I started this blog in 2005 with one goal: watch as many of the American Film Institute’s Greatest Films of All Time as I could find, and write short reviews of them. Then I started sharing reviews of other movies and television shows until I went to grad school.
And then the blog went through several different evolutions and trends and lost all focus. Write about teaching? Sure. Technology in education? Totally. Rants about the effects of late-stage capitalism? Occasionally. Depression? Yep.
I’ve thought often about just shutting down this space, mostly because what’s the point?
WordPress says I have 94 followers, yet rarely do I get commenters. Twitter says I have 905 followers, yet rarely do I see evidence of engagement. Instagram says I have 337 followers, yet likes on posts range between 5 and 10.
If there’s no engagement, does a writer even have any impact? Is there even a reason to be on social media at all?
That line of questioning is quite the rabbit hole to go down, and it doesn’t lead to any place I want to stay.
I’ve brainstormed dozens of ideas for what to do in this space to keep it consistent, to make it meaningful. I am certain that fear is a primary factor in keeping me from making a choice, because what if I do and it’s not sustainable? What if I do and no one reads what I write? What if I do and people read what I write and it sucks?
But if I’ve learned anything from my friend Ashley, it’s to just do something. And if it fails, there’s nothing or no one keeping me from starting over. Again.
After posting on Instagram for 100 days, I’ll be slowly ratcheting back my social media presence and consumption, and instead spend time working on this. Right now, I have two plans: 1) publish a weekly popular culture newsletter, with a little bit of education-related content sprinkled in regarding how I teach popular culture in a midwest suburban high school; 2) publish creative nonfiction pieces I have scattered across my digital landscape.
Feel free to smash that subscribe button if you want to see where this all goes. I certainly do.
I sometimes wonder if anyone reads anything at all anymore. Have you thought about doing a podcast instead of a blog? I listened to my girls talking about all they engage with, and I think all the TV stuff has people being pulled into non-reading activities. When people have time off, they are always asking what series to binge watch. Movies used to be the big mind getaway; now it seems more like TV series, reality, etc. have taken that spot. I used to do a lot on social media, but there’s so much negativity and people acting what is silly to me that I just don’t have the interest in it all that I used to. Good luck getting back into writing again, and have a great upcoming school year.
I love your writing in whatever form you give me!
My own blog has only a couple of followers at this point and I rarely get comments. But I do feel like I sort through my thoughts better when I write them down. So I still occasionally post just for me.