Eight Weeks

Today marks the eight week anniversary of my very first post at EyeJunkie.com.  Congratulations to me! The whole premise of my site has been that the act of “paying attention” is an investment of my time, my thoughts, and my self — commodities that have precious little to spare with the growing “loves” of my life.  I want to make sure that I get the highest return for my investment.  So, my indoctrination into the Citizen Media corp has me thinking about Blogging and my part in it.  After evaluating my experience over the last two months, I have settled on a few personal “rules”for blogging.

EyeJunkie proves its value if it helps me:

Think.
I don’t want to blog to get people to read.  It’s more honest, more transparent, more successful when I write from what I think, not from what I think others want to read — no matter how disjointed my thoughts might seem in the tag and category lists.

Earn.
Not money, but readers.  I don’t want to blog to make money.  I don’t object to generating a little extra income if that happens, but I don’t want EyeJunkie to become about meeting a financial need.  That would compromise what I can write.  See “Think.”  I want to earn readers the old fashioned way — by meaningful communication.  I recognize that time is a scarce commodity for most people just like it is for me.  I want the time fellow bloggers and readers choose to spend on EyeJunkie to be worth it.

Enjoy.
Not that writing always has to be fun.  Sometimes things just need to be said, but the process of composing or even the theme might be troublesome.  But, I don’t want EyeJunkie to become an obligation — post every day, get my blog rating up, get more diggs, etc.  Creativity won’t thrive as an obligation.

Say.
Having something to say is a good thing.  It means I’ve formed an opinion.  I’m engaged in what I experience.  By saying it, I have the opportunity to influence — even if it’s just one person.  But, isn’t person to person influence the most powerful?  Mass communication influences, to be sure, but usually on a more surface and temporary level.  The influence of one individual to another individual can be more life-reaching.

Understand.
Blogging helps me clarify my own thoughts.  I gain a better understanding of myself and my own opinions when I strive to translate what’s in my mind in such a way that another reader will understand it.

Create.
EyeJunkie allows me an outlet for expressing creativity.  In a hectic period of change, my life needs a reminder to create and a vehicle to encourage the expression of that creativity.  Although I want to maintain the freedom to write and post whatever I think without any arbitrary constraints, I also sometimes need that little bit of boundary so that creativity can really flourish.  Posting categories I’ve established for myself like ABCs and CultureSpeak or WordPictures and EyeCandy give me just enough of a requirement to force my creative hand.

Believe.
I have determined to use my blog as an outlet for sharing thoughts about my faith in Jesus.  My goal is not to “preach,” but to share my own efforts to open up the Scripture in my own life — to give it meaning for me beyond tradition or legalism.  I’ve found that writing the posts and articulating the Bible applications has actually boosted my faith, and increased my hope. 

See.
Participation in the global Citizen Media corp offers unique opportunities to “know” people and perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise encounter.  Granted, I may only “know” someone from their avatar and a 300 character description.  But, insights, experiences, photos, and even links shared are a window into another’s real life — even if it’s a life lived on the other side of the world.

Shut Down.
An unexpected byproduct of my blogging experience so far is that it has, at times, encouraged me to shut down the computer and close the desk.  For all the great friendships that are available in the cyber scene, none should distract me from the glorious gifts I have in my own home — and the blessings of my other face to face relationships.  When I write about mommy experiences in Gift Tags or use my own family examples in Verse Views, I am reminded how precious time is with them.  As rewarding as blogging is, the fact remains.  Profile to profile experiences are really fueled by face to face experiences.  So, sometimes the computer just begs to be shut down.

I’m glad I started this adventure, and I hope you find some inspiration in it as well.