People who knew me “back in the old days” might be surprised out how open I am in discussing my personal life and thoughts in my posts. I used to be a very private person who kept my thoughts to myself and only the closest people in my life (my wife and occasionally friends).
I opened up with more people after I stopped drinking and went to therapy because I learned that by sharing my experiences, I could help others. Over the years, I became less concerned with “protecting my privacy”. I made a deliberate change. I became someone who could show empathy, vulnerability and authenticity.
I like being this way.
When I blogged about business, people on my mailing list read my personal stories and learned more about me. I hope it helped (or at least entertained) them.
Today, I have far fewer readers.
I don’t send out a newsletter. I don’t announce posts on LinkedIn. I don’t have a mailing list. I don’t cross promote my blog on other sites.
I’m surprised that only 1 friend I know of occasionally reads my blog (I know because he’ll mention it when we talk). My mother doesn’t read it at all. She did when I had her on my mailing list, but once I stopped sending that list, she never visited.
Two of my three closest friends never read it.
I guess they all don’t find it interesting.
With one or two exceptions, even the women I dated rarely visited my blog.
I found that odd – weren’t they even curious?
Sometimes I wonder about the people who do visit my site.
Are they former colleagues or friends who want to see what I’m up to? Are they bots (surely some are)?
I see searches that bring people – these are usually “should I train my replacement” and “2nd hernia”.
So maybe my posts on those topics give a different perspective for those readers.
I don’t care that many people don’t read my blog. I write it to clear my head. I hope it occasionally helps a reader.
It provides me with hours of entertainment, thoughts and enjoyment.
Due to the vast quantity of content on the Internet and my complete lack of promotion for clicks, I’m probably more anonymous now with 750+ deeply personal posts than I have ever been in my life.
It’s like hiding in plain site.
Cool.