A fellow OG blogger John Hee has reached a point where he is archiving his posts and letting go of his domain.
The landscape of blogging has changed so much in the years since I started and I understand the emotions and hassle, indeed weight that comes with maintaining something that can feel like a lifetime’s work.
I’ve come and gone from here over the years and that’s been due to outside influence more than anything to do with my desire or lack thereof to write random pish on here.
Not so long ago running a business and becoming a single parent, both in difficult circumstances instantly limited my time and energy to even click on the bookmark for here’s homepage.
At one time I had a reach that was eyebrow raising, #1 in the world indeed, and look at it now. It’s er, just the same. No adverts, no wee plaques, no attempts to be a resource, no interest in being anything other than a colourful bucket to empty my thoughts and experiences and opinions into.
That’s what OG blogging was, is.
We did this stuff because we wanted to share, not be internet personalities or influencers.
Sure lots of us got careers in outdoor writing and photography of varying intensities out of it, but the blogging I feel stayed simple, even innocent despite any fighting over stats or more likely gear stuff.
I sometimes miss the old days, the banter, the ability to share with and take notes from experienced and knowledgeable peers, but I still believe the best day is always tomorrow. Well, the first tomorrow after lockdown.
I mean, I have review gear to photograph somewhere that isn’t the Lang Craigs.
So I salute the old guard, the workers of words, the initiators of the inspirational image, those who have fallen and those still standing.
I also tip my hat the the new crew of media savvy video and Instagram kids and also wherever comes after you. We’re all transient after all, the mountains, the coasts, the sky, the forests. They’re forever and the joy they’ll bring will be there for everyone to catch and hold and share in their own way.
Also, I’m going nowhere. Indeed, I’ve probably posted more in the last wee while than I’ve done in years. Blogging on your own terms is rather fun.
It’s indeed been a while since I’ve been here. Oh to be back in a time when evenings were spent reading this stuff rather than the stream of political twitter-bile I now seem to be immersed in. Strange times. Almost a year since I’ve spent any real time in the hills. I might just hang around and dip into the back catalogue
Hey Dave! A lot of time and life has passed for us all.
I’ve found myself drawn back to blogging after years of neglect because the blog and the photie hosting were down and the site was dead and I either had to just leave it for dead or fix it all.
Fixing it was a good idea, looking back I reconnected with lots of forgotten moments, places and faces and I’m really enjoying posting again. It turns out I really was writing for my future self, just thought it would be a 70 plus me, not 50 plus.
As much as I love my local places I really do miss the far away hills. It’s strange times we live in.
It’s the right thing to do. I shut my blog down afew years ago, I thought why am I wasting £10 a month {what a miser I am}.
I cut and pasted the posts onto a free platform before doing so archiving it. I didnt realise the photos were just hyperlinks so when I pulled the plug it was then photeeless! The layout also looked abit shite.. So I dug around got back 80% of the photos but I still think now is £2.50 a week really that much for the joy my online diary gave me…
Bugger.
Oof. If the joy outweighs the hassle, you got to do what you’ve got to do.
Trying to reinsert around 3000 photos on here after Photobucket lost the plot was the main thing that nearly shut me down.
It’s good that you properly archived, the memories are captured.
Many a time I’ve considered ditching my blog – the outdoors content dried up a while back, and it was down for many months due to hackers – but SWMBO said that I was to fix it and keep it ticking over in the hope of better things to come. When this pestilence is over I’ll do battle with the others restraining me, and I’ll answer the call of the hills that I’ve had to shun for far too long. Until then, I’ll continue the endless war with the lawn, the hedge and the weeds. It’s not much, but it’s fresh air and exercise. Well, it would be fresh air if the upwind neighbours weren’t pot-heads, but that’s another story. I suppose that I could blog about the new mower…
Ha, it’s good to know you’re still up and at it, even if it’s just the garden.
Yeah, Heaven can wait, I have horsetails to get rid of. Tough little buggers, they thrive on eco-friendly weedkiller and rejoice in the heat of the weed-burner. I miss the halcyon days of sodium chlorate.
I have trees to fell while the leaves are off but the past week has seen the scaffold going up to fix the roof and take the chimney down before it comes through the slates into the living room. It’s a race to see if they can get it all done before spring comes, I miss my chance and I annoy the neighbours by blocking their sun for another summer with my lovely trio of birches.
Good luck with the roof thing – better safe than sorry, especially with storms and snow-load to consider.
Strange coincidence – I had a trio of birches planted last year, surprise pressie for SWMBO. The conversation went like this as she was looking through the kitchen window…
SWMBO: Hey, what’s going on? How long have they been there?
BG!: They’re for you, they were planted a couple of days ago.
SWMBO: They look all wrong, they’re much to close to each other.
BG!: Wait a year or two and you’ll be able to sling hammocks between them.
SWMBO: I take it back, they’re perfect!
Ha
They will grow pretty fast, I took my eyes off mine for a few minutes and the were above the roof before I saw it.
I take all the light from next door and give him all the leaves in return or I’d keep them. Beautiful trees.
Your neighbour should be grateful for all of those leaves – they make great compost.
He could grow all sorts of stuff in it… runners, tatties, resentment :-)
The crop of resentment last summer was magic, they had enough to pass it onto the neighbours on either side.