All things old are new again, they say. If you live long enough you get to see things change and then come back again - hip huggers and bell bottom pants come to mind.
It feels as though I have come full circle. Back to the beginning. Back to simple.
When I started this blog in 2011, I was encouraged to 'monetize' it, which, of course, also gave Goggle a share of the potential income. But I wasn't interested. I just wanted to post my thoughts and observations as I had done for a decade in my old website. But blogging seemed to be the modern step I needed to make so I jumped in with no expectations other than making a new place to share my perspective on life and the human condition, gently showing, not just telling, why having a personal relationship with Christ was possible even without manmade religion, which I know is tantamount to heresy.
I did eventually add links to books that my grandkids and I published but I didn't make those the reason for the blog. My goal wasn't about making money off my blog, in any form. As usual it has mostly been an outlet for me to write and thereby find out what I think.
I know many, if not most, sites exist to produce income but I have to say when I enter a website and the first thing that happens is I am interrupted with a text block asking for my email and/or a subscription before I can continue, I usually click off. I may or may not make the effort to get to what I went in there to read.
Regardless, whatever the owner/author wished to tell me apparently wasn't as important as getting me to subscribe/fund the effort. But the worst is when I enter a site that has one or more blinking, animated ads demanding my attention, I can't click off quick enough. Why is this not understood, that you cannot bully me to look at, much less buy, your product, not just by advertisers but also by the host site that allows it? I guess being old school I am missing how this marketing strategy is supposed to work.
I do appreciate that there are folks who actually subscribed and followed my blog. I have enjoyed the comments from those who wanted to add to the topic. Since the notification function was removed, (I suspect because there was money to be made by forcing me to subscribe to a new notification service), there are no more announcements of new posts sent out. For me that was just another nudge toward returning to my old ways of doing things anyway. If I'm going to be talking to myself I prefer to do it on my own terms, in my own space.
As I've always said, the day does come and change is unstoppable. Nevertheless, even as I do not resist change, I still cling to old ways when they make more sense. I'm severely practical like that.
My focus now is on keeping things simple even as the world becomes more complex ... and the new normal is monetized. While I still have eyes to see and albeit old, but still reliable, skill sets, I just want to share things and hope they can enlighten, mentor, comfort and encourage anyone who wishes to hit the download link.
So, this is sort of an ending but also a return to the beginning. I'll be posting in my new website (when I get it up and running) from this point forward. No subscriptions needed, no ads, and no notifications when new stuff is added. But, of course, the old way of bookmarking the site is still possible.
I'm just an old lady, with an old lady's perspective on what matters and what doesn't. My bags are all packed, waiting for my ticket home. In the meantime, I am doing what I still can do while I still can do it.
I will post the link when the site goes live.
For Him,
Meema
