This happens every so often: a blogger whom I read daily will need to take a hiatus or quit blogging altogether, for whatever reason it may be. Today, it’s this one: Family Clay.
I must admit, there have been times when I thought about giving it up. I had these grand aspirations that if I put enough of my Masters Degree writing to use, I would encapsulate readers and voila, my numbers would go up and up. Now, I don’t do this for money and I don’t necessarily do it for comments, but mostly, (and this includes comments, I guess) I do it for the community. I used to get a lot more comments. When I found out I was pregnant, I think I hit an all-time high, and even then, there were only 15. But I kept writing because it’s what I enjoy. And I looked at my stats and saw hits numbering over 50 each and every day. Those 50 people were reading me and so I felt compelled to produce something, anything. The fact that they knew and understood – just a little bit – what I was going through really helped me feel better about my life, as silly as that may sound.
This semester, I changed the paper assignments in my online course. My students have to keep a semester long blog in which they identify themselves as a cultural critic, establish their voice, and write from that perspective all semester. I don’t know if it yet makes sense to them. Seems like so many are unfamiliar with the blogging world and even though I have explained the assignment ad nauseum, I can still feel the apprehension they have towards it. They have asked to see my blog, though it in no way follows the assignment they have set in front of them. I debated it, worried they might end up knowing TOO much about me. But in the end, I think the best example I can set is by showing them what I have produced.
I think I went off on a tangent there but my overall message is that I love blogging and I love reading blogs. I probably won’t stop unless I get so busy to the point where I don’t even sleep. But all the best to Jack over at Family Clay. I respect people who know when it’s time to reevaluate. I could take a lesson from that and apply it to other aspects of my life, that’s for sure.
incognitusscriptor.com 
Someone asked me the other day what type of books I like reading and my reply was “blogs”. I have never been a big reader but for whatever reason I LOVE reading about peoples lives.
I think 7 is the most comments I have ever gotten on a post. It was the first slide show of Hunter that I ever put together.
I love blogging too, and I have several blogs, two public, two private. I just can’t quit, and I think my poor partner is being driven slowly insane. I blog anonymously, though I know lots of people who read me know who I am. I just don’t want anyone googling my name and finding me bitching about a bridal veil, y’know?
I’m bad at commenting, though. I need to be better about it. I really enjoy reading blogs, especially when they’re of people I know (and we should definitely get coffee sometime, because I have no social life, and it’s depressing; you can even bring the Boy!)
But anyway, I guess I’m just saying that I really enjoy reading your blog, even if you’re just writing about being sick this weekend. I just like hearing about other people’s lives.
I got a ton of traffic once upon a time when I linked to someone who did not like what I had to say. But that was mostly hate comments and it was kind of scary. I was shocked by the language and the intensity of the anger. I kept on blogging but I took down my blogroll and I don’t link very much anymore, especially to other bogs. Mostly I am out there lurking with out commenting. I have a handful of dedicated readers who comment now and then, and I have email relationships with some of them.
I think I am finally over the hate fest of that one long ago maligned linkage and am ready to re-establish my blog roll and start commenting again.
FYI- Since I was just thinking about the blog that garned all the hate I decided to see if it was still here and being all hateful and guess what! It’s been taken down! HAHAHA!
I’ve had a fairly steady number of hits/commenters for a while now. I think I’ve hit a plateau. But I think it helps me that I’m anonymous. If I were not, oy… I think I’d hold a lot more in.
I have been waging this battle with myself for 4 years now. I love blogging and I occasionally take hiatuses. But it’s always the community that I miss most which brings me back.