Pouring One Out For All The Defunct Blogs

Recently, I went through my WordPress Reader and checked in on all the blogs I follow. I made my WordPress account almost a decade ago and have been following some blogs since day one. It’s not the first time I’ve gone through this list to cull the defunct or irrelevant ones, but I haven’t done it in several years.

I thought this task would be a cathartic sort of spring cleaning, leaving me feeling refreshed and satisfied. Instead, I found myself consumed with complete devastation and sadness as I went through it all. I wouldn’t let myself unfollow anyone who was active within the last three years—as I want to have hope that they’ll return—so with that rule in place, I went from following over 400 blogs to now only following 237.

It was like that scene in The Incredibles where Mr Incredible is in that island lair, clicking through that list of superheroes who died fighting the big robot, and he’s realizing that everyone he knew is gone.

I knew blogging was dying, of course. With TikTok and YouTube catapulting careers left and right, why would someone waste time quietly writing out things when they can have a shot at success instead? I guess I just never considered how bad the landscape was until I was going through and finding so much inactivity, even from blogs that once were constantly updated.

This is a hobby I love so much, and to see so many bloggers stop is sad. Did they get busy? Did they get bored? Did they pivot to a different blog and not tell anyone? I personally can’t imagine not blogging anymore or at least saying goodbye, but very few blogs did formally close things out. I do respect the ones who did, though, especially the ones who admitted their heart and free time aren’t into it anymore. That being said, blogging once a week as I do is certainly something to be respected and proud of, but I also know it’s a privilege as I am afforded the time to do it at this point in my life. I recognize that not everyone has the time or drive to do this often.

I also kept thinking about the pandemic as I saw blog posts dating back to 2020. One thought I couldn’t shake was if these bloggers didn’t stop blogging because they were bored or busy, but because they died. COVID-19 killed so many of all ages, so it’s possible that some random blogger I once followed succumbed to it. Or to something else. And I’ll never know.

Sure, I guess I could put in some effort to stalk their social media (assuming any of that’s still active) or look up whatever names they used and see if they’re still alive, but I wasn’t going to do that for the hundreds of blogs I was dealing with. It was too sad, anyway.

Some blogs did hint at getting busy before they stopped. Some of the last posts mentioned pregnancies or graduations, so I’m hoping they’re happily living life, wherever they are. I hope they think back fondly on their days blogging.

Blogging used to feel like a community, even just on WordPress. There were blogs I loved reading from people I found to be fascinating, and I was thrilled to be a peer and engage with their content. I guess it’s no wonder that lately I’ve felt very isolated in this hobby as I come across those same blogs now and see them just abandoned. Blogging nowadays isn’t about expressing yourself, it’s about building an audience that you can someday monetize. It’s about showcasing the best rather than working through the worst. Maybe all those people were right to get out when they did.

Another reason why this whole process made me so sad was that it was a window into my previous life in a way. A good chunk of the blogs I used to follow were about fandom content, TV reviews, and nerd culture, so going through those old blogs and remembering old names I once knew was nostalgic in a sad way. That was my whole life, and it was fun. Now, TV and media are so decentralized and I consume so much less. I read about it so much less. I miss it. I miss being younger, but that’s a whole separate issue.

I have no plans to stop blogging or reading blogs, so while this activity has greatly saddened me, it also reminded me to take action. Please recommend your favourite active blogs to me (or do some self-promo for others to find). I’ve definitely slacked in terms of finding and exploring new blogs and topics in the last year or so, but I’m determined to put some effort into that.

But today, I’m pouring one out for all those blogs I unfollowed. Bye.

 

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Random Ramblings Because I Have Nothing Else To Say

It’s been a while since I’ve found myself needing a blog post to go up and having nothing ready. Usually I at least have some half-written draft I can finish and publish. Sometimes I have an idea that I have time to flesh out fully. But this week, I have nothing. And you know what? That’s okay. For now. I hope it’s just a temporary outage.

And since I didn’t want to just skip a week, I figured I’d throw some word vomit down and see where that takes me. I don’t often get to just ramble because I usually have some specific direction I take my posts.

So what’s new with me? Not much. I did just come back from a long weekend up in Tobermory, though. Some friends and I rented a little cabin for a few days and had a lot of fun going on hikes and ‘roughing’ it. We had great weather for September. There were five of us, and it’s really weird to think that this friend group came together during the pandemic. I genuinely didn’t know two of them a few years ago, and now they’re some of the most important people to me. I really, really hope we’re able to maintain this friendship down the line as our lives get busy. We’re all the same breed of silly, and that’s special, I think.

The Grotto

View from the Devil’s Monument loop hike

I was never someone who had a lot of true friends, and for a while that was fine because I filled my time with TV shows and fandom and social media. I was content arranging my life around that. I remember a period in university where I genuinely had six or seven TV shows to watch on a Tuesday night alone. I loved it. I made sure homework and dinner were done by 8pm so I could dive into that. But things are different now. I’ve definitely aged out of fandom culture to some extent, but I also am not as enthralled and devoted to much anymore. I’m not even watching six shows a week, never mind one day. Has my taste evolved or has TV just gotten worse? Probably both.

And hey, speaking of TV, this is some wild strike going on, eh? I am definitely on the side of the writers and actors here. It’s ridiculous that networks and companies were able to even run the way they were. Capitalism is truly a disease. I hope this strike ends soon and marks the start of a real positive change in the industry.

I don’t want to start moaning about how unfair the world is now, so here’s a new topic: my brother’s birthday is coming up soon, and I don’t know what to get him. What would the mid-20’s males in your life like to receive? I don’t think I’m a bad gift giver, but I want to give gifts that people like getting. My parents like to remind us that “it’s a blessing to not need anything” which is true but doesn’t help me when I’m on page 7 of Google results for gift ideas and still have nothing. I don’t think I’m the easiest to buy for either, though.

My boyfriend and I have agreed so far (aka I made him agree to it) that we not get each other Valentine’s or anniversary gifts. We can go out for dinner or do something together, but I don’t want him buying me something because he feels like he has to, as such holidays often promote. I don’t need anything. And I don’t enjoy the pressure of having to find a perfect gift either. So no.

Maybe because I was thinking about relationships just now, but a show popped into my mind and I realized that I have never mentioned it on my blog. Farming For Love. It’s a new Canadian show, but it’s a variation of a worldwide franchise with the same concept: a dating show trying to find partners for average farmers. I’m not usually one to watch dating shows, but since my boyfriend is from a more rural area and I joke about that a lot, it caught my eye. We binged it recently (shout out to Rogers Ignite) and were surprised at how entertaining it was for both of us. It’s just as goofy as any other dating show out there but seemed a bit less dramatic and staged than you’d expect. To my fellow Canadians looking for something to watch in place of the normal fall TV broadcasts, give Farming For Love a try.

All of the sudden, this post has gotten quite lengthy, so I’ll end it here. I had fun writing this, actually, and maybe I’ll do more posts like these. If you liked it. Tell me if you do. Either way, thanks for putting up with this in place of my normal, more focused content.

That’s all for now.

 

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