One year of blogging

Exactly one year ago I bought my domain and started a WordPress blog. It’s been a wonderful adventure. (In case you are wondering:  no, I don’t plan to quit blogging any time soon.)

When I started blogging I didn’t have a "blog strategy." I doubt I even knew what a blog strategy was. I didn’t have any personal, business or marketing objectives. I was happily clueless about ranking, A-listers, Technorati, who counts and who doesn’t count in the blogosphere. I didn’t have a clear idea about what I could write without risking my job and reputation and what was better left unsaid. I started blogging because there were things I wanted to write about, I had read some wonderful blogs, felt a sense of community I longed for, and received some nice encouragement from friends.

I am happy I didn’t wait until I had everything figured out. Learning by doing may not be the most efficient or safe way to learn, but is effective, and it’s the way most of us prefer to learn things: it’s just much more fun than reading the manual.

After one year I have a little bit more understanding of blogging and how it fits in my life. Blogging answers a powerful need that I’ve often neglected: to create something that is out in the world and I can point to; something that grows over time, and I have creative control on. Blogging allowed me to develop and refine some of my skills and to try out a few more I never knew I had. It taught me more about connecting with people, and what it takes to be part of a community.

After one year I decided to make some changes and to experiment with a few new projects. Antonellapavese.com will remain my public site where I will continue writing about Internet, blogging, user experience, design, and how technology can improve our lives. My meditations about life, growth, and happiness will find a new house in my personal blog. I also started a new project: Zeroth Generation about the experience of people who, like me, moved to the US from another country as adults. Drop me a line if you are interested in participating. Finally, I started putting together a series on how to blog, where I want to collect tips, instructions, and resources for new bloggers.

Thanks to all of the people who have helped me, listen to me, linked to me, and engaged in conversation. I am grateful to each one of you.

Tags: blogging, anniversary, community