Fifteen years ago today, I published my first post on this blog. You can read it here.
I didn’t know that day how central to my life this blog would become. But it has. I think about what I’m going to write and share here often, and I work on it at least a little most days.
On this blog’s tenth anniversary I had a whole bunch to say and wrote several posts. On the fifteenth, I don’t. But everything I said on the tenth anniversary is still true enough; go read it all here.
Three years ago today I expressed considerable frustration that my blog hasn’t achieved greater reach. I felt, and still feel, sure that there are others out there who would enjoy what I write and photograph if only they could find me.
I’ve worked hard over the last few years behind the scenes to make my blog more findable. I upgraded to WordPress.com Business to get access to SEO tools, which I’ve used heavily. It took a lot of effort, but I’ve now optimized this site to look like it’s about film photography to Google, even though I write about a whole bunch of topics. It has helped many of my film-photography posts, particularly camera reviews, rank higher in search results. But that hasn’t translated into many new readers who have subscribed. My readership has plateaued; my stats bear it out.
Now it’s time for me to experiment with the new content I publish, to find ways to draw people in. I’ve generally avoided opinion pieces here (beyond reviews), but have started trying my hand at writing them. It is my hope that as I share them around the Internet, they will bring new readers and make them want to stick around.
Additionally, I’m in the process of changing my posting schedule around a little. It’ll inject fresh energy, both for you and for me.
I also plan to give the blog a new look and feel this year. I like the look I have now, a lot. But sadly, the theme that powers it has fallen behind the times technologically and can’t take advantage of all of WordPress’s latest features. If there’s anything I’ve learned in more than 30 years in technology as a career, it’s to stay current.
This blog is a lot of work. It is personally satisfying work, which is why I’ve kept at it. But I want it also to keep growing in readership — and if it’s not doing that, I have to question whether I continue to invest in it at the level I have.
Now I’d like to turn things over to you. I’d love to know who you are, where you’re from, how you found my blog, and how long you’ve read it. Especially if you’re a new reader or a longtime lurker — please leave a comment and tell me!
