I guess I am writing this post partly out of frustration. I have been keeping “newlifesteev” going on and off for about 4 years now and feel no further on with it that when I started. I guess I can celebrate having posted 70 blog posts in that time … but I have found the technicalities of it all baffling and frustrating.
Take just now. I have been wanting to change the photo of me, that appears on all the posts for the blog and that comes up on social media. I thought that would be easy, just a quick click and it’s changed. Oh no … I have to go to a “plug-in” called Yoast and do it from there. So I find Yoast on the admin part of the blog and click on ‘change picture.’ It tells me I have to go to another company called Gravatar in order to do this. Deep sigh, but I click on the link and get taken to the Gravatar website. I now have to log in … with my email address and password. As far as I am aware, the last time I was here was in 2019 and of course I don’t remember which email address I used or the password. So I crawl through my various email addresses (I have about 6 for different needs) and find the one connected to the blog – i.e. Steev@newlifesteev, which was the one I used to set up the account in the first place. I put this in. “That email address is not recognised,” it says. So I try to set up a new account. No, it has to be the one associated with my blog … I sigh again and I send them a “help” message and get an email back, not from Gravatar but from Jetpack which is another plug-in and ….
I really want to scream.
Just changing the colour of the font on my first page took nearly two weeks … no wonder I don’t have the time to write anything.
I have been advised to get someone else to sort out the technicalities of the blog for me, but how? I did once pay someone to take a look at “newlifesteev” and suggest changes. The main issue for me is knowing what’s possible and what’s not, so I am never sure what to ask for. The person concerned just made some minor changes which were not what I needed and also increased some of the plug-ins so that I don’t know now what each one does. That has definitely put me off getting anyone else involved.
Another issue is lack of reader feedback. I know the blog does not attract many views, even after 4 years. Part of that is due to my irregular posting, I need to get it up from the once or twice a month I do now, I know that, but even so, I get very little feedback on how the blog appears for other people. Do you view it on a PC, tablet or phone? How does it look? Do the links work? Is it readable? Are the fonts and colours okay?
There are so many variables and it is difficult to keep up with them all and with all the changes that are happening in the various posting websites and plug-ins, most of which keep spamming me with offers to “upgrade” to more paid content, as if I can afford that.
Yes, the blog is a bit of a vanity project. It does cost me money and what is worse is that I could be earning money in the time I am “wasting” trying to sort out all the technicalities.
I already feel I am pushed for time. On an average day I can usually make some time to write something or put up some of the pictures I have taken, but on travel days that is rarely possible. I know people that can work from trains (and even a few stalwarts who can work from buses) but I feel that travelling is travelling and so I am far more likely to be looking out of the window or even, occasionally, interacting with my fellow passengers.
Then, on days when I am not travelling, there are issues depending on where I am. Would you rather be working on changing a title to suit the SEO for the site, (Search Engine Optimisation for those who don’t know) – or travelling down the Seine or across the Venice lagoon. What about when you get absorbed in the exhibits of the Contemporary Art Gallery in Zagreb for 3 hours? When you have a 2 hour lunch with other nomads you met along the way?
I am in awe of some of the other nomads who can do this and make it work – especially solo travellers like Heather Markel or Alina McCloud, especially as they make youtube videos which involve a lot more work (filming, editing and uploading) than a written blog would do.
In a couple of years’ time I will have to make a decision whether to pay for the hosting again which will cost hundreds of pounds … I guess at that point if nothing has changed in terms of getting some money in from somewhere, the blog will have to go.
In the meantime, I hope to do a lot more here. Posts on what to think about if you are considering full-time travel. The ups and (too often) downs of my travels so far and, on the recovery side, posts about how to keep things on an even keel.
So there you have it. Been good to get this off my chest and if anyone has any ideas of a way to move forwards with things please let me know. Otherwise this might just be the end of the line.
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Comments
I appreciate the article and your honesty. I have a YouTube channel that I don’t devote the time that I should and there is so much to learn. I like your writing style.
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