Blogging Insight From My Child

Last night I showed Kai my new blog design and I explained to him that my wish is for my blog to become a point of reference for others, and a portfolio of my creative writing. I expressed to him that I am concerned that I may have lost some followers as a result of inactivity during the month of September, and the more recent broken links when I went self-hosted.

He looked at me with care and assertively responded:

“Mom, mom, but then they’re not your true followers, because if someone really liked your blog then they would come back. I mean it is like this. Just because I don’t see my friends every day does not mean that I won’t play with them when I see them again. It’s just like that with your followers. Your real followers would not forget about your blog just because you’ve not been writing as much.”

I then explained to him that things worked differently online. There is a myriad of Bloggers out there, and I need to be consistent if I want people to come back and read and engage with me on my blog. I explained to him that if my blog is going to grow then I must commit to put in the necessary effort to grow my relationship with my readers.

“But mom, look here. If they don’t come back to read your blog again then they’re not your real followers and would you rather have fake followers or real followers?”

His comments were very valid, and I asked him if he is trying to make me feel better or worse? He then said, “well, you just have to take it as it comes, it’s either you want real people to read your blog or fake people who won’t care about your blog!”

He was extremely expressive in the manner with which he articulated his points. He was honest and even called me on a photo that I published on my blog for which he had not given me permission! He read me the rules again, rules that aren’t “regulated by the government yet”, but rules that I must follow. He pointed out to me that I cannot publish anything on my blog or on the internet about him, like a photo or a story (about him) if he has not given me his permission. One photo, and I had the rules rain down on me from my 9 year old!

After this discussion we moved on to talk about his own Ausome Kai YouTube channel, and Typical Gamer. He gave me a hug and said, “this is your blog, do what you think is best”.

In an ideal world it would be the easiest thing to refer to a follower as fake, but in today’s world, where if you were to want to grow your blog into a possible alternative career, then numbers speak.

However, I am going to take my son’s advice and not focus on the numbers. I am going to focus on ensuring that my posts are of value to you, my reader, and focus on maintaining my authenticity as an individual sharing my mundane life experiences and parenting adventures.