I think it was Confucius who first said:
Wise man does not start tinkering with blog theme at midnight on a school night
Ah, and how right he was. But I received my brand spanking new header image from Lee in my email box this evening and I’ve never been one to delay my gratification.
If you’re reading this in google reader why not wander over and gasp in awe and amazement at my new look.
When I first started planning Hadrian’s Walk over a year ago I was pretty convinced it would spell the end of my blog.
I knew that one of the major hooks to get press coverage would be the fact that there were so many bloggers coming along on it. But in order to exploit that hook I’d need to mention my own blog in all my press releases.
I’ve never attempted to be anonymous on this blog, I’ve never really seen the point. I’ve never been convinced that publishing my full name, shoe size, or pictures of my kids faces is going to expose my family to gangs of rampaging murdering pedophiles. In fact I’m quite proud of the fact that I’m willing to stand up and take ownership of everything I write here, even if 98% of it happens to be drivel.
However, by having my name, photo, and blog address printed in the local paper I took the risk that one of my patients would see it and start coming here. Maybe even start commenting.
I have lines between my personal life and my professional life. These aren’t flimsy lines drawn in the sand, they are hard, solid lines chisled into granite. I need to be able to keep everything separate and boxed up or run a serious risk of burnout. I made the decision when planning the walk that if my professional life began bleeding into my blog then I’d unfortunately have to let it go. It’d be a shame of course, but a sacrifice worth making.
But as it stands I think I got away with it. And so the blog goes on.
However not without changes. There’s been a crescendo building up around the walk for the past few months, both here and in my everyday life too. And now as the resonance of the final chords are fading away perhaps it’s time to switch metaphors and start a new chapter of the book.
I think I’m going to move away from “Daddyblogging”. It’s a label that, although always proud to wear, never really fitted me. In addition parent blogging, at least in the UK, has become far too entangled with commercialism, competitiveness, and exploitation. I’ve had enough of it to be honest, and it’s time for me to move on.
Of course in real terms this makes absolutely bugger all difference to anything. I’ll still be pumping out the same old crap that I did before. But I’m going to make a conscious effort not to care what lists I’m on, what rank I’ve been assigned, and which “target group” a bunch of PRs are trying to cram me into. In fact I’ve gone further than that and requested to be removed from every directory, table, and index that previously made me feel uncomfortable. I have gone from having a fairly high profile in my little corner of the internet, to having all but vanished into the ether .
Yes I’ll get fewer readers, but you know what? Fuck it, I don’t really care. It’s never been about the numbers on my statcounter anyway – it’s about the friends I’ve made. I’d rather get three comments from people I know and like than 100 from a sea of interchangeable faces. I’ve made some great friends through blogging, many of who I’ve now had the privilege of meeting in person. And withdrawing from a few stupid lists and shedding off the shackles of genre blogging isn’t going to change that.
So this is it. The start of a new phase for All That Comes With It. The blog is dead. Long live the blog!
