Going for Three!

Ever feel shame because you missed a milestone or birthday? Well, I do today. Yesterday was the official end of my second year of writing this blog. I should have had a post up and ready to go to celebrate that fact.  I did not, I feel shame. Guess I will put a self imposed two minute penalty in the penalty box. Here it is my post, be it late…

My wife asked me, “why blog?” Great question, I know I did it internally because I was sharing my experiences and thoughts to my co-workers. Why take it externally? Exactly the same reason. In January this year, it took on a new meaning… I retired from Intel and now only have this one place to share my experiences and thoughts. She then asked, “I don’t see a lot of interaction from others, Does that bother you?” Not really. If you take a look at some of the posts, there are plenty of activity. Others, not so much, but I don’t look at them as generating comments and discussion. Not everything has to be about the comments to the post. Some folks, send an email my way or comment on my personal Facebook page. Each of them help to reinforce why I like to blog. Other folks, tweet out my post to their network. That has been awesome to see… Her last question, “will you continue?” Of course… I enjoy it too much not to.

Last year, I took some very aggressive goals for myself about my personal blog.

• Improve quantity and goal of my post. Take 175 posts as my goal for my second year.  If we look at the number of posts (112) – I certainly fell short. Did the overall quality of the posts improve – I think so, but I still have some work to do there. I write too much like I talk (my wife tells me that). The hits to the site have increased over double what the first year was. That is pretty awesome. Overall missed the goal, but happy.
• Fix the broken RSS feed. This one was a tough one. Not sure what I did to fix it, but it is working now. I actually have subscribers!
• Change the Theme only once during the year. I did that recently, but still looking for something that is more to my liking. I will give this theme some more time to see if I like it or not.

I have made some changes late in the second year that will carry over. I have added some affiliate advertising – sorry for that – just trying to offset any hosting fees! Remember – I am retired now. I also will be changing the title of the blog. Spin-o-rama is definitely a play on words, but it is something that is trademarked. I will be just using the stevebellnow my blog. I hope to have a logo developed and put up on the site soon… So, keep checking back!

Goals for the third year are:

• Continue to improve my quality and quantity  of posts. I am taking a 125 post goal for the year. Increase the hits to the site by another 75%.
• Find that one theme that works… Carry over last years goal of only one change to the theme. If I find that the paid part of the blog is higher than expected, then I will hire someone to tailor make a theme that works for me (and you).
• Don’t just focus on blog posts. Time for me to finally start that writing project (book or manifesto) that I have had bouncing around in my head for years.

I am very happy with my first two years of blogging. I am having fun and meeting new people – what more can I ask for? I hope that you have enjoyed reading…