I Never Stop Learning, I Hope.

Like most others in the blogging world I'm seldom sure what to blog about next. Plus I've only been blogging since April 2008 so I'm very much a novice. Just for once, and only once I'd like to examine why we, why I blog. What's brought this on, you may ask and I'll tell you why. So bear with me. Its 'thinking aloud' time again, the old 'What's it all about, Alfie' syndrome.

I blog roughly every five days. No set subjects but avoiding being too topical in the main. I now have around sixty followers and receive an average of around twenty five 'hits' per day. Small fry indeed at the side of many. ( My son in law, a world renowned photographer once received over fifteen thousand 'hits' in response to one camera review.) I would never cope but it puts it all in perspective. Plus remember the days when I/we got no responses and had no following.

Questions, always questions. Why do I personally blog? It's an ego trip, a challenge, it fulfills a need. It keeps the old brain alive and keeps me interested in living when I wake up in the morning. Dozens of reasons, of no real consequence.

Now it begins to get interesting. Do I/we want the blog to grow, the 'following' to get larger, and larger, and larger! And if we do, why? Do I/we in fact know what we want? We read other peoples blogs, and comment, positively, if you've any sense; most bloggers respond. And, like Topsy it grows.

'I 'spect I just growed. Don't think nobody never made me.' Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Recently a kind blogger with no blog in mind that day suggested her readers go to my blog. That day I had just short of one hundred visitors. Thank you, Expat Mum. Remember, I have never exceeded thirty previously in one day. Now I appreciate there are learned books and articles teaching how to increase 'hits'. I have read some, find most too difficult and too testing for my feeble, not very technical brain. As a one off experiment, I would love visitors to my site to do something for me. I will name five blogs. Will anyone interested visit the five sites mentioned. I promise you will lose nothing as they are all interesting in their own way. I will ask all the five bloggers to record if their visitors increase and by how many in the week after this blog is published. I'm curious as to how many 'hits' we create when we advertise someone elses 'wares'. You never know, as the saying suggests, 'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.'

It's a fairly random selection from the blogs that I follow, no favouritism intended! All those on my 'list' are equally valued.

Also if anyone would like to spell out their thoughts, aspirations etc concerning their blogs, they are very welcome. I'm sure such 'soul searching' would interest many fellow bloggers.

Thanks, rest assured next week, or sooner, as they used to say on the television, 'Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.'

Five blogs that would welcome a visit

Kitty's Bloggy Bits

my wife has agoraphobia

HER ON THE HILL

Kit Courtenay Writes

That British Woman