Amateur Blogging is Dead & That's So Sad! (ironic, but sincere, silly rhyme)

My bloggy friend MemeGRL (or O whom I met IRL [in real life] at a "blogger meet up" dinner at Lauren's house before I read her blog, same thing with my friend Anjali) titled her post "Having No Readers is Freeing," but I don't know if I agree, probably not exactly, though I suppose it can be true! I can write anything if I'm "freed" from an audience, right? Nah...

For me, the feeling of having no readers anymore is depressing. I have decided, however, -- together with Jo(e) and then JaneB -- that I'll be one of "The Last (Amateur) Blogger Standing" -- before I even had the word Amateur to add to that sentence -- thanks O, I like to be called "amateur blogger!" ;-)

Here's what O wrote:

Ah, the end of the age of amateur blogs. It was fun to be here while the form morphed and I enjoyed it. I'm not stopping what I'm doing--it absolutely serves the purpose I meant it to serve. But it is strange watching my Feedly depopulate.

I love that first sentence and I borrowed the idea for my post's title. Anyone else wants to join our little band of "last amateur bloggers standing"? 

As for me, I simply feel sad to see the community that I had become part of when I started this blog disappear. It also saddens me to be posting so infrequently now that I don't get the feedback (however little) that I used to get. It's very comforting to think that at least two of my "IRL" friends and one family member read this blog (they are also bloggers -- sorry, too many links already in this post, I don't feel like adding more, just woke up from a nap, still exhausted from yesterday's wedding). It's also cool that once in a while I'll get a commenter that I hadn't seen before (like JaneB).

My need for blogging hasn't really diminished and like O says, it does still serves the purposes I want and need -- in this case, a space to reflect upon my life and to record significant events, a kind of public journaling (duh, pretty obvious, right?).

So I'm not quitting because I love it. And if I can have a small group still around, I suppose I'll be happy. But I will forever be missing those other relationships that were forged via blogs even though I'm in touch with a lot of those people on facebook. I miss you lots and lots everyday, M, Anastasia, Professing Mama, Dawn, Aliki, (and Anjali too), etc. Sigh... I'll stop or I'll get too nostalgic!

And I'm thrilled that those of you appearing weekly on my side-bar feed are still around for the ride!