For context, I’m writing this in the first week of May and I’ve been at home for a couple of months now. I just wanted to have a little record of how this has changed and mostly not changed my blogging experience. I would love to know how it’s been on your end as well.
For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you’ve certainly read me gushing about the community around here as well as the social aspects of blogging. For me, that has always been a big part of the experience and one that I happen to cherish. I have to say it this hasn’t changed at all.
I figure that for people who are more outgoing and are currently missing out on socializing, this particular aspect may be more important than ever. Blogging is a great way to get some form of communication going with your fellow anime fans. It’s less hectic and let’s say aggressive than more fast paced platforms such as Twitter or reddit and it gives you time to arrange your thoughts and type out longer posts if you have more on your mind. I know it can feel like not enough feedback at times but the positivity and constructiveness of the comments make up for it in my opinion.
In any case, it is a real good reminder that even during these strange times, we are not alone and we can still come together to enjoy some pretty animated peoples.
Like I said, for me this aspect really hasn’t changed much. Maybe if I send another 6 months or so at home, it will take on even more importance but I appreciated it before and I appreciate it now.
Unexpectedly, what did change, was how much the blog helps structure my life and keep me a bit more sane. Since I started working from home againand do long work hours, I have a tendency to just work. Like all the time. I feel like I’m basically always at the office. I no longer have a neat little separation between professional and personal life. It’s not as dramatic as it sounds but it can get draining.
The blog keeps me at least a little on track. By maintaining my daily posting schedule it forces me to put everything aside and write a little each day. It also encourages me to watch anime since I have to write about it. It sort of makes sure that I make time for my hobbies and that is surprisingly important right now.
And beyond that it’s a little piece of normal. It’s something familiar and predictable that I can just do every day ,like I’ve always done before. For me, there’s a certain comfort in that. When I have enough time to dedicate to the blog to create something I’m actually happy with, I feel satisfied in a way that’s different from my work commitments. I dunno, I guess as sad as it sounds, my blogging makes sure that I remember to have a life.
I know how lucky I am to still have work and I’m not complaining. I’m happy that the blog helps me a bit with finding a balance cause I’m not great at that. It was somewhat the reason I took up blogging in the first place so to see it in action is kind of cool. Even if it’s not blogging, I do recommend that anyone who is having trouble with quarantine life take up a hobby they can do regularly from home. It helps a lot.
As for how these new circumstances have affected my general experience with blogging, well it’s mixed. I’m an amateur anime blogger, so nothing really changes on my end. I still watch anime and then sit down and write a bit about it. Sometimes I write about stray thoughts I have while thinking about anime. I make up drinking games. I take way too many screencaps. None of that has changed at all. Since I’m not a seasonal blogger, anime production delays have affected me in any way either.
But it has changed a few things on the back end. Most notably an uptick in views. I figure there are more people at home and a little bored that are just reading whatever they can find. I’m sure most of my fellow bloggers will have noticed more visitors and views as well. This hasn’t really translated in likes and comments but it’s still sot of nice to get 100 more views a day. I’m already working on not getting use to it. I’m sure they’ll vanish as people get back to their lives soon enough.
I also have to say that my blog stat boost is absolutely nothing compared to my pinterest uptick where things just went crazy and stats keep climbing. I sort of don’t get much out of my Pinterest stats because I don’t have much merit. It’s basically just a glorified shared cloud for my screencaps. Still, Lita did make fun of me for my boards so I guess I got something out of it.
Are you guys blogging while stuck at home? If so, has your blogging experience been affected in any way?
