The Popular Kid

I decided to take the "Followers" button off of my blog.

It's something I've been debating for awhile now, but I finally today had enough courage to hit the remove button.

I won't lie...it had been bugging me that my number had dropped so low after I lost my old blog. Sad...yes, but the truth.

Back in January, Nic and I were talking about our blogs (yeah, something new and different) and I said that I wanted 100 people to follow my blog. Why 100? I dunno it sounded like a good number of people to have that find you exciting enough to want to read about your life.

But then Blue-Eyed made this post this morning and it struck a nerve.

Why do I blog?

I blog to keep a journal of my life.

I blog because it's the easiest way to keep my family who is all over the country up to date on our lives.

I blog because it has somehow become the place that I can get my true feelings out that I might otherwise never say.

I blog because I like to have a reminder of what Olivia and I did on that regular Thursday that I would otherwise forget about.

I blog to not only remember the good, but also the bad and to learn from those days.

I blog for myself.

So why is it bothering me so much the number of people who read my blog?

Why is it that little counter always seem to be staring at me when I click to look at my blog?

Then I remembered this post that Jenn from Simply "Jenn"-Sational posted awhile back. The actual post is about weight, but she typed a line in that post that has stuck with me for the last two months....".... at almost 29 years old I still want to be popular."

Well, that is why that stupid Followers button is bothering me so much. I still want to be "popular." For me that little button says to me that is how popular you are in the blogging world. It's one of the first things I look at when I click on a new blog.

And when I get those 100 followers, am I going to be satisfied? No, then I'll want 200.

So in order to remind myself that I'm blogging for myself, I've removed the followers button. And I would still be blogging whether one or a hundred people read my blog.

That's not to say I'll start to condemn anyone else's followers button.

I am doing this for myself.


Comments

Jennifer Owens said…
Girl, you are awesome. I knew there was a reason I "followed" you to begin with.

I love the reasons you listed on why you blog. I echo a lot of that - I want to remember the every day, the little days, the random days, even the ugly days because it's part of me and my journey. And it's interesting how those reasons vary from blogger to blogger too. The follower feature is something that has long bothered me too and I wonder why I don't have more when I've blogged for so long.

After all, wasn't it me that said I still had the desire to be popular at 29? (o: I love that you brought up what I wrote - I feel honored or something.

Anyway, kudos for being bold and brave and being YOU. I tend to connect more with people who feel real and genuine and I hope for the same when others read my blog.

Thanks for sharing this. And just FYI - I'm still following. (o;
Kameron said…
I rarely even look at the followers thing. I blog for the same reasons. I realized that when I started feeling guilty for not blogging as much after the baby, but then I remembered who I really write for! Good for you!
Texas The Doxie said…
Funny, I was thinking the exact.same.thing this past week. Who is it I'm writing my blog for?
Great post!

Popular Posts