slow blogging
the table with its odd assortment of books, old photos, little hands, salad, petals, shells, colour pencils and owl torch / bread just out of the woodfire oven
Did you know that there’s a movement called slow blogging? Type it into google and you’ll be greeted with a plethora of blog posts on the topic which, in very basic terms, celebrates blog quality over post quantity. It’s something I’ve pondered a lot since I opened this space to sponsors because there’s no doubt that as soon as money is involved, editorial obligation creeps in too. It’s a murky situation to be in and it’s one I’ve been struggling with. But I find that authenticity is at my core here; it’s my intention and my inspiration. If I don’t have anything to write about there’s no point me being here…I’m not going to write for the sake of getting a new blog post out (hence my quiet ways of late).
Slow blogging is, in my opinion, the blogging of yesteryear. And perhaps we’re going full circle and venturing back to the time (for me, six plus years ago) where a small community of creatives wrote and commented and documented and discussed. And that was it. And it was beautiful. I’m not sure about you but I’m definitely sensing a shift in this funny old blog world. Perhaps it’s nostalgia for what was, perhaps it so noisy that some of us are, in our own ways, aiming to spark some quiet, meaningful conversation where facebook and instagram and pinterest aren’t involved. Social media is so busy, so time-consuming; it really does steal you away from the present moment. There’s no doubt that blogging was simpler before the arrival of all the added extras.
I’ll continue to write here, to document my days and yes, I’ll work with sponsors, too. But in an attempt to blog for good reason and not obligation, I’m embracing some slow blogging ways. I’m starting with a bit of sharing. If you fancy delving into some inspiring reading I highly recommend the following posts:
Idle Parenting by Gourmet Girlfriend
Honest School Notes #2 by Rachael Mogantosh
The Wardrobe Cleanse by This Brown Wren
I Choose Kind by Foxs Lane
How do you feel about blogging of late?
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Showing 46 comments
Lovely Jodi, always nice to read your gentle words x
I know that I'd love to blog more but I also realise that I blog better when I do it less. If I wrote everyday I wouldn't have the chance to enjoy my life and children xx
Lovely blog Jodi, you raised some good points…I blog for myself really, I love reading other blogs and it helps keep me inspired to live a sustainable life and see what other likeminded people are doing. For me it's not about followers it's about sharing a simple message with whoever might be tuning it.
That's always been my philosophy – to share when I feel called to and from the heart. Of course that means posts are irregular but I think it can be a little about trust too – trusting when it feels right to share and that the right people for you/your words will see and read. Just my thoughts on it anyway, had no idea it was a movement as such. That's one of the reasons I've always resonated with your space – so much mindfulness, intuition and heart xx
I have been trying to work out where my blog should move to in the coming months. I feel this pressure to post daily, as many other bloggers my age are doing. I just don't have the time, resources and thoughts to fulfill those needs however. When I start to feel a pressure on my blogging, I start to back off and come back to why I blog in the first place. I want to write about what I want to write about and take photos when and where I want to. While supporting my readers is a priority of mine, supporting myself comes first.
I have noticed that shift in blogging too, where people are only writing when they feel as though they have something of value to say. It's definitely been a lot quieter lately. I think it's a beautiful movement, but as a blogger starting again in a new space, I'm finding it hard to reach out to an audience because they aren't quite there without the consistency. I definitely do appreciate the shift of focus though, it makes for some amazing blog posts.
I'm merely a blog reader not a blogger. If I'm being at all honest, I started reading blog posts as I embarked on parenting two children under two, the newspaper and literature I simply didn't have the headspace or time to read but the brevity, clarity and sense of community a blog post brought was ideal. I like a variety of blogs for different perspectives, different ideas and different voices. Some blog prolifically and are hilarious, others infrequently and gently. The beauty I see as a blog reader is that there are no hard and fast rules. As long as the blogging has echoes of authenticity, I'm reading. Your blog grows and changes as you do Jodi so you can't get more authentic than that!
It's the constant struggle of balance isn't it – I spend far too much time just pondering the very same thing: quality over quantity, or vice versa. Like everything, you go through peaks and troughs, I'm in a trough as I find my blogging mojo again after moving house, interstate, and settling into some sort of rhythm again…and trying to wrap my head around the fact we will become parents in 10 weeks. I've taken a step back from my blog, not pressured myself to hit publish constantly, I figure my readers would prefer I start hitting publish a bit more regularly when I've got my head screwed on a bit straighter, and I'd be a lot happy in myself doing that too.
Totally agree! I was a part of this "old community" you speak of, I had a blog since I was about 15 but left it all behind when the world became too big and I started feeling a pressure to keep up. Your blog has always felt like the ones I remembered though. It has never felt forced or like you have written just because. That's why despite dropping most of the blogs on my RSS feed recently, yours is one that has always remained. Like you I have felt this shift recently, and it has even spurred a desire to return to blogging myself. Like perhaps my blog wouldn't just get buried under all the sponsored and paid for posts.
I love reading blogs but i have reduced the number i read to a select few as i do find some bloggers tend to post just for the sake of putting up a post & they no longer interest me. I'd much rather quality over quantity (although i do suffer slight withdrawals when i don't see a post for afew days!)
I know, you recieve many comments, and maybe I won`t recieve any answer (I never recieved any from "abroad" blogs though I`m from Poland), but I want you to know, that I am grateful for this post- recently I was searching for my own blogging style- writing a blog for almost 10 years I felt kinda burned off and I felt, that I have to minimalise my publications, topics, and everything, because it is simply not me anymore, writing about the unimportant and meaningless stuff. I think, slow blogging is the way, I could go. Just simple.
And, by the way, I know you had birthday recently and haven`t wrote you anything, but this time: may this year be also so reach and happy for you! 🙂
Greetings, Alicja
Thank you x
I love this space of yours Jodi, your blog is the only one I ever read and reread and really get inspired by for living a more thoughtful and calmer way of being, especially whilst raising three kiddies. I do notice when it goes quiet as I always check in to see if you have a new post up each day, whilst I sometimes miss reading your thoughts and stories im always grateful when they do arrive.
Very lovely words, Angela. Thank you x
Does everything have to have a label now? Sorry but I just scoffed at the term slow blogging.
I can certainly feel a shift in blogging ways. I loved the old "blog hops" where you could search through favourites on someones sidebar (come to think of it…I don't have a favourites list). Having said that, I appreciate mindful sponsored posts highlighting beautiful, small brands and creatives that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. It's a tricky one but one you do so well. Thanks so much for the link love too and wishing you a smooth last few days before your beloved returns to you all. Much love 🙂 xx
Before blogger, before "Dooce", before sponsored-posts, there was Diaryland and Diary-x – two completing platforms where people just journalled – shared their thoughts, every day happenings, and life, in their blogs. As this was before Facebook and MySpace, before social networking – people were just experimenting and carving out a little piece of the internet for their own creativity. They formed online communities based on mutual interests, forged genuine friendships, and supported each other through trying times. In an increasingly disconnected world, weblogs were a way of re-connecting in community.
I don't think slow-blogging is a move back to this at all. I think slow-blogging is the realisation that you just cannot keep the fast-pace if you are to keep the quality and the readership and sponsorship. . .
Thanks for the shout-out Jodes!
The blogging landscape…it's a weird animal. Social media is the main thing that makes it feel so different from the old days: when a blog (either your own or one you love to read) has several social media arms, it can be weird – ideas overplayed or fractured, or seeming like a 'sell'…. It's something to pick through. But I think you are doing a good job of that.
xRach
Just another few days until the big Daddy is home yes? Hooray!
Home on Tuesday and the days are dragging by! x
I read about slow blogging a few months ago and my first thought, "Finally!!" I have been "blogging" for little over 10 years and over the past couple of years I was feeling burnt out because all the big blogs were posting so so so much…and as a personal blogger that's a lot of pressure. I love this slow blogging and I'm glad it's gaining popularity and awareness: )
I gave up my 365 blog at the end of last year. I just couldn't do it anymore, as it had become forced and redundant after five years, so I created a new blog where I can post whenever I feel like I have something to share. Maybe that's slow blogging — I don't know — but it sounds good to me.
Thank you for introducing me to Foxs Lane. Kate is such an inspiration, wow!
I agree with only blogging when I have something to say, which I find is kind of rare. And it's probably because my writing needs more practice. Usually I have images I want to share more than anything, so I force myself to come up with some words, and then my blog suffers. It's hard to know the right balance between quality and quantity. My blog is three years young, and it has evolved with me. I look forward to getting to a sweet spot where I can consistently produce quality posts. But I think I have to get to a certain place in my life first.
That's funny, my most recent post was on this same exact topic. 🙂
I have completely embraced slow blogging these days. Recently, something in me clicked and I took a giant step back from the online world. And you know what? It felt amazing! I firmly believe in quality over quantity in any aspect of our lives. Cheers to slowing down, to stepping away and embracing what truly matters. xoxo
I love how these things happen.
About three days ago I realised that my blog had become so slow it had almost faded out of existence.
And I googled the term slow blogging. We are all about slow food, slow childhood and slow living, so why not.
But in my case I decided to go the other way, to try to blog more often, to make more of an effort.
Without the pressure of advertising or sponsorship, it's only ever about the content, the creativity and the feeling that I have something to contribute. I don't know how long I'll keep it up. But I really want to try. I look forward to seeing how this makes a difference here. xx
Kate, it is fascinating that you have taken the not so comfortable path for yourself. Ultimately, it's what all creatives do at some point in their lives…..cure writer's block by sitting at the computer and not leaving till you've got 1000 words on the page, paint ten portraits till you find your rhythm again. For me, right now, slow blogging is my only choice. But I do look forward to a time when I have a little more space in my life so I can sit and write and then post, if I feel inclined x
One hundred percent, yes. I've been feeling it but unable to put into words, the constant pull between I should post more or explain why I'm not, versus not wanting to feel obliged and forced. Thank you for helping me to feel at peace with my slow blogging ways of late, this is such a reassuring realisation. Belinda x
Thank you! This concept is one that I too have been mulling. Thanks for sharing your resources.
I am fairly new at blogging… I've been doing it for about a year now and I feel pressure to do a certain amount of posts a week to keep readers. I don't have many, but I'd like to keep building my readership.
I like authentic writing and stay true to that and some weeks when I have nothing to say.. I don't post anything.
I definitely would rather read something full of depth and honesty rather than some mega in your face sponsored post I've been seeing a lot lately.
xo
-Ali
when life gives you mellin's
One of the reasons I love your blog Jodi – always quality. I blog when I feel like blogging and when I have something I want to record or share. I must admit I don't give it much more thought than that. I've always blogged this way and it's because I just blog for myself and not for any other motive or reason so it keeps things very, very simple. I like how everyone's blog is different and I can get different things from different people. From yours I always get comfort and insightfulness – so thank you xx
i love the blogs that are authentic and feel true, are creative and foster community and friendship. my blog reading is much smaller these days, i love people who like to talk back if they can as i love that interaction that makes friendships grow and i love the creativity in blog world. I never get people who begin posts with an apology for not posting or any apology really…i have always felt very strongly that in my space i can post at whatever speed suits with no need for explanation. I think blogging ebbs and flows as does life and sometimes we need to pause and reflect…other times jump straight in…well thats me anyway. i think any move away from the numbers game, any move away from the 'follow me and i'll follow you…but don't expect me to ever read a post' mentality is wonderful. i'm all for people loving blog world, using it how it suits them, doing their own thing and loving it. i suppose there are endless reasons why people blog and so there are endless ways to actually meet those personal goals….slow blogging for some but may not work for everybody x
Hi Janey, I just read your comment and thought "yes!" I remember a time when people used to comment for conversation. So much these days it feels as though you comment/talk into thin air and everyone is shouting out comments but not ever answering them. I also never understand when people apologise for not posting… it's a strange concept to me. Good luck in your blogging adventure 🙂 x
It's an odd barrel of fish, blogging I mean. It goes in circles. I was introduced to the concept of slow blogging a year ago and totally 'got it' at the time but now it seems like more of a reaction to the blogging evolution, sorry I know that sounds odd.
With so many new blogs staring every day and not all for the joy of documenting life and the love of expressing oneself it does feel like something is happening at the moment, but something more than slow blogging, a rise of the purists (and I really don't mean that to sound half as pompous as it might do!). In an age where I hear weekly of the latest place I 'should' share posts and advice galore I do feel there's room for a return to basics, to the love and passion of caring about what we write, valuing our space and dare I say, keeping it real x
Nodding my head to everything you have said here x
Such a timely post Jodi, I too have felt the overwhelm of blogging/social media recently – and it has quite frightened me away from the whole scene. My blogging use to be for me and my family, and also to connect with a few like-minded souls out there. Of late I have felt such a sense of pressure and competition that I haven't posted anything in a long time. I used to read blog posts where the blogger questioned their reason for writing, and I didn't really understand it. Now I do… I have been spending time writing (in WORD! Or on PAPER!) for myself and it has reconnected me to the creativity I used to feel expressing myself via motherwho. I do hope to reconnect with my blog again at some point, but at the moment the world of blogs is just a bit too much for me to handle! Thanks for your quiet space here. I rarely read blogs at the moment, but when I do, yours is one of the first. Lots of love, Lucy (motherwho) x
I really enjoyed reading your post AND all the comments. So many interesting insights. I definitely think slow blogging is more my style of writing – although I never knew it had a label. It's just what suits my lifestyle right now. That said, I enjoy reading others who post a little more frequently. I don't think it's necessarily an either/or quality/quantity thing, although it certainly can be I suppose. Like what some of your other commenters have said, the most important thing to me is authenticity, otherwise, what's the point really? X
I've felt exactly the same recently. I also feel like there's a lot of pressure to blog routinely but for me it's always worked around my son and if/when I have something interesting to say. I'd rather that than just blog for the sake of it 🙂
at my core the reason for my floggings to let my mum and mom (inlaw)in on our days and give them regular photos of my little ones as we have always lived so far apart that talking and connecting can be difficult, i wright if i have something to say, post photos when i don't and stay silent when i am being present in the day to day… if it isn't fun anymore why do it!? (for this reason i don't pursue sponsors or do give aways or try to get more followers, all of that is nice but for me that seems like work not enjoyment or sharing a bit of the joy in my days as a mum, i love that if i look back on old posts i see detailed posts from a new mum, i see how far I've come, where i have strayed, things i would forget if i hadn't written them and i love that if i put it into a book when i stop i would have the makings of a journal, so much more special than one more define! i think your totally right in not just pumping our allot of fillers!! this is your space where you can be you and the time you put in should reflect you!
sorry about the typos, i just had to comment real quick as my daughter is sleeping and i have so much to do!!
I love it. It's brilliant. So full circle. Great post. Great thoughts.
I started my blog 2 years ago as a place to post inspiration, to create design that's just for me and doesn't necessarily fulfill the objectives of a client, and to share my life with the world. I don't really make any money from my blog, but it is something i now take very seriously. I want it to look amazing all the time, and represent my point of view as a designer. I try to post 3-4 times a week, but sometimes, I just don't feel like it. I try not to feel bad or guilty when I don't post, after all, my blog is about total freedom and sharing with the world as I wish, right?
I've been a slow blogger for about sixteen years… I've tried to pick up the pace over the years… The whole external pressure and feeling like I'm somehow "doing it wrong" despite the fact that I've been blogging far longer than the vast majority of authors who write posts about how to blog, made me feel like I needed to "take it more seriously" but I always fell back into a slow pace after a short amount of time. I write better when I can take my time. I'm happier when I have space in my life for things other than my blog… and at the end of the day, I do this for myself and to connect with other like minded people…. I'm not running a business here.
I have really been into my blogging lately. A lot of stress at home and at work I think has contributed to it. My blog is my escape. It has become my safe place.
Forget slow blogging as a thing, it's my complete way of blogging – and clearly commenting given the time it's taken me to come back to this. As for the paid blogging, I've always steered clear. I write for a living so there are times when there are just too many words and blogging as a commitment to even more words seemed, and still seems, like a crazy thing to do to myself. So the blog is slow and so be it.
well i love your blog and spent a good part of an hour yesterday reading old posts when i was supposed to be working so you're doing it just right :>
i liked this post, which i've just read now. it's something i've been thinking about too. i started a blog as a way of introducing my clothing but it turned into something personal almost immediately. that was 5 years ago? got "side tracked" by social media last year. a few months ago, on a whim i closed them all in one morning. FB, instagram .. all gone. i feel connected to writing and posting pictures with my blog in a way i never felt with other forms of social media. so i kept it. they're almost old school now, like books or newspapers. i like that. enjoying your writing and pictures very much. xo ursula
Egypt@The Wellness Activist
As a new blogger that sometimes struggles with digital overwhelm. It was great coming across your post about slow blogging. I enjoy enjoying and taking my time to read quality posts like yours, rather than being met with low quality copyright. Thanks for providing needed inspiration that there are others like me who feel the need to quench the frenzy of blog posts overwhelm.