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How do i and others find my blog?

I know, I know, like the internet needs another blog...

  • So I want to blog. But I have way too many interests that excite me, and that I'd love to explore and write about in an extensive manner. Help me narrow down (or find an intersection among) my innumerable favorite subjects so that I can write a blog that doesn't ramble. The purpose of writing the blog would be for my own pleasure (rather than for business/side income), but I still want the blog to have a cohesive theme with a sense of direction and purpose. As opposed to just documenting that day's random thoughts and eventually unraveling into some kind of "dear diary" vanity snoozefest. A little extra background: I'm a woman in my late 20's with ADHD inattentive type, and I'm also a http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594866260/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. So I understand and have come to terms with the fact that having a lot of interests is a positive thing, as long as I give myself permission to explore no more than two or three interests in depth at any one time. That's how I avoid getting too overwhelmed. A shortlist of the many subjects I enjoy researching or have taken on as hobbies (I know I'm forgetting several): Ethnomusicology Film Mushroom foraging, mycology, wild food foraging in general Cultural anthropology (my undergrad degree is in this) Archival work (film/audiovisual) - I got my Masters in Archives and Preservation and am getting closer to finally making a career transition into the field Oral history recording Field recordings (both urban and rural) Wine Ethnic cooking Meditation (currently learning Soto Zen, but have practiced several other forms) Urban homesteading (balcony vegetable gardening, brewing kombucha and beer, etc) Vinyl records/crate-digging Interior design Antiquing Life hacks (vague but also widely covered, I know, but my psychiatrist recently told me that with as many advancements as I've made toward a minimalist lifestyle, I should consider helping others "de-clutter" as a side gig) Mental health (particular emphasis on life as a woman with ADHD; as well as depression/generalized anxiety disorder) Personal style (particularly street style/DIY/style on a budget) I've considered writing a blog about "What it's like to be a woman with ADHD / What it's like to be a scanner / How I manage my interests" and using that as a central theme where my various interests would be free to come and go as subject matter. But, then I'd feel pressured to make sure that all of my posts come back to the central theme of ADHD/being a scanner/life hacks. I'm worried that this could sound forced at times, especially when I'm more interested in really writing about the subject as opposed to how I'm 'managing' it with ADHD. So, although I've comfortable with how I manage my many favorite subjects in daily life, I'm not sure how to reflect that on a blog. Again, I want to do this for my own pleasure, but it would be nice to write a blog that is professional and thematic enough to garner at least a few readers. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

  • Answer:

    I'm glad you wrote this question. I think you should write about whatever you're interested in and not worry about tying it into ADHD unless it feels like it ties in naturally. I have a chronic illness and I've found that many bloggers with the same condition write EVERY post to focus solely on that condition. Sure, it's good to read about these experiences, but that singular focus of tying it to the medical condition somewhat limits the perspective. For me, knowing someone has the same condition is enough of a draw for me to read more: I am inspired by reading about people like me who work, volunteer, travel, have families, and are enjoying life on their own terms. It's perfectly fine to start broad and make changes as you go.

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So I took your list, and made no changes except to re-order them grouped by themes. Take the themes with a grain of salt - you could definitely make a case for other groupings (Lifehacks and Urban Homesteading could pair nicely together, for instance.) The point of this is just to show that many of your interests already fit together pretty naturally. To keep your blog cohesive, you could limit your blog to one theme. Or you could write about any topic, but group and tag posts as belonging to one of the main themes. Arts/Archive Ethnomusicology Film Cultural anthropology (my undergrad degree is in this) Archival work (film/audiovisual) - I got my Masters in Archives and Preservation and am getting closer to finally making a career transition into the field Oral history recording Field recordings (both urban and rural) Food Mushroom foraging, mycology, wild food foraging in general Wine Ethnic cooking Urban homesteading (balcony vegetable gardening, brewing kombucha and beer, etc) Shopping/Style Vinyl records/crate-digging Interior design Antiquing Personal style (particularly street style/DIY/style on a budget) Life hacks (vague but also widely covered, I know, but my psychiatrist recently told me that with as many advancements as I've made toward a minimalist lifestyle, I should consider helping others "de-clutter" as a side gig) Health Mental health (particular emphasis on life as a woman with ADHD; as well as depression/generalized anxiety disorder) Meditation (currently learning Soto Zen, but have practiced several other forms) fitness (running, cycling, yoga). I only step in to mention this because it is a big interest of mine, and I think it correlates well with some of the other topics, including mental health.

prewar lemonade

Addendum: I left out fitness (running, cycling, yoga). I only step in to mention this because it is a big interest of mine, and I think it correlates well with some of the other topics, including mental health.

nightrecordings

As a scanner myself I have found that most people aren't interested in my scanning per se, in fact it turns some of them off. I get around this online by having a metaset "photography". This allows me to show the breadth of my interests while having a core that many people can relate to. Also, it helps me to remember that my site is not for "my own pleasure" but rather for the viewers pleasure. This allows me to put a small governor on my big ideas and have a http://www.ceaselesswandering.com that's user friendly.

Xurando

Don't worry about giving your blog a focus. Write about whatever you feel like writing about on any given day. The blog will still have themes, but those themes will emerge organically, unconsciously, haphazardly.

John Cohen

You could add some structure to your many ideas and focuses (focii?) of interest by dedicating particular days or dates to each of several areas. Mushroom Mondays, Tuesday To-Dos (life hacks), Meditation on the Ideas (the 15th of the month), etc.

primate moon

Clarification, and then I'll quit thread-sitting: Xurando, you are correct that I need to remember that the blog will be for the reader's pleasure. I don't think I articulated my goals very well when I said the blog would be just for "my own pleasure." What I really mean is that while I would like a professional-quality blog, and wouldn't mind garnering a steady readership over time, I want to enjoy what I do and I'm not stressed about it becoming a commercially successful blog where I make money from advertising. So yes, I'd like it to be for both my pleasure and the reader's pleasure. (I'm just not concerned about it making any money or promoting a project or business effort.) I figured someone might ask "Are you looking to make money off of this blog, or promote a personal project, or just enjoy the act of keeping a blog?" The answer is the last one. I'm okay with the other two, but they're not really a goal right now.

nightrecordings

By the way, that was supposed to be Meditation on the IDES, not ideas. Sorry!

primate moon

Suggestion: write each of the topics above down on one line on ruled paper. Now think back over the past 12 months. For each month where you spent significant time on a project related to one of the above topics, put a tally mark on that line. Take the top 3(?) topics, roll them into blog. If there's one more topic you reeeeeeaaally want to add after you get done with this exercise, and it's not something you just started in the past month, add that too. Alternatively, if you want to be pragmatic with your focus, just blog about stuff related to the field you're working on breaking into.

deludingmyself

as long as I give myself permission to explore no more than two or three interests in depth at any one time. Sounds to me like that's an ideal format. Write about whatever you're exploring right now; the process of discovering new things could be a great deal of fun to read about.

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