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Saturday, January 10, 2015

Dialing it back a few notches

Video may have killed the radio star, but Instagram is taking a toll on bloggers.

Since September 6, 2010, I have posted daily about modernist design...with the exception of a brief hiatus when my house was being built. Coming up with something new every day may be a snap for the big-time blogs that employ a staff of writers, but at Mid2Mod, it's just me, and posting daily can be quite time-consuming, especially if research is involved.

It's been a great run, with almost 1600 posts, over 700 followers, and more than 4 million page hits. At the height of this blog's viewing history, 5,000-10,000 page views were being logged each day. However, the popularity of Instagram has reduced those views by half, so I've decided to cut back my posts to a couple a week. If something really inspires me, I'll post more.

I hope you'll stick around as a regular reader. I'm not leaving. I'm just opting for a more relaxed pace.


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Uploaded by fritz5173 on Jan 16, 2008

21 comments:

  1. Yes and interesting development Dana, I love Instagram and it definitely has a role and I have found so much and learned so much on it.....but it does seem to have taking away somewhat from blogs...but content is always King as they say ...and nothing can replace the quality and depth of posts such as yours.

    I was also reading an article on the how RSS feeds are now difficult to locate, and many newer readers have never even heard of RSS - but through the MS Outlook RSS feed plugin is where I read about 20 blogs each day. Most people seem to use Chrome or Firefox as browsers - and they also seem to be a problem in getting RSS feeds from blogs as they require plugins for that purpose....and I have never been able to get them to work properly.

    Newsletters via email are making a comeback too .....which is generally just the blog post emailed to the readers instead :)

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    1. Ray, I really enjoy Instagram too, and I share there occasionally, but it's usually about things of a more personal nature than my blog, which really doesn't lend itself to a format like IG. Thanks for your kind words about my blog. I'm definitely not abandoning it, but I'm not willing to put the hours into it that daily posting requires unless it starts getting more traffic.

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  2. I'll always be here Dana - cheering you and your blog along (sometimes you might not know it because I don't always comment, but I am)
    Since I've ditched instagram I haven't missed it one bit. I do miss some of my old bloggy friends who have jumped ship, but I don't miss being glued to my phone and all those silly, shallow likes. There are lots of pretty pictures on instagram, but I can find pretty/interesting/funny/quirky in plenty of other places (like right here for example) x

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    1. Kylie, you've always been one of the most loyal of readers. I know I can always count on you. :)

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  3. I agree Dana, many of the blogs I used to follow aren't really active anymore, having jumped ship to Instagram. I'm still trying to avoid it, lol. I did Pinterest for awhile, but eventually found it boring. Happy to read you will still be here. Can't imagine the work involved for your daily post. Glad to see you are cutting yourself some slack. :)

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    1. Pam, like you, I've never been able to generate as much interest in Instagram and Pinterest as some people have. I'm glad you're still posting regularly!

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  4. I certainly don't blame you, writing regular posts are extremely time consuming! I can't believe how often I used to post, compared to now! Facebook has been my downfall these days.

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    1. I'm always thrilled to see a new post from you, but I can imagine how hard it must be to run a household, take care of your kids and blog constantly. I don't have all those responsibilities, and it still gets a little much for me sometimes.

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  5. Share when you can. Just use your typewriter and fax me your post.

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  6. I'll be checking in, Dana! I know what you mean about regular posts -- they take a lot of time. Love the video, too!

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    1. I always love your comments. Glad you'll still be checking in. The video is a real blast from the past, huh?

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    2. Sure is! The first video ever played on MTV. :) I'll bet you knew that!

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    1. Oh, I plan to stick around. There are too many of you that I'd miss if I left for good!

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  8. I always read your posts but never comment (shameful). It's the damn i-phone. God, stop posting once-a-day ... no one expects it and you'll kill yourself. A blog post once a week now-days is sufficient. You won't lose anyone. Were the Buggles Australian?

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    1. A reader told me a long time ago that she kept her phone on the night stand, and the first thing she did every morning was to read my post before she even got out of bed. That was a nice compliment, but it also made me feel a little obligated to keep posting daily...long after most people had the good sense to cut back on the frequency of their posts. That was my fault, not hers. In reality, I'm really not that important. :)

      I think the Buggles were British. Didn't they go on to play with Yes after they disbanded? That's total ancient history. My daughter was a toddler when that song was popular!!!

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  9. I've thoroughly enjoyed your informative posts and will miss your daily updates. I think that you were the last big MCM blogger left from the time period that I started that is still regularly posting. Happens to the best of us and I can certainly sympathize. My own blog definitely hasn't received nearly the amount of attention from me that it once did. Hope all is well and that you enjoy your freed-up time to the fullest.

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    1. I've just been "dialing it back" for a few days, and it still feels weird not to be posting daily. My leisure time may be short-lived, because my SIL is working on a new business (in addition to the store) and I may be blogging for/about it too. You just never know what's gonna happen next around here. :)

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  10. Hey Dana, I can certainly appreciate you stepping away from the daily post thing. I think I've only put out one post since our fire back at our old location and I feel guilty not even keeping up on others posts. Even when I was really enjoying posting I could only manage a couple of posts a month and have always loved the time and effort you've put into the information you always share. I do plan on getting back in the blog saddle from time to time and already plan on doing one on a killer Swedish Dux dining set I'm currently rehabbing that's been a huge labor of love. I'll just have to go back through your archives when I get a chance! Thanks for all the great posts and information!

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    1. Daily posting is a challenge, that's for sure. It's especially taxing if you do it for several years with hardly any break. I thought I was going to try for two a week, but life gets in the way sometimes.

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