Two Years On and Timing Forward: My Latest Blogging Experiences

Every 5 or 6 months I write about my experiences of being a blogger during that time frame. I wrote my last update on November 1, 2015, Still Dialing Through at Twenty-two. Twenty-two months, not age or years that is.

Now Daylight Savings Time 2016 is here; Spring is a week away and it's again time for my short-term reflections/retrospection.  

My actual posting activity on this blog has slowed down.  I've only published 6  posts during the period under review. However, page views continue to be healthy and are close to 20,500. 


Lesson Learned #1: My greatest challenge has been finding time for blog  sustainability.

Chalk the time-sharing up to the holidays, tax preparation, providing technical guidance for my husband James Raciti's new blog, America's Revolutionary Voices;and helping him publicize his new book, Stephen Girard: America's Colonial Olympian 1750-1831 to libraries across the country.

Stephen Girard: America's Colonial Olympian published by Sunstone Press, Santa Fe NM, 2015, ISBN 1632930706

Not to mention going to a new dog park for daily-demanded outings by Gustav, our 180 pound, 8 year old Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog.

The family Gustav-Raciti

 
ADD to this my new blog, Strolling Among the Watches / Flanânt Parmi les Montres. This is a companion blog to Wrist Watch Redux. It describes "Short Walks on Historical, Corporate, Creative and Cultural Watchscape Paths." 

My New Blog: www.watchflaneuse.com

I've also spent more time reading the advice of  two exceptional blogging experts, Robin Houghton and Jane Friedman.  

Robin's written The Golden Rules of Blogging (& When to Break Them) and Blogging For Creatives. I've read both and highly recommend them.  I've also featured her in one of my posts on Watch Flaneuse, 

Jane Friedman offers advice online through her Weekly Blog Round-up and newsletter, Electric Speed delivered to my email. Check them out.

Lesson Learned #2:  Reading does contribute to sustainability. It's just that it doesn't necessarily show up in or as more post writing in the short term.

Lesson Learned #3: Sustainability can come from Unexpected Sources.

The quintessential blog sustainability observation that has gotten me through this period comes from Nora Ephron.  Ten years ago this month, she wrote in one of her blogs titled Hello. By the Way. Whatever.:

"One of the most delicious things about the profoundly parasitical world of blogs is that you don't have to have anything much to say. Or you just have to have a little tiny thing to say. You just might want to say hello. I'm here. And by the way. On the other hand. Nevertheless. Did you see this? Whatever. A blog is sort of like an exhale. What you hope is that whatever you're saying is true for about as long as you're saying it. Even if it's not much."

So in tribute to Nora.  I'm Here. And by the Way. I'm Still at It.  

Related blogging experience posts:

 Still Dialing Through at Twenty-two (November 2015)

 BeWatching Midnight: Taking Stock Twelve Months On (February 2015)

 Taking Stock at Six O’Clock: Beginning My Blogging Career (August 2014)

   
      








Exploring what Pinerest can offer to bloggers

BeWatching Midnight: Taking Stock Twelve Months On (February 2015)

In August 2014, I posted, “Taking Stock at Six O’Clock:  Beginning My Blogging Career.” I’m now twelve months into the writing and it’s again time to reflect on my experiences. 

From September 2014 until this posting, I’ve written twelve pieces. You could call them my “Midnight Twelve”—not a large number but quantity is not as important to me at this juncture as is continuing to learn more about watches, explore new topics and improve on my singular writing style.   I have many posts in progress  still waiting for their hour hands to strike and be published. 

Thankfully, my ideational flow hasn’t subsided.  At times it seems overwhelming.   I still find my post inspirations coming from movies (Ulee’s Gold); art and exhibitions (Malevich/Tate Museum, Tomi Ungerer/The Drawing Center); advertisements (Jaeger-LeCoultre/The New Yorker); and current events (Je Suis Charlie).

Since my blog’s inception, I’ve had over 6,400 page views as of February 28^th. That’s compared to 3,500 at the end of August 2014. Over 50% of my all-time audience has come from the United States; followed by readers in Israel, the Ukraine, Russia and China. But for me, it’s not about stats but about enjoyment and creativity.

One of most important things I’ve realized during the last six months is how important it is to arduously continue expanding my knowledge of both the technical and artistic design aspects of wristwatches.  For example, describing a particular model or collection of watches often takes provocative word flair to be successful.  My Versace posting is an example of this.

  

I am just now cultivating this expressive approach, but it’s a slow process to concatenate words in a descriptive sequence that provides clarity and evocative punch. This is the reason I introduced a new page to my blog, Poetic Time in January 2015.   On this page you'll find a selection of poems and other prose fragments, some my own—some from others, with time as an important thematic element.

I have been taking advantage of webinars during the last six months.  Two of the most helpful were s “8 Success Factors that Determine Your Blog’s Future” and “Get Your Blog Ready for a Big 2015."  Both of these webinars were offered to Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger Community.  Even if you are not a ProBlogger Community member, Rowse’s blog is a repeated must visit for aspiring and seasoned bloggers.

I also have had the opportunity to use my blogging knowledge to set-up a publications’ site for my husband, James J. Raciti.  This served as a technical refresher for me as it involved a collaborative effort to select and  register another domain name, establish a template, make layout decisions, and add content that promotes his novels, non-fiction and poetry works.

I am expanding my knowledge of digital branding, both from a personal point of view as an emerging blogger and the way wristwatch firms appear to use it in creating consumer awareness of their brands through marketing campaigns. Daniel Rowles' book, Digital Branding: A CompleteStep-by-Step Guide to Strategy, Tactics and Measurement (Kogan Page, 2014) is a terrific, basic introduction to this exploding field.  I’d also recommend Rowles’ Target Internet site which offers free educational content on digital marketing including blog posts and podcasts. 

So what are my intentions for the next six months, now that I’m one blogging year old? I want to refine my focus, research and write postings about:

• Specific wristwatch innovations and designs, specifically those coming from haute jouilliare houses such as Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier.
• Specific wristwatch elements such as bezels, crowns, hands, dial adornments, cases etc.
• Specific fashion brand wristwatches that have surprising features.

Specificity frames my agenda.  Much to do before the clock strikes 6 o’clock again next August.