Blogging Memories

~ beetleypete

Starting out on a blog is a bit like putting a message in a bottle, casting it out into the ocean, and hoping someone finds it, then replies.

In fact, given the untold millions of blogs on the Internet, you may well have more chance with that bottle.

So I didn’t expect much from my first tentative blog post, in the summer of 2012. I told my friends and family about it of course. I even sent some of them links by text message. But seriously, who was going to read my nervous waffling? I wouldn’t have blamed anyone if they had never bothered.

The first ‘likes’ and comments were from those same friends and family. They used an email address, or set up a WP account just to encourage me, but they did that willingly. I still remember the first time I got 10 views in one day. I was ecstatic. It all seemed worthwhile. When I hit 30 views, I was sure that blogging was going to be ‘my thing’.

Then I got a comment and a follow from someone I didn’t actually know. That was worth its weight in gold, and encouraged me to expand my content, and try new categories. I started to write about my time as an EMT in London, tried my hand at film reviews, and published some very long posts about my childhood memories as a boy in London.

Then one day, I could hardly believe my eyes when I logged on. I had 30 followers, and had hit the magic number of 100 views. Even now, I can remember how good that felt.

As the saying goes, there has been a lot of water under the bridge since then.

I discovered how to add photos, video clips, and images, all to make some posts more relevant, and interesting. I tried my hand at writing fiction too. Short stories at first, then multi-part serials later. I continued to feature my dog Ollie, and stuck to a formula that seemed to be popular with the community of followers and readers that was steadily growing.

As of today, I have a listed 5,470 followers on WordPress. Add to that 41 who follow by email, and 336 followers on social media sites like Twitter, and that totals 5,847. On a good day, I get around 600 views of the site, and think I must be doing something wrong when it drops below 300 on any given day.

But I never forget that 18 of those original 30 followers are still following this blog. And they still comment too.

Sometimes, 2012 doesn’t seem that long ago after all.

57 thoughts on “Blogging Memories”

  3. Wow such an emotional post!! I am going through the same excitement… the first like, first follower, first comment ❤️❤️ It makes my day. I look forward for readers comments everyday. It indeed is an ocean and getting noticed is a big deal✌🏻😊

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  4.  I love reading your blog.  Wish I could discover a style for mine that people like.  Thanks, Pete!

    “A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better thanthe view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands.” – William Lyon Phelps

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  5. I had no expectations, so all has been gift. I was certainly helped and encouraged by the advice you freely provided. I felt really honored when I made it onto the list of blogs you follow. The interaction is priceless, especially in these days of such isolation.

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    1. It took a long time to build up to that, Stevie. If I publish 3-4 posts in one day, I usually get 500-600 views in 24 hours. They would be from around 270 visitors to the site during that time.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. Oh, Pete. The memories you had are my present right now. Although I don’t have any family members or friends following me cuz they aren’t that supportive and mostly jealous because I do something that their children don’t and none of my friends read but I can tell you one thing, meeting you and Kimmy was one of the best things that happened to my life. A thousand bloggers can come and go in my life but you two will always be my best friends. You two have always supported me and I am glad to meet you.

    Stay safe❤✌😊

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    1. It has been my pleasure to get to know you, Suzan. I will always be around for any support you ever need. (Well maybe not ‘always’, but you know what I mean. 🙂 )
      Best wishes as ever, Pete. xx

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  13. ”Starting out on a blog is a bit like putting a message in a bottle, casting it out into the ocean, and hoping someone finds it, then replies”
    Loved how you described it sir!!
    I love your short stories but like these short pieces of writing in random topics more ❤.
    I look forward each day to your posts 😊😊.

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  15. I think the cool thing about blogging is that we can all get something out of it. For me, it is as simple as conversing with fascinating people from around the world, including one who owns a cute dog in Beetley.

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  17. blogging is truly wonderful and the friendship that have developed is just amazing. i am very grateful.
    thank you for your friendship Pete despite my sporadic absences. 🙂 🙂

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  20. Congrats Pete….works good when you give people what they want to read. Too many bloggers get miffed after awhile and go silent…..it is a shame I have had some good readers that have gone by the way of the dodo chuq

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  22. It’s an amazing thing, Pete…you are my blogging friend from Beetley, and I have friends in South Africa, Norway, Japan and a host of other countries as well…I get too wrapped up in the “numbers” each day, especially if I share a post I really like, but perhaps because of “quarantining at home”, my daily clicks has almost double in the last month, and my secondary site, which just covers cult films, outpaces my original site 3-4 days a week…it’s great to have people reading and commenting, isn’t it?

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  25. All very encouraging Pete! I’m coming up on four years of blogging this month and am surprised to still be at it! Of course I’m nowhere near your numbers, but I still find it satisfying to have some regulars who follow. Including you of course! 🙂 🙂

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