I started this blog in October of 2006 with 9 whole posts.
6 in November
0 in December (yikes!) and
2 in January
Since then I became slightly more regular - posting a couple times a month, but nothing super high in volume.
I had a resurgence at the beginning of 2009, but then fell off during the summer.
Then in 2010 I made a commitment to have at least as many posts as weeks in the year, and squeaked out 54.
This year I'm hoping to keep that trend going: post at least once a week, and twice if I have time - one which is longer, one which can be much shorter. I don't think I'll ever break 100 in a single year, but I'm definitely on track to hit at least 52 and might even push out 70 this year.
Given that I've proven to myself I'm willing to make the commitment, I decided it was time to spend a small amount of money on it. So, if you haven't noticed yet, the url is now officially OutsideTheRatRace.com without the blogspot.com tacked onto the end. Why? No particular reason. I happened to be dong url research for a friend and just for kicks looked this one up and was shocked to find it still available. What's cool about this, is that everything should continue to work without you having to update anything. It'll also make my life slightly easier if I decide to shun Google some day in favor of another host. Plus, there's some SEO advantages which I only passingly care about - it'll really just make it easier to share the url with friends.
Finally, three questions you probably didn't ask, but I'd like to give an answer to anyways:
Why have a blog?
Honestly, it's just as much about documenting my life as it is about sharing it with others. I can imagine a day when my future kids will want to read about some of the things their parents did. For example, they'll be able to see Vinnie when he was just a little trouble making puppy. It's also a space to share events/thoughts with my family and have control over pretty much everything.
What's with the focus on the number of posts?
I completely agree that it's not about numbers, but about quality. However, you gain quality by posting frequently, like practice on a sports team. By setting post goals, it encourages me to be creative and pay attention to events/thoughts going on during the week. Also, I read a report once (of which I don't remember where) that stated that all the "top" blogs posted at least 3 times a day, any many of the top 10 at least once an hour. Given that frequency, visitors will come back often because they can trust there will be new content. Even though I'll never be that frequent, I'd at least like to be dependable for a weekly visit.
Why OutsideTheRatRace.com?
I'm going to defer to my "About This Blog" section on the side to answer this question:
The Rat Race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. Think of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape while running around a maze or in a wheel - it expends a lot of effort, but ultimately achieves nothing meaningful.
We attempt to live our lives outside this rat race, by being purposeful and meaningful, and celebrate those successes on this blog. There are many aspects to living life outside the rat race: Spiritually, socially, and financially. Also with our family, work, play and health. You'll find all of that here.
So yes, this is a personal blog and is full of random ideas and thoughts. But, hopefully it's also great entertainment and inspirational on occasion. We're glad you decided to share in a piece of our success and story.
6 in November
0 in December (yikes!) and
2 in January
Since then I became slightly more regular - posting a couple times a month, but nothing super high in volume.
I had a resurgence at the beginning of 2009, but then fell off during the summer.
Then in 2010 I made a commitment to have at least as many posts as weeks in the year, and squeaked out 54.
This year I'm hoping to keep that trend going: post at least once a week, and twice if I have time - one which is longer, one which can be much shorter. I don't think I'll ever break 100 in a single year, but I'm definitely on track to hit at least 52 and might even push out 70 this year.
Given that I've proven to myself I'm willing to make the commitment, I decided it was time to spend a small amount of money on it. So, if you haven't noticed yet, the url is now officially OutsideTheRatRace.com without the blogspot.com tacked onto the end. Why? No particular reason. I happened to be dong url research for a friend and just for kicks looked this one up and was shocked to find it still available. What's cool about this, is that everything should continue to work without you having to update anything. It'll also make my life slightly easier if I decide to shun Google some day in favor of another host. Plus, there's some SEO advantages which I only passingly care about - it'll really just make it easier to share the url with friends.
Finally, three questions you probably didn't ask, but I'd like to give an answer to anyways:
Why have a blog?
Honestly, it's just as much about documenting my life as it is about sharing it with others. I can imagine a day when my future kids will want to read about some of the things their parents did. For example, they'll be able to see Vinnie when he was just a little trouble making puppy. It's also a space to share events/thoughts with my family and have control over pretty much everything.
What's with the focus on the number of posts?
I completely agree that it's not about numbers, but about quality. However, you gain quality by posting frequently, like practice on a sports team. By setting post goals, it encourages me to be creative and pay attention to events/thoughts going on during the week. Also, I read a report once (of which I don't remember where) that stated that all the "top" blogs posted at least 3 times a day, any many of the top 10 at least once an hour. Given that frequency, visitors will come back often because they can trust there will be new content. Even though I'll never be that frequent, I'd at least like to be dependable for a weekly visit.
Why OutsideTheRatRace.com?
I'm going to defer to my "About This Blog" section on the side to answer this question:
The Rat Race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. Think of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape while running around a maze or in a wheel - it expends a lot of effort, but ultimately achieves nothing meaningful.
We attempt to live our lives outside this rat race, by being purposeful and meaningful, and celebrate those successes on this blog. There are many aspects to living life outside the rat race: Spiritually, socially, and financially. Also with our family, work, play and health. You'll find all of that here.
So yes, this is a personal blog and is full of random ideas and thoughts. But, hopefully it's also great entertainment and inspirational on occasion. We're glad you decided to share in a piece of our success and story.
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