One Year and Still Here - Anniversary of Johnny Mestizo!
- Filed under: Blog Development, General Update
- Date: Nov 15,2008
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One the 15th of November, 2007 I started this blogging adventure. From my humble beginnings I posted my mission statement with a basic topic of sailing. At the time I thought that writing about my hobby would be interesting. But when push came to key stroke I had writer’s block. So then the blog topic changed to “Sailing, techno gadgets, fitness and finance - stay tuned“. From here, randomness set in and has been going strong ever since. The funny thing is this - JohnnyMestizo[dot]com (JM) has allowed me to write about whatever topic I take interest in at the time. I write what I want.
The Evolution of Johnny Mestizo [dot] com
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A year on JM is as random as ever and I believe I will keep it this way. I have tried to create other specialised blogs with limited success. I found that spreading the limited time I have across a variety of blogs meant I could maybe post once a week from each. A posting frequency of once a week is good for me and my lifestyle. Two things were raised above: Firstly do I write across multiple niche blogs or write with one multi-topic blog, and secondly do I write big posts with 1 week breaks or write small posts with 1 day breaks. My preferences have evolved to the following tendencies…
Niche Blog or Multi-topic
I found myself at the start of 2008 buying domain names at an alarming rate. From owning 5 domains to owning 60+ it took a stern discerning look from my other half (my missus as we say in Australia) for me to curve my addictive ways. As we move into 2009 I will try to pawn some off most likely unsuccessfully and let them expire into the domaining free for all market. Why buy domains? Well, it is basically speculative investing. I believe the predicted price in the future for the domain utopea[dot]com will be worth more than it currently is. Market price = demand for that domain. The more people want it the more the value of the domain goes up. So I was shamelessly in it for the quick buck and had fun doing it. I still haven’t made a profit however lingering in the back of my mind there is still the possibility of one of my domains paying big time so I’ll keep domaining.
Why multiple domains? Well it is simple. To start multiple specialised niche blogs they need relevant domain names. My main random topics included sailing, technology, travel, fitness and making money online. Therefore it was imperative to own a domain for each category and then install wordpress and get the niche blog cracking. Of course one domain for each topic became 10 and so on.
Why did my niche blogs fail? I was less enthused with each niche blog the more I created. I found it hard to generate motivation for topic I was moderately interested in. I lacked equal passion for 6 topics at the same time. The lack of passion brought frustration which amounted to disgust and a state of numbness to that topic. Blog death eventuated 1 by 1. Luckily with blogging set up fees are cheap so my venture would only dent my wallet the same a couple of beers would at my local. So I learnt from my mistakes, refined my strategies and got stronger.
A multi-topic blog is now what JM has evolved to. A wide variety of posts on random things I have found interesting over time. JM basically allows me to learn about a topic as it enters my life and also helps me craft my writing abilities. I learn and I vent.
Big or Small Posts
If the posts are 500-800 worders with bells and whistles I get a decent interest from the readers out there. If they are any shorter such as basic link posts my readership will decrease and my bounce rate dramatically hit the roof! I prefer longer more detailed posts which allow me to explore and learn about the subject of interest. I go out on the Internet and research from a variety of sources and ascertain my own convoluted opinion of the subject at hand and create my posts. Small summary/link posts are pretty much just adding to the clutter which already inhabits the blogosphere.
Financial Goals
Many of my goals have failed. By now with my naive 2007 projections of wealth creation through Google AdSense I would have been a millionaire. Like most quick buck deals real life hits you like a brick and you wake up one day barely willing to continue in this futile endeavour. But I stuck it out. There are too many positive reasons for blogging that far outweight the alternative which is to coil up in the fetal position isolated from the blogosphere. When it comes to johnnymestizo.com I hope to pay to pay for hosting and domain registration fees and that is it. My profit is the positives it has brought to my life.
It is Not About the Money
If it was I would have quit long ago. Here are some reasons why I still blog:
- To develop my writing skills. I have learnt many wordsmith skills along the way as a direct result from blogging. I can extrapolate data from statistics, quote a variety of sources, structure posts with a meaningful statement and back that up with multiple arguments, write creatively with passion, integrity and confidence. In ten years time my vocabulary will be massive and my writing succinct. Without blogging any skills I learnt in high school would have surely faded. From there I can hone my writing skills even further and branch out into creative writing publishing novels yearly until retirement. The skill of writing adhering to grammar and spelling is under valued in todays society. Blogging improves literacy so I will continue to blog.
- A learning opportunity. My random topic of interest blog allows me to look in-depth at a topic and find out every opinion, perspective, image, dimension and usage about it. The Internet is huge and writing detailed posts forces me to do research on the topic. As it is a topic of interest, instead of wearily finding information like a disheartened high school subject I can attack the topic with enthusiasm. I investigate as many possible avenues as I can, find multiple sources to base my opinion on, research, research and research. Blogging allows me to learn comprehensively.
- A chance to be creative. They say blogging is therapeutic. Who says? The Scientific American back in May 2008 said,
Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery.’
Let the Celebrations Begin!
Pop the champagne and pass round the orderves Johnny Mestizo has survived 1 year! If you are as excited about blogging as I am let us know at the Mestizo forums. Happy blogging! 