Blogging isn't for the fainthearted
Posted on by Debbie

10 thoughts I shared about blogging as part of Library Information Week

Blogger in the House – what exactly is blogging all about?

I was recently invited to give a talk about blogging at our local library, as part of Library Information week. I made some notes and decided to share these thoughts in the form of a post.

The event was free for all to attend and advertised through the library facebook page and I also shared it on my social media. Our town is quite small so I wasn’t expecting a huge crowd – and let’s just say, thank goodness I didn’t let my imagination run away with me as to how big the crowd would be to hear me talk! But I am grateful to each and everyone who attended.

Library Information Week in Tumbarumba
Library Information Week in Tumbarumba

Meet and Greet

The small group who attended were mainly my friends (and a baby), one newcomer to town plus the two librarians, but that didn’t stop me giving my talk as planned. They all learnt something about what I do, having not understood what blogging was really about.

Blogging talk at library
Blogging talk at library – the fire on the screen behind me was welcoming!

In preparing for the talk I discussed my thoughts with good friend and experienced blogger, Sue, and I made notes as I thought of things that might be interesting. I was keen to debunk the usual stereotypes of what a blogger is and what people think we do.

My main aim was to show how blogging can help in lots of ways – it encourages creativity, helps with mindfulness, can have a positive impact on mental health, shows different perspectives, and provides a community.

I broke it down to 10 main areas of interest, as described below. These were just my guiding notes and we discussed lots of other things along the way.

Brief Introduction to Deb from Deb’s World

I’ve recently turned 60; am a mother of 3 grown up daughters; Granny Debs to 4 grandchildren; married for 41 years; have lived in Tumbarumba for 30 years and I’m more than happy to stay here for the foreseeable future.

I was made redundant from my role as Senior Correctional Education Officer at Mannus Correctional Centre in 2016, after being a teacher and manager for over 22 years.  Now happily retired, a rail trail enthusiast, ebike rider, a reader, a blogger, a Rotarian and involved in a variety of community activities.

1. What do you think a blog is? Do you read any blogs?

I invited the audience to discuss what they thought blogging was all about and if they regularly read any blogs. The main consensus was they knew I wrote a blog, sometimes popped in for a read, but rarely read any other blogs. One newcomer to town said she usually watched vlogs and listened to podcasts.

2. How can a blog provide information?

Given it was Library Information Week, I wanted to show how blogs can provide information and expanded on these points below.

  • Can help to find your purpose
  • Midlife re-invention
  • Helps you to stay current
  • Learn new skills, technology, writing, photography
  • Creative pursuit – photography and writing challenges
  • Missing your MOJO – Australian Writers’ Centre offer courses
  • Information on transitioning into retirement
  • Book reviews, recipes, craft, sewing, painting….
  • Health and fitness & life coach information
  • Travel ideas and information – I’ve met some fabulous bloggers this way

3. What is a blog?

It’s like an online journal.  Web-log = shortened to ‘blog’.

Blogs can be on any subject, personal or business, and can be used to showcase someone’s creativity. In my blogging experience it’s all about a life in words and pictures.

You have your own blog? Your life must be all kinds of fascinating.
You have your own blog meme

4. What I’m not:

Just because I don’t do some of these things is my own personal choice – there is no right or wrong way of blogging and I respect everyone’s decision to blog however they want to. It’s just that some things aren’t for me!

  • An influencer 🙂
  • A niche blogger – I write about a variety of issues not just on one topic eg. financial tips, blogging tips, fashion, beauty….
  • A mummy blogger or even a granny blogger – discussed the implications of sharing too much information online, especially when it comes to young children. It’s a fine line at times and i always seek permission to use photos and information.
  • A Professional Blogger – it’s not my main focus in life, it’s more a fun creative pursuit for me.  I don’t ‘follow the rules’ of blogging either.
  • I don’t make money from my blog – in fact I spend money to host the domain, the theme with WordPress and other additional things.  I even pay extra not to have adverts on my site.
  • I don’t have annoying pop-ups on my site and I don’t have a newsletter.
  • I don’t use SEO – search engine optimisation, key words or title analysers – I’m not professional at all!
  • I’m not an everyday blogger – I blog when it suits me and don’t have posts planned ready for the next 12 months like many do.
  • I’m not anything special!
Blogging
Blogging

5. What I am as a blogger:

  • Authentic and real
  • What you see is what you get
  • Honest
  • Friendly, fun, quirky, enthusiastic
  • Engaging – I respond to all comments left for me
  • A ‘neighbourly’ blogger – I interact with others
  • I’m a sharer and a joiner – I regularly join linkups and challenges

6. How did I start blogging?

  • Travel Pod was my first blog – I used it to write about our travels for family and friends back home. It was a way of sharing our activities and photos with everyone all at once. It was a free platform and easy to set up. I then gave everyone the link and they could check up on our travels very easily. My father, who was a travel agent at the time, loved reading my posts!
  • I then moved to WordPress.com and set myself up as Deb’s World back in 2012, over 9 years ago. A lot has happened in those 9 years (good and bad) – weddings, births, deaths, redundancy, travels, illness, rail trails, bushfires and I’ve probably covered most of them in my blog somewhere!
  • Steep learning curve – I did it all myself and learnt a lot, and I’m still learning.  Technology can be fun and it helps keep my brain ticking over.
  • I did a few free courses offered by WordPress and joined challenges, met other bloggers and forged friendships.
  • I was working in a role where I couldn’t be my true self, inside a correctional centre meant I had to be ‘buttoned up’ and professional at all times.  Blogging let me be myself and allowed some of the creativity inside to bubble up and out.
  • I tried to keep my blog separate/anonymous and still some people don’t associate me with Deb’s World – but my cover has been blown in many ways over the years.
9 year anniversary of blogging
9 year anniversary of blogging

7. Why do I blog?

This is a big question and every blogger has a different answer. These are just a few of my thoughts!

  • It’s fun and gives me joy, makes me feel alive and included.
  • It has made me more observant.
  • It allows me to leave a legacy behind – my grandchildren may learn more about me through my words in my blog in future years.  One of my daughters loves reading my posts as she always learns something new about me.
  • Gives me a sense of purpose.
  • I feel relevant – being made redundant was an awful feeling after so long in a rewarding role.
  • I don’t want to fade away and become invisible as can so often happen as women age.
  • I enjoy finding and belonging to a community of like-minded people all over the world. 
  • I like to discuss important things with others.
  • To challenge myself.
  • I get to use the creative side of my brain.
  • I get to escape into other people’s worlds.
  • To experience life through the eyes of others and share my world at the same time.
  • I like to think I can inspire others to do something that pushes them.
  • I love to promote Tumbarumba whenever I can.
  • It’s a form of therapy for me.
Blogging fun
Blogging fun

8. Challenges and Linkups

I discovered challenges were a great way to make connections, challenge myself in terms of writing and photography, even poetry, and found I enjoyed the creativity it brought to my blogging.

Some of the challenges and linkups I’ve joined over the years have included:

  • 3-word story challenge
  • 99-word story
  • Sunday Stills photo prompt #SundayStills
  • Life this Week #Lifethisweek
  • Writing/poetry/haiku
  • One word photo prompt
  • Wordless Wednesday photo posts
  • Book Tags
  • Squares – photos to a set theme for a month
  • Courses – Blogging 101, Blogging 201…
  • Weekend Coffee Share #weekendcoffeeshare
  • Midlife Share the Love #MidlifeSharetheLove
  • A Sentence a Day

The best thing about joining a challenge or a linkup is the exposure to other bloggers and this can lead to real friendships forming. It also extends my brain, so that I’m constantly thinking and working out how to create something special.

9. Latest stats:

I’m really not that prolific in the blogosphere and am still considered small fry, even after all these years! However, I am proud of my efforts.

To date my blog has 6673 followers, and this number still surprises me!  I can’t believe it. Not everyone engages with me but over a month I can get up to 4-5000 views of my blog, sometimes more.  Since I started in 2012, I have written 1532 posts, had 30283 comments, and 239,015 views. The statistics section tell me where people are from, how they found my blog, what’s most popular and lots of other information. But I don’t blog for the stats!

10. Most popular post:

A Guide to Riding the Rail Trail – 7116 people have viewed this one since I wrote it in May 2020.  It helps that it’s been shared by a lot of other people and Rail Trails Australia refer people to it from their website. Another popular post is the one I wrote about surviving a tragic accident while on a school excursion. It took me 40 years to write that post and ended up being a real form of therapy!

Q & A:

  • How long do you spend blogging?
    • Somedays more than others, but generally at least an hour or so a day (don’t ask the Mathematician that question). Reading and commenting take up more time when I’m involved in a link up with other bloggers. But my brain is always switched on, thinking, observing, taking notes, compiling stories in my head…
  • Do you need to have a decent camera to take photos for your blog?
    • No, these days smartphones are doing a great job but a proper camera can help if you are primarily setting yourself up as a photographer blogger.
  • Do you get support from your blogging platform?
    • Yes in many ways eg. spam comments are filtered out, Happiness Engineers are available to answer my questions (yes that’s what they’re called), information is available
  • What would make you give up blogging?
    • boredom
    • illness or medical issues with either self or family member
    • scarcity of time
    • nothing left to say (who me??)
    • lack of commitment or when it becomes a chore
    • travelling
    • not fun anymore
    • death of either self or close family member
  • What are the negatives of blogging? –
    • the time it takes – not just a matter of writing a few words and pressing the publish button
    • feeling that you have to promote yourself, social media, justifying what you do
    • the fact that it’s not recognised as an art-form like those who draw or paint
  • Have you won any awards?
    • Yes! On this day in 2018 I was in England visiting my daughter and I was able to attend the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards in London, where I met many other bloggers in person, and won the Hidden Gem award 🙂

After my talk, we all indulged in the delicious morning tea which was provided by the librarians, and chatted less formally. Despite the small numbers in attendance I was pleased to have been asked and proud of myself for saying yes – all part of my being more ‘bold‘ this year and saying yes to things I might normally have declined!

plant gift
plant gift

Each of the attendees were given a gift (from the library) of a pen, notebook and bookmark and I was given a lovely pot plant for being their guest. It really was my pleasure to attend, but the gifts were much appreciated by everyone.

Gift at Library talk
Gift at Library talk – love the message, Go where you feel most alive

How about you? Do you have any thoughts to add or further questions?

Just recently I wrote a post about ‘What makes you return to a blog again and again?‘, which looks at blogging in more detail, with input from other bloggers. If you’d like more information maybe click on the link and have a read.

So that was basically my talk on blogging! Hope you enjoyed it and felt like you were there.

Thanks for your support 🙂

Deb xx

Joining Natalie for her #weekendcoffeeshare link up – where all the cool bloggers hang out!

Some other blogging posts you might like:

You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

Everyone has a story to tell!

Debbie - mother of a 40 year old

Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. You can read more of Deb’s story here

Copyright © 2024 debs-world.com – All rights reserved

58 Replies to “10 thoughts I shared about blogging as part of Library Information Week”

  2. Firstly, congratulations on 9 years of blogging and giving an informative talk. Not an easy feat on both counts. Many of your points resonated with me, and I certainly will never be a “professional” blogger. It has been fun to meet up with you and others. One regret was my ability not to meet more at the Bloggers Bash. That would’ve been fun.

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    1. Thanks so much Suz! I loved meeting you and The Squire in person and the Bloggers Bash was a great experience too, back when we could all travel!

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  3. I am late to reading this. You nailed it. I see so many similarities in our reasons to blog. You make your blog so friendly, warm and caring as well as informative and fun. Such a credit to you Deb. Blogging keeps me connected and without that I would not be chatting here…and IRL soon!! Denyse x

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    1. Thanks for your comment and visit Ann, it’s always great to have feedback from ‘those in the know’. I thoroughly enjoyed the library talk and sharing my thoughts in a blog post.

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  7. Deb! These were so great, and I would have totally attended because the way they worded it on the advertisement made it sound so inviting. I could relate to so much of what you wrote on why you do it, what you’re not, etc….Thank you.

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    1. Thanks Kirstin, I was very happy to share my words and my love of blogging at the library. I wish all my blogging people could have been there but by sharing some of my talk I was able to include you all! I’m also pleased to hear you could relate to what I was saying 🙂

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  8. I love your list of reasons why you blog because it’s so similar to mine where it is a form of therapy, read about other people’s lives in another part of the world, and creating community. I blogged since high school and university, but it was fairly sparse. Just like now, back then I wrote about anything so there was no niche. After I graduated from university, I felt more intentional with blogging because it was a way to keep in touch with my university friends since they had their own blogs too. Again I wrote about anything so no niche. But admittedly I felt pressured to get into a niche. Well isn’t (my) lifestyle a niche?

    Anyways a few points on your list caught my eye — the feeling of relevance. I think after university, a lot of graduates feel listless. What’s next? It was especially daunting when I graduated at the time because the U.S. was experiencing a recession at the time. A lot of my friends and classmates had a very difficult time looking for work at the time. I also liked the other reason on not fading away and becoming invisible especially as an aging woman. I find influencer culture relentless in catering that one type of woman — all perspectives matter.

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    1. Lovely to have your thoughts on blogging Julie, thanks for joining in the conversation. I can see similarities in reasons for blogging and yes I agree, your lifestyle is definitely a niche!!

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  9. Hi Deb. Your presentation sounds like it was fun. I would have loved to have read that it was more strongly attended, but then I too have made blogging a part of my life and think everyone should do the same. I’ve not been doing it as long as you and I clearly don’t know as much as you do, but I finally have my site setup as I wanted for so long and have a body of stories collected and sorted like my own little art studio where folks can visit, read and engage in conversations as desired.
    I would have loved being part of your audience and picking away at your mind.
    All the best.

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    1. Thanks very much Gary! I was happy to be asked and enjoyed sharing my thoughts to the small group and then to my wider blogging community, which has been well attended and commented on by many! Us bloggers tend to be quite entrenched in our our reasons for blogging. I love the way you’ve described your blog like a little art studio…. Well done!

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  10. My daughter introduced me to blogging as a way of sharing my photographs. Since then I have found that both my writing and my photography have improved – as has my observation of people and places, including my garden during this long period of lock down!

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    1. Yes Anne, I love the observational skills I have now and finding things to focus on to either write about or photograph – I get it! Thanks for joining in with the conversation 🙂

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  11. What a great photo of you, Debbie. You don’t look nervous at all. Were you nervous before giving the talk?
    I can tell from what you said that you enjoy blogging and that it brings you fun and enjoyment. And, yes, yes, yes, to those annoying popups as a negative part of blogging. I’m sure some of the audience will want to try out blogging after hearing your talk and the answers you gave to the questions.
    And congratulations on nine years of blogging.

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    1. Thanks Hugh! I wasn’t very nervous and actually felt quite comfortable and I think that shows in the photo. Great to have your comment and congrats, you are always a real supporter!

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  12. That’s so lovely you were asked to give a talk about blogging, Deb! Loved your responses and even though I haven’t met you, I do find your voice here so authentic and engaging {which is what brings me back!} I love all your reasons for blogging and it’s such a great outlet for writers who want to connect and find purpose. Here’s to many more years!

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    1. Your comments are much appreciated Sanch! I do enjoy it all and connecting with others has been such a rewarding part of blogging. It is. a great outlet for many of us who want to write and share our thoughts 🙂

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  14. Congrats on your talk at the library! But I’m even more excited that you wrote this great post, so that the many of us that couldn’t make it to your library talk can still gain the benefit of hearing what you have to share about blogging. I LOVED reading this post!! Thank you so much for sharing with all of us out here in this virtual world.

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  15. I started blogging when we were going to China as a way to document our trip. From there it just grew. I love the challenges too, it gives me an outlet for the thousands of photos I have. Blogging also gives me a reason to explore the amazing city I live in. I love to track down murals. Currently I am tracking down all the lanes we have that are named after local people/topics.
    And I drag my husband along on these excursions.

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    1. Hi Jackie, great to have your thoughts on blogging and why you love it too. Murals are a great way to capture the spirit of a place, especially if you have to track them down. Thanks 🙂

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  16. Really enjoyed reading this Deb; so refreshing to find someone who blogs because they love doing it rather than because they want to influence anyone or make money or get freebies (sadly that seems to be on the increase).

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  17. I think everyone now equates “blogger” with “influencer” so it’s always wonderful to hear from people that blog simply because they love to write and share their thoughts online – your “what I am” and “what I’m not” are very similar to mine! I miss the Travelpod days sometimes – they were so simple!

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    1. Hi Em! You were a TravelPod blogger too!! They really were simple times weren’t they? Yes there’s a few of us bloggers left who write simply because we love to write and share thoughts. I had to include the ‘what I’m not list just for fun! Lovely to see you again x

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  18. Hi Deb, well done on getting out of your comfort zone and talking at the library. I would love to have been there. I have similar thoughts to you on blogging. It was great to read your thoughts on the subject,

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  19. I think this list is a great synapse of blogging. I was shaking my head yes a lot at your list. You may easily have inspired someone there to give it a try. Thanks for sharing all those great links!

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  20. Hi Deb – good on you for stepping out of your comfort zone and accepting the challenge to give a talk. I think you covered everything there is to cover (except the actual nitty gritty of creating a blog – which people don’t need to know unless they want to actually write one!) You looked really happy and confident in your photo and it’s nice that people turned up to support you x

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    1. Hi Leanne, yes I deliberately left out the actual nitty gritty of creating a blog, I thought that could be left for my next talk :). I must admit I was feeling very confident and enjoyed myself much more than I thought I would. Thanks for your visit and lovely comment xx

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  21. Hi Deb, I regard blogging in a similar way to you. It is a creative outlet and I’ll never be a professional blogger because if I followed all the blogging “rules” I would hate it. I blog when I have time, I’m never consistent and life comes first! Your blog is a wonderful example of how blogging about things you love can be more engaging than a blog written just for followers/income/fame. You’re an inspiration to relatively new bloggers like me. Regards, Christina

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    1. Hi Christina, rules re made to be broken! I am delighted to hear your thoughts and feedback on my blog. I’ve always tried to be myself and write about what makes me tick, so I’m happy whenever anyone gets something from my posts. Thank you for your lovely words.

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  22. I love your blog Deb and it encourages me not to give up. I used to worry when I first did posts about likes and views but now I just enjoy writing about my trips, which are few and far between these days. I also love the challenges and engaging with other bloggers and reading their blogs. As you say reading takes more time than posting! But the best thing about blogging is it keeps your mind active.

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    1. Alison, you have made me smile! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoy my blog and I love hearing from you. It’s such a great way to stay mentally active and engaged, as you say! Don’t give up 🙂

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  24. What a great opportunity Deb. It would have been interesting for your friends and those who know you also to hear more about blogging. I’m sure many of my non-blogging friends have little idea about what’s involved.

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    1. Thanks Natalie, I thought this was a good way to share my talk with those who couldn’t attend. I will be making it into a podcast episode soon too – great minds!

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