allume

real light living

From Bandwagon Blogger to Blog-Trail Blazer

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Social media concept in word tag cloud on white background

The most popular girl in school strode past my locker. She carried an air of confidence — the kind that eluded me. I wondered if the mysterious patch on her jeans had anything to do with it. There was something about that triangular patch. You know, the one with the question mark?

Within a few weeks, more girls showed up at school proudly wearing the question mark on their right buttocks. This newfound patch assumed the supposed weight of popularity. But I couldn’t begin to guess why.

Nevertheless, I begged my parents until I too owned a single pair of Guess Jeans. Except they didn’t make me more popular. They didn’t even feel different.

The whole affair struck me as silly. I followed the crowd without knowing why.

Today, I give thanks to God in heaven I’m no longer in high school. It took me awhile, but eventually, I found my own way. And it didn’t involve following the crowd.

Trends, of course, still come and go — whether we’re in high school or not.

In the blogging world, a new trend can permeate the online scene with great force. Blogging gurus inundate us with innovative ideas and vogue plugins. Many of their suggestions are great too. But sometimes the constant tide of new technology leaves us feeling like we’re electronically etched in the dark ages of blogging if we’re not mastering the latest technological gizmo.

For instance, when I visit other blogs, I see a variety of social media icons. They’re usually in the upper right corner of a blog. And they represent the various places we can connect with that blogger.

So when I had my website redesigned earlier this year, I wanted the full plethora of social media icons in the upper right corner of my blog too. Clearly, this was the “in” thing to do. These icons, of course, would need to link with real social media outlets.

So I made a list of blogging goals for 2014:

      • Begin participating in Instagram.
      • Figure out Pinterest.
      • Investigate Tumbler and Linked-In.
      • Upload some videos on You-Tube.
      • Learn how to schedule tweets and Facebook posts on Buffer or Hootesuite.

Across the bottom of my list, I penned my biggest and best goal of all:

      • Hire a virtual assistant who can do all of the above for me.

Well, we’re midway through September, and I’ve done none of the above. Because I had to ask myself:

Why do I feel this pressure
to have an online presence on every social platform?

Am I following the crowd because that’s what trendy blogging looks like?

There’s nothing wrong with participating in any of these social media venues, as long as we’re doing so with a genuine desire to connect with the people there. But I’m afraid my cute little icons in the corner of my blog had become a new patch for me — just like the patch with a question mark that my friends wore in high school.

What’s more, I wondered if my desire to be in every social sphere online was really an attempt to become omnipresent.

Has the Eve-old sin of trying to be like God re-fashioned itself in my generation’s attempt to be in all places at all times?

Only God is omnipresent.

So what’s my real goal here?

After reflecting on my real purpose for writing — to bring glory to God’s name — I decided that I don’t need my name everywhere. I need to be true to who I am. I’m a writer, yes, but I’m also a mom and a full-time English teacher.

As bloggers, we need to invest our time wisely because we are not limitless beings.

I’m comfortable with Twitter and Facebook, so for now, that’s where I’ll connect online.

We all have a unique set of strengths, and the most “successful strategy” for any blogger is to stay true to who we are.

Some bloggers are savvy with social media.
Some bloggers are awesome with affiliates.
Some bloggers are terrific with technology.
Some bloggers have a way with words.

Blogging trends come and go. But who we are — at our core — remains the same. I don’t want to be a bandwagon blogger. I want to be a blog-trail blazer. And the only way to do that is to stay true to who I am.

I no longer run out and buy a new pair of Guess Jeans just because everyone else is buying a pair. I don’t generally follow the blogging masses either. Instead, I stay informed. Sometimes the latest blogging hype is just that. Hype. But sometimes the newest gadget, or widget, is a fantastic feature that enables bloggers to accomplish online feats they never thought possible.

The blogging world doesn’t have to be a re-creation of an old high school soirée, where the “in crowd” knew all the best brands. You and I can make a difference. No matter how big or small our blogs may be. Our voice matters. And a lack of technical expertise or social media experience shouldn’t prevent anyone from starting.

We can master this crazy world of blogging we’ve grown to love. And going to conferences like Allume is the perfect way to get a jumpstart on all things blogging!

I’ll be there. And I’d love to meet you there too.

Which social media venues do you enjoy the most?

 

From Bandwagon Blogger to Blog-Trail Blazer @Allume <Tweet this!>

The most “successful strategy” for any blogger is to stay true to who we are.  <Tweet this!>

Blogging trends come and go. But who we are — at our core — remains the same.  <Tweet this!>

Comments

  1. Thank you Denise for your words. They are very timely as just today I have been looking at connecting more social media to my blog (I’m very late to the party on all social media). Thank you for the reminder to keep my goals and core in front of my eyes… to glorify God!
    http://clayclancultivates.com

    • Adelaide, you’re not alone. I often feel quite “late to the social media party.” I think a lot of bloggers feel that way. But as long as we’re keeping our eyes on Him, I think we’ll be okay. 🙂

  2. This was great! Thank you so much. I’ve found I’m most comfortable on, and seem to get most of my engagement from, Facebook. I use Twitter as well, and I dabble in Pinterest, but Facebook is where I’ve found my audience and it works for me. So I’ve stuck with it. Thanks for reminding us to be true to who we are, and not give in to that beast of comparison.

    • Kelli, I agree with you…comparison is a beast. And the only way to conquer that particular beast is to know who we are and Whose we are and the purpose He has given us.

      Will you be at Allume?

  3. Truth. I primarily use Pinterest and FB, plus do a bit on Twitter-mostly because I can schedule it. A while back I chose not to jump on the Instagram bandwagon. I don’t have a smart phone and it doesn’t make sense for me. It is my one more thing.

  4. SO glad to hear someone else say this! I have zero desire to do much more than FB, IG and Pinterest… But have felt pressure to… The encouragement to set priorities even in social media is so helpful!

  5. Great tips, Denise! Unless you love social media and keeping up with trends, you’ll make yourself crazy trying to keep up. Figure out what you do best and DO IT. Looking forward to connecting with you at Allume.

  6. Oh Denise, I can’t tell you how many times I get caught up in social media and lose out on valuable time doing what I intended to do. I call it “there she goes” moments. I love social media but …I can waste so much time on it with seemingly good intentions. However, I am so far behind in my goals for my blog Heart Choices. Thanks for posting this one. It’s timely for me.

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

    • Debbie, I don’t think you’re alone either. I think we’ve all experienced a “there she goes” moment in the world of social media. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the interaction.

      And I love that your blog’s name is “Heart Choices.” Indeed, our Father gave us freewill to choose.

  7. You my friend are a trail-blazer blogger, and I love that about you! Your words wise and authentic words here give freedom and encouragement to my writer’s heart. Just the best. Tucking this in my back pocket to pull out any time I’m tempted to wander away from staying true to who I really am. Thank you!

  8. As a struggling blogger trying to find my footing in the blogging world, there seems to be a lot of pressure, whether real or imagined, to be on every social media platform. It is SO overwhelming that I sometimes completely shut down…and so does my blog. I don’t have the time or energy to be on every social media platform and I am so relieved to hear someone say that’s ok. I will try to get back to my blog soon but have tried to spend the last couple of months just breathing, while taking small bits of time to sort through all the blogging “hype” and re-identify my blog’s true purpose. Thanks for the encouragement, Denise!

    • Beth, I think there is a lot of pressure to be on every social media platform. And it can definitely be overwhelming. Few of us mortals have time to interact on all of them. 🙂 I think you’re wise to take a couple of months to “just breathe.” Identifying your “blog’s true purpose” is also very wise. Sometimes our purpose for blogging comes to us in an instant, and sometimes it slowly comes to us over time. It can change over time too. Sometimes our original purpose for blogging can grow into a different calling. I encourage all Christian bloggers to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead.

  9. Instagram!!! Because it fits in with my love of art, photography especially. It automatically posts to my blogs Facebook page. (it automatically tweets it too but I don’t interact on twitter much.) After I started sending my instagram stuff to my Facebook page, all of a sudden I actually had people commenting and interacting. So I’m sticking with instagram. Though I don’t do the cute edits much. (I’d like to but it takes time which I have none of right now.) I haven’t blogged much this year either. And yet… here I go to another blogging conference.

      • YES!!! packing my bags… can’t wait.
        in follow up to this post… i just got a google analytics that said my traffic has increased dramatically over 130 visitors in September, which isn’t much to many, but for me it was a blessing to see more than just my mother clicking over. 93% of the traffic came over from Facebook… but all of my posts to Facebook are posted automatically from my Instagram. So that was good news to me.

  11. Denise – this is one of the things I love about you. Your ability to encourage us to be true to who God has created us to be. Love the light you shine!

    SM can be fun, but it can be so distracting and sway us away from our real goal. You share wise words here.

    • Jamie, I agree. Social media can be fun. I’ve met some wonderful people through social media. But it can be distracting too.

      I appreciate your heart so much, Jamie, and I am so excited to see you at Allume!

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