Well, it appears that what I thought was a burning need to write again in my last post wasn’t accurate. But, here’s a post at nine months since the last one instead of a year, or three, apart.

Today, I was struck with the thought that I’d not logged into WordPress in a while and I, “should probably do that.” So, I did. And then I thought, “I haven’t seen posts from any of the blogs I subscribed to in a long time.” So, I visited the Reader page, and I guess the reason I haven’t seen posts from people is that with the exception of two, rather prolific writers, I only found one other person who has posted once in the last year other than me. So, that got me thinking, “Is blogging even worthwhile?”

Apparently, I’m not the only person who is wondering this because I found this post. Add in the fact that Myspace is allegedly coming back to the social media rodeo, and I guess that blogging isn’t dead. At least not yet.

Now, I think I had a Myspace account back in the mid-90’s in college, but I recall being annoyed with it and didn’t use it. Hopefully, I deleted my account. Otherwise, it’s still out there somewhere, festering.

Last year, I threw up my hands at social media in general and after putting on my metaphorical safety gear, I slashed and burned my way through social media accounts and deleting followers and “friends” alike. Twitter, since turned X, became a hellscape of Kool-Aid drinking cult members who let fly their worst human tendencies in the name of, “I’m hiding behind a computer screen and therefore probably won’t face any consequences for being a monumental asshole.”

There is something to be said for the not too distant past when someone choosing to say something incredibly stupid was promptly punched in the face for saying it. Immediate consequences can be awesome in their power.

But, I digress. My burning of the social media forest left a few trees standing, a bit charred, but still standing. And, because forests need to recover, I walked away for a while, popping back from time-to-time for a quick peek to see what the progress of things are and then leaving again. Things “are”, back, good, and otherwise.

Now, Mr. Singla’s article about blogging is helpful. He goes on to answer seven questions about blogging that I’m sure some people will find very interesting. However, in my case, I appear to be doing most of blogging wrong.

I don’t create YMYL (I’m glad he explained what that was… that initialism was new to me) content. I won’t try to sell you insurance, fitness plans, or Amway.

I am not a niche expert. Well, my expertise is just being a human, but that’s not a niche. At least I don’t think it is.

I don’t make money on this blog. For one, I have a job already and that takes up enough mental energy. If I had to try and have a profitable side hustle, I know I would burnout. No thanks. I won’t rule out profit in the future, but now? No.

I don’t make videos. I don’t do “Reels”. I don’t do TikTok. I write. Sometimes I communicate with memes, GIFs specifically, but only if I like you.

I write long form. It is unlikely you will come across some entertaining short quip from me. If you do, it was a fluke. My modes are silence or non-stop chatter. There is no in-between. Also, I don’t write using AI; using AI to write for you is for cheaters. My ideal audience is people who have long enough attention spans that they aren’t desperately searching for a TLDR synopsis. Also, I don’t do those.

While a good many talented folks have shuffled off to Patreon and Substack because they want to make a profit at writing or because writing is their actual job – more power to them. I subscribe to a few.

For now, I’ll be here writing long-form, essay style personal blog posts or think pieces, for free. If Myspace can make a comeback, blogging can, too.

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The Amusing Muse is a writer, gardener, and world traveler (when funds allow) who lives in Southern Wisconsin. She currently lives with her husband and their menagerie of animals. She is looking forward to the cooler temperatures of Autumn.