Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A home for headless chickens....

Oh my word.

I have been reading some of the blogs recommended after Blogher in San Francisco. All these amazing people. Megastars. With goals and focus and themes. And talent. And YOUTH. Energy. I am feeling like a headless chicken, running round in circles in my little corner here. Drifting. Aimless.

Yes. Well.

Enough of that. I have been thinking about focus. I have decided that it is vastly over-rated. I like random and, in fact, I am rather partial to my role as a headless chicken. That way I can be surprising. Now and then. Astonishing even. Hah!

I was reading about people who are adventuring through life with great daring - breaking out of the molds and doing exciting things. I could do that. Wouldn't it be fun to take off on an adventure and then surprise everyone by posting from random places? I could do that. (Note to self - buy lotto ticket.) (Note to people-who-work-in-the-aeroplane-industry-who-can-supply-free-tickets-for-my-nomadic-travels: I can pack and be ready very quickly.) People could hazard guesses about where I would turn up next.......

I was born under the star sign of Gemini. Now, I don't go for astrological stuff, but the traits of a Gemini are undeniably familiar. What is that old saying .....jack of all trades and master of none. Yes. Mercurial. Being the opposite sides of anything. Both confident yet shy. Adventurous yet cautious. Creative yet academic. Never boring.

Complicated, is more like it.

Full of life. Full of dreams. But very hard to pin a label to, in the end. This is where the headless chicken bit comes in. Random. Now we just need the gumption to get up and make the dreams reality. I do not want to regret time wasted. I want to cross more things off the list. Maybe I should actually look at the list a little more often!

I was trying to explain how the blogging world actually works yesterday, to friends who have no concept of the larger links out there. How all of a sudden, the Mommy Bloggers have been recognised as a powerful force. How women are selling things to women. The business world is sitting up and taking note. All it needs is a post about appalling service from one company, and corporate damage occurs. How you can ask a question and have answers from all over the world almost instantly. How this community looks after each other.

It was like talking Swahili in a London boardroom. Mention things like feeds and stats,html, hyper-links and IP trackers etc and the eyes glaze over. Mind you, so do mine, I confess. Some people dabble a little by reading one or 2 blogs, but are too wary to venture into the links there for them to try.

Of course, most are not in the slightest bit interested, and that is just fine. I, on the other hand, am very interested. I have learned so much over the past few years and have tried so many new techy things. And I am still a baby when it comes to techy things, but I do try now and then! And at least I know where to go for help.

The hardest thing for a new blogger, or reader, is actually making their very first comment. I remember feeling as though I may be intruding, initially, and almost cautiously needing permission to comment. That is most definitely in the past. I think it lasted all of 2 nanno-seconds. Nothing blew up when I poked the "post comment" button. The sirens did not go off indicating an intruder present. And it was FUN! People talked back. They still do.

So you see, you do not have to be a mega star to blog. Random does just fine. Headless chickens are welcome, and at least my grandchildren will be able to have a giggle one day about their Granny's antics.

I am off to revise that list.

10 comments:

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Honey, if you like random then the post I just put up is right up your alley!

As far as the techy stuff, what I know about all that would fit in a thimble, but I'm a lot more adventurous and knowledgeable about it now than I was when I started my blog almost 3 years ago.

I learn something new every day, and as they say, you have to crack some eggs if you want to make an omelet. Let's just say I've smashed the whole carton of eggs with a cement block a few times, figuratively speaking. ;o)

Hope you're having a good day today.

Love and hugs,

Diane

Joyful Days said...

No mega star blogger here, but I love the way you blog, Linds--heart on your sleeve. I wish I was more like that. But random I can do. Commenting is still hard for me.

Unknown said...

Well now, as one headless chicken to the other..."I see you found your feathers...ehh?" lol

I loved your post and have to tell you, I felt the same way when I first started reading blogs. Leaving a message in a web site's "guest book" was one thing, but to leave a "comment" was altogether a different thing to me. I think it is the word itself. "Comment" says to me.... >tell me what you think of our service to you?< >was your food prepared to your liking?<. It says to me, if you have a complaint then type it here. Who in their right mind wants to be open for critcism?

Well I slept in today and have a ton of things to get done. This headless chickie loves your blog and your adventures are plenty enough for me to handle..

Have a wonderful day my friend.

Donnetta said...

Just dropping in to "talk back". :-) From one headless chicken to another...

I was just talking to someone this weekend who has read blogs for 2 years but still afraid to comment. It is good to be reminded of my own hesitation at first.

Now, I just babble away. Kinda like I'm doing right now. :-)

What a fun post this was!

Sandra said...

I'm certainly no mega star blogger either, I just blog about what I like and if I get comments great, if not, well there's nothing I can do LOL

Love you and love your blog and I didn't know you had been to the Kruger Park, that is just awesome. I'm from South Africa so the pics I'm posting on my blog are from my trip back home in may, I hadn't been back for 10 years :)

Have a great day Linds,
Sandra

Vee said...

Mega stars are highly overrated, too. Gheesh. I'm the type who prefers to read about the realm of possibility. I like that you say you can pack quickly, Linds. I do think of you as an adventurous spirit. (The most that I can do on the spur of the moment is leave the dishes in the sink in favor of an ice cream cone. :D)

Dawn said...

I can't imagine reading and not commenting! It's a package deal for me. And I LOVE getting comments!

And I love blogging with you - and all the other friends we have made. It is a wonderful circle. I'm so sorry about your knee!! And talk about contradictory advice! Seems like what I went through with the legal system recently - everyone has a different story for you.

K said...

I rather prefer smaller, cosier blogs to the megastars with a million readers. It may be self-centred of me, but I feel more at home as a reader; I too enjoy the dialogues in the comments, and making the 100th comment is nowhere near as satisfying as making the eighth. Surely everything that can be said has been said by then, and the blogger's eyes will have glazed over (if she's still reading).

Also, I think the YOUTH thing may all be a state of mind - I'm in my twenties and still feel like a headless chicken quite a lot. I may be energetic sometimes, but I'm not efficient. (And I'm wearing a long skirt and have my hair in a bun, to hark back a few posts. No apron at this precise moment.)

K (Isabelle's daughter)

Crystal said...

I feel the same when I mention something I've read on a blog to some of my non-blogging friends! They look at me with glazed over eyes and seem incapable of realizing that there are real live people out in blogland, just waiting to be my friends!! And I too will take reality and everyday friends instead of mega-stars!!

You do think of the most interesting things to write about :))

meggie said...

Love this post. You brought back my initial stage fright at commenting on a blog! I had been reading for awhile, & loved the fun back & forth interaction. I actually blushed, sitting here in my lonesome chair, when I read a reply to my comment.

Then, encouragement to begin my own! The wonder of it all. I still read my initial encourager... though she blogs less, these days. I learn something new every day, & I love it!