Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Anniversary (of my blog)

I read a statistic somewhere about the survival rate of blogs after the first year being rather low. (Unfortunately, I can't remember what it was or where I saw it, but I know I saw it.) I'd imagine people drop out from their blogs for all sorts of reasons. Keeping one going, as I've discovered this past year, isn't always as easy as it looks.

As I've mentioned, before WSW I wrote a comics blog which was picked up by a bigger website after I started it on Blogger. I was scared to create a blog at first. I'm not sure why. I suppose having the ability to control not only the content, but the look of a webpage was a new concept for me, and I wasn't entirely sure if I'd be up to the task. Still, I'd always wanted a web presence of some sort, so I figured it was worth taking the plunge and seeing what would happen.

I didn't expect to get a great deal of traffic at all, much less get picked up by a bigger site, but I did, and as a result I didn't have to think about things like promotion or advertising or anything like that, and in a way, that was a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for the added exposure, but I never learned the things about maintaining and growing a blog that I probably should have. I'd get frustrated when weeks would go by without any comments, thinking no one read me and not knowing what to do to change that.

So when I started WSW one year ago, I knew I couldn't approach it the same way. I knew from the beginning that I needed an angle. I don't have to tell you how many film blogs are out there, competing for attention. I knew I couldn't talk about movies as eruditely as some, even though I certainly had my fair share of knowledge about the medium and the history. That's how I came up with the idea of writing about my experience watching a movie - it's the only thing I can absolutely call my own.

Of course, writing this way means divulging a great deal about my life, such as it is. Past experience has taught me to be very careful with what I say, so I'm always conscious of what to reveal and what not to reveal. There will always be certain things I keep to myself. For instance, I've been frank in discussing my friends, but I never betray a confidence or get too personal about their lives. Sometimes I leave out names completely.

Also, there are some things I simply don't wanna get into in a public forum because they are so personal. It always amazes me how in this age of Facebook and other social networks, people are willing to reveal so much about their lives without regard as to whether they should. My life has not been particularly spectacular, but I like to think I've accomplished a few things, gone a bunch of places, and learned a thing or two, and I've tried to put that in this blog through the lens of movies.

Over this past year, I've come to believe that our experiences watching movies mean just as much as the movies themselves. Being angry or sick or bored, seeing a film with friends or solo, with a packed house or all alone, absolutely has an effect on the way one feels about a movie, and by acknowledging that, I like to think it can lead to different insights about the film itself - not always, of course, but sometimes.

My association with the LAMB has made me a smarter blogger in many ways, if only by virtue of being around so many other talented bloggers. I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the ones who have had the most impact on me this past year: Hatter, Raquelle, Ivan, Rachel, Jess, Dylan, Castor, Ruth and Alex.

And thank you for reading.

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Related:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - the first post!

16 comments:

  1. congratulations from one of your new readers. were the stats related to people giving up before the year or after the year?

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  2. Giving up before the year. If I find that article I'll link to it, either here or on my FB page.

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  3. I know I've read that stat about the survival rate of blogs, but I think that might be inflated - there are truckloads that don't make it out of their first month, let alone the first year.

    With that in mind, true congrats on making it an entire 365! I've really enjoyed reading about your thoughts on film and especially your experiences soaking them in. I even get a constant reminder to check in on your goings on since your John Lennon sketch is on my fridge and reminds me to log in anytime I get a glass of juice.

    Here's to another year - and rather co-incidentally timed...since my blog's anniversary is coming up this weekend.

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  4. Congrats on your first year. I'm looking forward to seeing more posts! And, I love the reference to one of my favorite Bette Davis movies. Arguably, that's the quirkiest role she's played in a long career of quirky roles!

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  5. I haven't even seen 'The Anniversary.' The only reason I even know about it is because I used to see the box on the shelf of the video store I used to work in years ago. I suppose I should see it now, though!

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  6. Congratulations! I wonder what makes people give it up? It takes a while to build a good "following" and to stay motivated is always hard, but the rewards are worth it. Well done!

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  7. its very interesting, i've noticed a lot of blogs are much newer than i'd expected. i get the feeling that lamb members are more likely to stick around because the community feeling you get from it. other bloggers genuinely interested in what you're writing, sort of thing

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  8. I couldn't agree more, Toby.

    Thanks, one and all.

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  9. Congratulations! As a new reader, I hope you continue on for a long time.

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  10. Congrats on your first blog-anniversary :) Looking forward to see what your second year brings!

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  11. Oh my goodness, sorry I miss your blog-a-versary, Rich. Belated CONGRATS!!! Thanks for mentioning me, I really appreciate your visits to my blog and your thoughts on movies.

    That's cool that you had a comic blog before, wow, that's even cooler that it got picked up by a bigger blog. Hope you continue blogging, here's to more great reviews & insights from WSW!

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  12. Oooh this is a bit late but congratulations! I enjoy your blog a lot and I'm really glad you've kept on with it. My bloversary is coming up too, looks like mid/late summer is a popular time to start one up!

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