Today marks the one year anniversary/birthday of Digital Doorway, which was born with a brief post last January 18th.
In some ways, I'm shocked that I've stuck with it so long. I'm also shocked that DD receives 100-200 hits on a weekly basis. And according to StatCounter, I have had more than 8700 pageloads since I began tracking in February of 2005, putting my actual total close to 10,000, which is difficult for me to believe. That said, while many of those hits might be seconds long---if that!---the general volume of traffic is both appreciable and appreciated. I am also appreciative of my blogger friends and colleagues with whom I have developed on-line friendships and correspondences, and send great thanks to everyone who links to me out there in cyber-space.
When I began blogging at my brother's behest on January 18th of 2005, it was somewhat unclear what my blog would actually be. While, on one hand, I could have focused entirely on healthcare in general and my work as a nurse specifically, I found that I just have too many pokers in the fire to produce a consistent blog on one subject, although many people do it very well, I may add. And while there are advantages to having a "special interest blog" (ie: being easily categorizeable on blog search engines), it's also quite liberating to have a blog that is a constantly shifting and surprising entity, covering varying topics but also returning frequently to some central themes: health, personal healing, compassion, etcetera. Not being bound by topic and subject, my entries are born from the day's events, dreams, interactions, and thoughts.
The benefits for me have been too numerous to mention in full: personal and professional insights; valuable feedback from readers; a welcome and immediate creative outlet, free of editors and publishing woes; a feeling of connection to the wider web of folks out there who are moved and determined to communicate their thoughts and experiences and dreams to a wider, unseen audience.
As the blogging phenomenon continues to develop and mutate, I'm sure we will see changes in how blogs are recognized, categorized, published, and disseminated. I imagine a relatively small percentage of Internet users actually visit blogs regularly, and it will be quite interesting to see how those numbers change over the ensuing years.
For now, I'm gratified that DD has some regular readers, is linked on a number of sites, and has attracted comments and readers from various corners of the ethers. If aspects of my writing or style are disappointing to some, my apologies, and the wonderful thing about this medium is that there is simply a dizzyingly inexhaustible number of individual voices from which to choose.
On this one-year anniversary, I give thanks for such a simple and creative tool, and look forward to another year of introspection and exploration. Thanks for joining me on whatever portion of the journey you choose.
1 comment:
I am surprised to hear that some disapprove of your style. You write very well: better than most, including me.
Post a Comment