Who am I kidding?

Yesterday I made a date to meet a fellow blogger and made the trudge through rain and traffic only to find she wasn’t there. I don’t blame her for she too made the trudge ( all the way from Delhi, I might add) but our timings didn’t match. So while both our intentions were good our outcomes were not .  I had realised this several years ago when I attended blogger meets only to see my head as the only grey haired one in the room.  I have participated in contests and won a trip to Malaysia . 

This just made me realise that I was chasing the wrong dream. [Tweet “Writing doesn’t mean blogging . And blogging doesn’t mean writing .”]

Infact there are several bloggers who are faced with this same conundrum.   Like Parul who recently asked herself where her blog was headed? 

Blogging is meant for the 18+ who have active minds, agile fingers and are completely wired . It is not meant for little old ladies who are familiar with fountain pens and parchment paper.

I’ve read many good blogs which are written by real writers. They move you with their choice of words and inspire you with thoughts . On the other hand there are those who journal their lives online . Some are good while some are rants.

But they have an audience .

My target audience is still not clued in with technology and if they are, can’t find their spectacles. The internet is meant for the young. It is not meant for us old ladies who are more familiar with the printed word.

We don’t know how to deal with plugins and social media. For us we barely know how to send forwards and say hello to friends.

Imagine for me LOL means lots of love while to the rest of you it means Laugh Out Loud . 

Now isn’t that apparent that I’m a dinosaur? 

Yesterday’s meet up that didn’t happen convinced me that this was a sign that I should quit chasing my tail. Like the dog, I’ve gone dizzy.

So despite my genuine effort at working on increasing reach ( now have 156 followers on WordPress, a fair number of followers on Facebook and Twitter) I have just found it too much.  From a bumbling blogger, I learnt the meaning of terms like Key words and  SEO. I am part of active blogging communities like Skywatch and  Write Tribe  that really help and support me . I have participated in two #A to Z’s and The Ultimate Blog Challenge  .  I have downloaded and tried to practice free advise dispensed by gurus like Darren Rowse and Jon Morrow . But the bitter truth is that the 80: 20 equation is working the wrong way for me.

Grannies don’t blog

There is no more fight .

I shall not participate in challenges and contests. I will stop chasing the millions that still elude me . And I won’t pretend to be an expert and give advice.

But like a good wine that I enjoy from time to time, like a walk in the light rain, like a wonderful read that you can’t stop, blogging is hard to give up.

I will still keep in touch with writing by writing blogs. But I will make sure I get paid for that. Visiting other blogs and interacting with other bloggers is something I will still do.

[Tweet “But I will accept the fact that I am not and will never be a real blogger .”]

So, I will clean up my blogs, wipe out the other two and keep just this one blog. I will continue blogging but only when I want to. Not because I have to. 

So thank you dear readers and fellow bloggers for your support and encouragement.

May you continue to inspire, entertain and engage. I will watch from the sidelines and cheer you on .

Aloha, Godspeed and Good luck.