Tuesday, August 07, 2007

I Blog, Therefore I Am...Two!

I think I've figured out why I've been so snarky lately. It's the Terrible Twos! In a shocking display of commitment and sticktoitiveness, the Dept. of Nance celebrates its two-year anniversary this week. Two years ago, almost to the day, I claimed my tiny piece of the Internets and posted this. And I sat back and waited. In my laughable naivete, I was unaware of how it all worked and honestly thought that readers would just find and read my blog and post comments galore and I would be happily read and enjoyed by people all over.

Um, duh.

And I also thought that I would have a neverending wellspring of things to write about with wit and wisdom and that I would post every single day. Wasn't I always thinking and opining about something? And wouldn't I be more than thrilled to have a forum in which to air my personal and political views about, oh--everything?

Sigh.

Luckily, I am a student at heart and if the written word exists on the subject, I will read every single syllable of it as many times as is necessary to make it part of my personal knowledge base. Little by little, I researched and read and visited other blogs and became part of the blogging community that began to build around me.

Some bloggers are "niche bloggers." They're food bloggers or mommy bloggers or political bloggers. Honestly, I'm not real sure what I am. One blogger who links to me categorizes me as a "culture critic." I kind of like that. It gives me lots of wiggle room. Sort of a wide berth to move around in. One of my colleagues offered "social satirist." I'm not sure if what I write is always strictly satire. I do like to exploit the irony in everyday situations. I am a little Seinfeldian in that; I am sort of an observational humorist in a lot of what I choose to write about. I'm not sure if I even have to be categorized, do I?

I know a few bloggers who are a little upset that they've kind of plateaued. They've not increased their page hits or their comment counts, no matter what they've done in the past year or so. One or two have taken a hiatus to rethink their blogs, and to perhaps decide whether or not to even continue blogging. I guess I can understand that. It all depends upon why you got into it, I suppose. Sure, I'd love to increase my hits and my comment count. I'd love to suddenly explode with new readers and have lively discussions among my commenters. I'd love it if, suddenly, The NBC Nightly News contacted me about my Tie Reports, or CNN picked up one of my posts about, say...bad fashion or cows in the press, or I had hits on the caliber of Neil at Citizen of the Month, or the mother of all blogging, you-know-who (rhymes with juice), but honestly, I'm doing pretty okay. Could a few of my lurkers come out and just post a comment and say, "hey, I usually lurk, but wanted to let you know I read you"? yeah. Would I be ecstatic with an average of 25 comments? yeah. But I'm pretty happy.

Finally, I think I'm going to have to quit being such a procrastinator and overall fraidy cat and make the Final Last Leap to "New Blogger." I've been resisting the change because I will totally lose all my sidebar changes and have to redo every little single thing. It will take a ton of picky work and likely be an entire afternoon. I have to copy/paste/save every little thing before the move, and I'm frankly scared to death. I hate change. But there are some cool things available on New Blogger that I'd like to do, and also, once the change is made, future revisions will be much easier. Wish me luck.

Oh, and the cake is for everyone. Enjoy. Happy Anniversary to me!

Last Year at The Dept. of Nance: The Alaskan Adventure Part VI

27 comments:

  1. Happy Bloggiversary Nance!!!!!! That is wonderful! Please know that for as long as I'm here, I will always come by the dept. I mean who'd have thunk I would make all these new friends and even top the charts with more than 10 comments in a day when I started??? It is much to exciting, and I am fine if I plateau at some point, I am just glad that my creative side has been defribrilated and is in full swing!!!

    Oh, I have been very, very bad on the calorie count lately, so have some cake for me!

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  2. *too exciting...shit! I have to watch that!

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  3. Anonymous3:48 PM

    Munch, munch. Lovely cake, thank you.

    I wouldn't worry about keeping up with the likes of "rhymes with juice." She has an absurd fan base and lately she rarely writes anything any more original or entertaining that what you can find on the best of the "mommy blogs." (Not that there's anything wrong with that, heh, heh.) But you are far more original and now you've got 2 years under your blogging belt. Good for you. I, for one, am delighted that I found your blog. It is truly one of my personal highlights in the blogosphere.

    Off to do some errands, will get over to ties et al later, just wanted to congratulate you right away.

    Bon anniveraire! (and forgive my French, it's probably not correct.)

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  4. Anonymous3:51 PM

    Well, cr*p, I assure you I did know enough to put the "s" in anniversaire. Really!

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  5. Happy Bloggiversary! Before I switched over to blogger I had a LiveJournal which is close to its 4th anniversary (and close to dead as I only keep it around to comment on my friends' LJs).

    Thanks for the cake!

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  6. So glad you're not retiring!!! And hey, who rhymes with "juice"?

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  7. Anonymous11:02 PM

    Well hey Mrs D--- (do I dare risk exposing your last name?), I've been reading your blog for some time and hell, I'm telling you that I usually lurk around. Love it!

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  8. tera--love the imagery about your creative side! and the nice thing about virtual cake is that it is calorie-free. munch away. thanks for being a Dept. regular.

    Ortizzle--*blush* aw, merci for such kind words. I really appreciate your faithful, fun, and insightful comments both here and over at The Tie Report Archives site.

    jenomena--I'm really glad you started a blog so that we can keep closer track of one another. I love keeping tabs on former students and aides--esp. special ones like you who turn out to be dear friends.

    nina--oh, I've never thought of retiring. I am far too chatty for that.

    steve!!!--Dearest Steve! How are you? You don't know how many times your name comes up in CW--and only in the fondest, best ways. Thanks for not "exposing" me in any way and using Mrs. D, as in "Dept. of"...! Do me a favor and click my "Want to email me?" link in my sidebar above my big pink "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award sign so we can exchange some news. Thanks for delurking and chiming in! Hope you do so more often!

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  9. I'm glad I only really started this blog so I could get "cuddly comments" from you. They could stand to be a bit more cuddly nowadays, though ;)

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  10. Happy bloggiversary, Nance! Thanks for the cake. Niche markets? Who says you should only blather about a single subject? Free blather is what blogging is about. And as for "hits on the caliber of Neil," people of our ilk can't really aspire to that, since, y'know, we don't have talking penises.

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  11. Anonymous12:28 PM

    Happy Blogaversary to you! My two year anniversary is in November and I'm already questioning my "plateau-ed" situation.

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  12. Hey! Happy Anniversary! And feel good! I got to your blog through a labrynth of blogrolls quite recently and plan on hitting quite often. Add 1 to your list.

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  13. Anonymous12:54 PM

    Happy Blogiversary! And good luck with the move to New Blogger!

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  14. Anonymous12:57 PM

    Nance,

    I am one of your steady "Lurkers" who sometimes posts a comment.
    I love your site and find you very interesting.
    Keep up the good work.
    I don't have a blog myself because I am certain that I could not stand the pressure of having to find something interesting to say a few times a week.
    So, you are doing the heavy lifting and we are enjoying the fruits of your labors.
    Thanks!!!

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  15. Anonymous3:53 PM

    I've been blogging for nearly two years as well. I'm having a good time while waiting to understand what my blog is about and what I'm trying to accomplish.

    I recently received my first piece of hate mail and then two days later someone wrote a letter to the editor of a major expat site commenting on my smart coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings.

    I get one or more e-mails every week from "fans" telling them my posts about my expat experiences helped them in some way and this helps me ignore the snarky comments that occasionally pop up accusing me of being narrow-minded, prudish, whiney, or whatever.

    I love stopping by The Department. I have no idea how to categorize what you do. Just keep doing it.

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  16. Oh, man, I am an old lady compared to you.

    Happy Blogiversary! Even though I'm a tad bit late.

    I would love to be labeled a "social critic!"

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  17. i.h.--so sorry! i shall endeavour to be more cuddly in future, my dear. as with jenomena, it is lovely to have formers/friends enter the blogdome so that i can keep up with you all. xxooxxoo

    sputnik--we can all aspire, but i'm not about to create talking genitalia to achieve it. (i'm sure that comes as a relief to all readers here at the Dept.)

    wordgirl--the socratic method can be a very helpful tool. look what it did for hamlet. lol. seriously, it's all about what you want to get from your blog, i think.

    mrsgrumpy--so glad to have you back! i'm happy to have you pick out a cubicle here at the Dept.

    girlanddog--thanks. i'm not sure when i'll begin the process, but hope it won't be too scary.

    nancy--thanks for your comments. they're always much appreciated. it IS sometimes a tough order to get a post ready every 4 days or so, but i've come to enjoy the challenge. it really makes me conscious of the news and causes me to be more aware of life's little ironies.

    v-grrrl--I've never gotten any hate mail, and I can't imagine you getting any! I think your blog has more definition than mine does, but once you move back to the States and have settled for a while, that may change. It will be fun to watch it morph. Thanks for the kind words.

    gina--You are a Social Critic. There. I've made your day.

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  18. Anonymous6:22 PM

    Happy Blogday, Nance! You deserve the biggest piece of cake ever!
    Fortune Cookie

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  19. Anonymous8:58 AM

    Just a note to say Happy Anniversary. Here in So. MD, I just lurk and prefer not to comment. However, I due appreciate you witty observations of family, Pres Homer Simpson and Darf Vader. Keep your blog going, we loyal readers………

    I hear a helicopter??


    Oh Shit, an armored personnel carrier runnin thru the marijuana patch and someone is breaking down the door!
    Gotta go

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  20. fortune cookie--oh, thanks, but i usually leave behind part of the frosting. it gets to me after a while.

    karim--thanks for taking the time to delurk! it's nice to meet you and hear from you. i echo your sentiments regarding The Angel of Death wholeheartedly, natch!

    anonymous, So. Md.--I think you owe Homer Simpson an apology. ;-) Thanks for taking time away from your business to comment; hope it didn't cause too much trouble...!

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  21. Your blog insprired me to become a blogger so thank you and keep it up. I personally think that people who blog daily are taxing. It's almost a relief to click on a blog and go "Oh, I already read that!" and move on. The amount you blog is perfect! Happy Blogverisary!

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  22. Thank God I didn't miss out on the cake! I totally missed my blogiversary this past June. My blog still isn't speaking to me.

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  23. Happy Blog Birthday Nance! The internets wouldn't be the same without you! ; ) It was a very happy day when I stumbled upon your blog and I'm so glad that you continue to make me think and laugh all the time! Thank you!

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  24. j.--thanks for such kind words! i'm always in awe of the daily bloggers. how the heck do they do it?

    brookelina--i would totally have saved some cake for you. i know how you are about cake. and happy anniversary to you and your fussy blog!!

    anali--oh, thanks! and thanks for being one of my very, very first regular readers. (that's why you have such a nice big corner office here at the Dept.!)

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  25. Anonymous11:32 PM

    Congrats. I loved the cake!

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  26. Bon Blogiversaire, Mon General. I am very happy to have found your blog.

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  27. Neil--thanks for checking in at the Dept! you've been a nice source of info and inspiration for me in blogging.

    nancy in a2--ten hut! oh, bonjour mon ami!! it is incredibly wonderful to hear from you after tant d'annees!!! "no matter how long it takes, no matter how far", you did find me!!! now i'm coming to find you.

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