; it's one of my favorites. I really want to read the comparison of these machines, so I'm off to find it!

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  5. I forgot to list my blog, https://artinsearch.blogspot.com Stop by and give it a read.

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  6. I really really really appreciate the banquet of info on your blog. Also really love the blogs you've linked to, because once I start in on a topic, I need to keep reading. You're a gift I give myself when I read your blog.

    I just posted for the week. I made a gif of hemming, which is super lame of me, but this time of year I'm just swamped. I am a creature of habit and like to be consistent about posting. I keep a blog to keep track of what I'm working on, and I have twice as many draft posts in the works than I do posted work. I can use Blogger from work and it's my thinking storage unit, shove another weird idea in there and see if I add to it. I do not keep track of how long a post takes, because a couple have been in the works for a few years (those drafts pile up and I don't discard them). But I used to write for a living, and I can't admit defeat just yet.

    I got to your blog because of my 3/4 Kenmore, so I'm DEELIGHTED to see there's more to say on the topic.

    https://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/ And right now, it's just an endless blue hem. Which I need to go back to. 35 down, 19 to go.

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  7. I like to blog, but I only blog when I have something to say or show. I don't understand how some of these people can blog every day. I don't have that much time. Blog posts do take time. Most of mine take me about an hour to edit photos and write and double check the blog post. https://cherylsteapots2quilting.blogspot.com/ is my blog about quilting, vintage machines and fun finds. Your blog posts are much more detailed than mine are.

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  8. I am up to four blogs now and the newest seems to be a bit of a dud (slippedstitches.com). I just run out of steam sometimes and find that I'm posting once a month. And my husband spent a few nights at the hospital, so that's cut into my free time. I am really hoping to have more time when I finally get to retire. I may shutter one of the blogs (pocket-retro.org) as I think I've switched back to analog and am spending less time messing with my old Palms. That leaves Spindlitis (spindlitis.com) and Notsothoreau (notsothoreau.com) which I hope to spend more time on.

    I've done a few tutorials that did take time and the Lessons posts on Slipped Stitches took time as I had to work up samples in some cases. But it is much more worthwhile than spending your time on social media, especially cess pools like Instagram. I like hanging out on blogs and I hate to see them go under.

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I want to hear from all of you who want to talk about sewing and sewing machines!