OMG its Blogiversary

The other day I was staring blankly into my computer screen without really processing anything as I felt that I was forgetting something important. I then casually looked at my windows taskbar to see the time when I realised it was February. I was blank for a moment before it hit me – if its February, its Blogiversary!! OMG! We are a six-year-old blog now.

Over the period of 6 years, I tried a lot of different things with my blog – from writing tutorials to indepth researched informative articles. I have done book reviews, product reviews, interviews, sponsored posts and gift guides. I have hosted and taken part in contests and bloghops and hosted giveaways. I have scripted stories and practices of Indian culture along with bogging or social media tips. I have posted photos of my collections, inspiration behind my work and many a times attempted to sell them. I have also written about workshops that I have attended or conducted. I have written series of articles, how to columns and sometimes personal stories – all for the simple purpose of keeping you and me informed as well as entertained.

But the past few months have been troubling at the blog front. I have been extremely irregular in writing, and find that I require severe admonishment from myself before I sit down to write or complete a half written post. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am writing this post more than a week before its due with the fear that it will take me long to complete writing it.

After all the hype about how “I love to write” and “how easy it is to write and get published” and attempting to teach journalism, documentation and social media, I feel as though I have somehow failed as a writer.  I am struggling to form sentences not just when I write but even when I speak. This has become so bad that I am unable to even speak, fluent English. Is this some sort of Karmic justice, I wonder, the Universe’s way of making me see the error of my ways? Was I too proud of my skills and too critical of my students when they couldn’t write well? 

I remember days in the past when the entire post would be ready in my head, word for word, even before I typed a title for the post. Now I feel that my work is boring, my designs are all the same and that I have nothing left to say. Maybe it is the guilt that I havent started working on my 2016 spring summer collection yet.  Maybe I did so many guests posts for other sites this last year that I lack the motivation when it comes to writing for myself. Maybe this, Maybe that, Maybe God knows what! The end result is the my posts are repetitive, either too personal or very distant and I am almost always rambling, much like this post.

With that said, it is indeed ironical or quite hilarious to take a look at my blog analytics – the  readership has grown steadily this year and for the very first time since I started this blog six years ago I have had 30,000+ pageviews in January 2016. Not a big number by successful blog standards but its the first for Jewelsofsayuri as it usually averaged around 16K a month the previous year. We did have couple of generous giveaways worth 100s of dollars of this blog and I get frequent bridal set enquiries from people who come across my blog. All this and the regular mails for guest posts from bloggers and companies, which makes me think – I must be doing something right!

Blogiversary

One of my past professors and now colleague often says that ” If a process or phenomena cannot replicated, then its not design, its an accident”. I just wish I knew what I am doing right so it doesn’t remain a happy accident. If you know, please tell me 🙂

 I thank all of you, from the bottom of my heart for your precious time, energy and resources that you spend in reading my blog, interacting with me and enriching me with your valuable inputs. I am astounded by the kind of people I have met through my blog and I am very grateful for your friendship this Blogiversary .

PS: Writing this post has been really cathartic, and in the last week I have been slowly getting back my mojo. I have been able to write and publish the last 2 posts on the blog.  I hope that I will continue to blog about things and thangs you find interesting

Cheers

  1. Patricia Schwab avatar

    Congrats on 6 years and the big increase in views.

  2. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Patricia

  3. Dr Sonia S V avatar

    Divya I love visiting your blog and reading your posts as I find them diverse, well written and interesting . Yes we all go through dips in our creativity and blogging as such can feel like a chore at times! We both go back a long way and I am so happy to have virtually formed a friendship with you!! Keep rocking girl!!

  4. bairozan avatar

    Congratulations and thank you for the interesting posts! I've learned so much from your blog! When I started mine, prompted by a "scrapbooking" friend, she said I didn't have to do anything against my will to keep it going but I now know the pressure of not having posted or made anything worth writing about for a long time 🙂 I understand there are ups and downs and, frankly, haven't noticed the "gaps" you're talking about. Keep going 🙂

  5. CREATIVE KHADIJA avatar

    Wow, Wow, Wow!! Congrats a bunch dear Divya 🙂 So happy for you! Great 6 years of wonderful projects & content. You are among my very first blogger friends as we started blogging almost together. after two months I will also be celebrating my 6 years at blogland! What great time we shared! So happy for your successful blogging. keep sharing more in coming years.
    All the best.

  6. Anindita Basu avatar

    Congratulations Divya and good luck with your writing and bogging. Your prof's quotation is interesting. Never thought if something can not be replicated it is not a design. It may be an accidental design!

  7. Vijay Devarajan avatar

    Congrats Divya, 6 years of creativity. Wishing you many more in future all the best

  8. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Anindita, Yes I was surprised when he described design as "something to be replicated" but eventually I realised the truth behind his statement

  9. Divya N avatar

    Thanks a lot Kiran, Yes I remember that we started blogging in the same year. I hope that our friendship continues for many many more years

  10. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Rozantia. I know, my dad keeps telling me to ignore my blog if it stresses me out, but I am just not able to bring myself to follow his advice. As a teacher, it is also my duty to set an example for my students.; If I cannot stick to my responsibilities, then I cannot expect them to do the same. If I have been able to camouflage the gaps, then that gives me hope 😀

  11. Divya N avatar

    Sonia, its wonderful to read your compliments, thank you. You are one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to crafting and blogging. I really admire the effort that you put into creating such fantastic useful content and blogging regularly. I wish I could be more like you

  12. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Vijay, it has only been possible due to the support of regular readers like you

  13. motidana avatar

    Congratulations on you 6th blog Anniversary ! May you achieve many many more such milestones and continue to inspire all of us!

  14. Little Treasures avatar

    Congratulations Divya! I was going through the same self-analyzing process recently and felt the same as you. I just wanted to tell you that you are doing a great job -I enjoy your posts and hope to read more of you in the next year(s). Without meaning any disrespect to your prof. / colleague I think that if a process cannot be replicated then it concerns / involves a unique design.

  15. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Pallavi for always supporting and encouraging me

  16. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Maya. I guess the idea is not to replicate the product (identically) but the process atleast upto a certain extent must be replicatable, if the instructions are provided. "I did something, this came out and I dont know what I did" is a very common answer given by students when we ask them to explain the product and the process. When you are a professional you just cant say that. Even if the product evolved out of experimentation, we must be able to identify the steps involved.

  17. Cinnamon Jewellery avatar

    Well done Divya! I enjoy reading your posts from the other side of the world and have learned about all sorts of things thanks to you. I love looking at your super colourful jewellery too 😀

  18. Divya N avatar

    Thanks Tracy, the admiration is mutual 🙂

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