two things:
1) i’ve been thinking for a little while about doing this, and i’ve decided to just go ahead and get it over with. when i started this blog, i was pretty much writing to myself, three of my friends, sei, and maybe some random people who happened to run across depressionsandconfessions through a google search. today, i still write for myself, but i’m not going to lie and say that i never check my stats. i do. for a little while, i was totally obsessed with getting followers and increasing my readership, and i wasn’t enjoying myself. my blog felt like a job, and i started to feel insecure and unhappy every time someone unfollowed me.
since then, i’ve changed my outlook and focused more on writing what makes me happy. i figure if people like that, yay. i love the little community i’ve built around myself here, and i’m content with what i have. so i’m taking the google followers widget off my blog. i hate what it symbolizes (to me at least). it’s right there, every time my site loads, taunting me with the numbers–up or down? am i lovable or not? it probably sounds stupid that i think that way, but well…maybe it is. all i know is that it’s coming down, for my own sanity.
if you want to follow my blog, please subscribe, either via email or through a reader. i’ll love you forever and send you money.
2) you might have seen this if you’re my twitter buddy, but for the rest of you, i’m writing at another site twice a week. this site, called postpartum progress, is a very important resource for all women with postpartum depression or other postpartum mood disorders. i’m passionate about speaking out for moms with mental health issues, and i’m so happy to have found another outlet for that passion. katherine, who founded the site, is a postpartum ocd survivor and an amazing advocate for me and any other woman who might have suffered without a place to turn to for answers, compassion, and a community of other women who understand.
my first post there, which went up this past thursday, was received very well, and i felt so welcomed by katherine’s readers. i am truly honored to be a regular contributor at postpartum progress, and hope that if any of you need information on ppd or other ppmds, you’ll make your way there.
and i can’t leave you without at least attempting to make you laugh, so here you go:
— Alexis
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I hope one day I can get enough follows for me to go, “Alright, I’m done with caring about numbers.” LOL! Kidding, that was totally not spiteful, I swear. Though I do have bouts of jealousy over you. Mostly cause you have awesome voluminous hair and mine won’t take a damn curl.
Even though my depression is prepartum (if that’s even a word) I’m still gonna check out Postpartum Progress.
that better not be spiteful, jia. i don’t wanna have to bust a cap. and also? my hair sucks, just so you know. maybe it just translates better via webcam, but i hate it. always have.
I subscribed to your blog. I’ll expect to see a check from you in a few days ;o)
I’m also following you on Twitter now, don’t know how I went this long without!!!
And I don’t like to know how many (or not many) people read my blog because of the very thing you just wrote about. I’m afraid I’d focus more on the number of people than I would on writing what I feel like writing. Or, maybe I don’t follow my numbers because there aren’t any. ;o)
Sugar Mama recently posted..Master Bedroom Dresser
check is in the mail. i think that’s the way to go with your blog (unless you are trying to monetize; in that case, it’s kind of important to know your stats, i guess). i think it comes from a much more honest place when you’re not trying to write for followers. that’s just me though.
I’ve never had the Followers widget up, for basically the same reasons you said. But I used to get a lot of emails asking how to Follow me. Steph told me how to find the Follow button, without displaying the actual Followers. Let me know, and I’ll hook you up!
Kristina P. recently posted..Insert Witty Title Here
Ah – you know i did the same thing with those vote for me thingys – not quite the same but i hated that i was so tied to my place on there. I took them off my blog & happily my readership didnt change, PR pitches were still being sent to me (BAD ONES) & i was free from it.
It is hard to not get caught up in the #’s but it is so nice not to be.
Those pictures brought a smile to my Monday – thanks
Devan @ Accustomed Chaos recently posted..WHO Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes And How It Protects Breastfeeding & Formula Feeding
I <3 your blog…so don't worry I'm not going anywhere.
those pictures made me laugh and then gave me a stomachache…they are soooo true.
That photo of the Twilight moms is disturbing. The caption? Hilarious.
Also. You owe me. I have been following for a while.
ooph recently posted..its a boy thingright
i’m pretty sure i already paid you by making you walk ten blocks in your hooker heels in new york. if that wasn’t payment enough, i don’t know what will be.
Just keep up the good work. Those who want to pay attention to you will continue to grow and grow.
So GLAD to have you at PP!
Katherine recently posted..Can We Prevent Postpartum Depression
Ah, the numbers. Stats. Such wily ego-manipulators.
I have to not care, otherwise I’d be paralyzed writing-wise.
In other news, the article at PP? Awesome fabulousness.
San Diego Momma recently posted..Why I Don’t Work Out
thanks, deb. i was so happy with the warm welcome i received, because i really respect katherine and the work she does, and i didn’t want her readers to be like, seriously? who the hell is this clown? so i was relieved that i wasn’t publicly shamed and revealed as a fraud.
I am jumping up and down for you!! I’ve been thinking about that google friend widget for awhile. Does anyone really use it? I do occasionally but not as much a my reader. Maybe I’ll take it down too. Maybe… Am I brave enough?
Theresa recently posted..Back to school advice- from a few Moms who ROCK!
i think a lot of people who use blogger rely on the google friend connect widget because it automatically subscribes your followers to your rss feed through google reader. but i’ve read a lot about the widget not being compatible with some wordpress themes, and i honestly am just going to go with that theory and get rid of it. and yes, you’re totally brave enough, if that’s really what you want to do.
I totally agree about Google Friend Connect. To be brutally honest, I was afraid to put it up and have 0 friends for awhile. Then I didn’t want a low number of friends to put off other people, as if it was saying I’m really not that great, don’t bother coming back. But anyway, I really care the most about connecting with my readers. So I’m happier to get a comment than I am to get a new subscriber (even though I love subscribers of my RSS of course).
i feel the same–i care way more about interacting with readers than having a bunch of followers who have no idea who i really am. getting comments makes me so happy because it means i’ve connected with someone in some real way.
I really need to do the same. I don’t use Google connect, and there is no good reason to keep it up. But, of course, I can’t help checking the number when I see it. Ridiculous.
Love the photos…I laughed. Job well done
LZ recently posted..I don’t move in mysterious ways
ok the moms twilight pic had me cracking up! but the gay one just grossed me out. ha!
And congrats on being a regular writer on postpartum progression. i will look forward to your posts there.
i hate stats. they make me crazy and insecure too. i’m trying not to pay attention to them.
i’ll subscribe to you if you subscribe to me. no money necessary
xo
melissa recently posted..The Day Democracy Died In Hazel Park
done and done.
Okay, both of those posters? Awesome.
yeah, the number games can drive you crazy! but who am I to talk, I have like 4 followers on my vlog
ps, I been here a while. I am just quiet. you owe me $ !!!
Erin from Long Island recently posted..Take Matters into your own Hands
Why isn’t anyone calling the cops on the forty-year-old women?! (;
I think everyone gets caught up in the numbers, whether they want to admit it or not. I used to get so excited every time I got a new follower on Twitter, but as time went on I realized it wasn’t important. I probably should be checking my blog stats, but where I used to, I just don’t care anymore. My blog has become like a security blanket for me, letting me be heard, and that’s all I care about. As long as someone is reading and commenting and I’m not talking to myself, I’m happy. And even if they aren’t? I’d be happy, anyway; I spent months on LJ without getting any comments, and even longer on Diaryland when I first started this blogging thing!
Elizabeth Kaylene recently posted..Why I think that opposing the mosque in NYC is not only wrong- but racist
You owe me moneys. You said you’d send some.
Good for you for taking it down- and for writing for that site! I opened both links so I’m going to go read your post &snoop around the site a little bit.
Oh, & the Twilight moms picture is hilarious, but I’m not sure how I feel about the other one. Which is weird. lol.
{Not Quite} Susie Homemaker recently posted..SALE- Blog Design Services!
yeah i get caught up in the followers thing too. which was so not my purpose when i started my blog. i was one follower down today when i logged on and it made me a little sad but then i was browsing and read this and i feel better
Ashleigh recently posted..
i dig the photos! SO funny. :]
c.c. recently posted..i feel like telling a story