LEARNING CURVE FOR BLOGGERS

A learning curve is something we face from the beginning.

From first grade to last grade, the challenge is never ending.

And that’s the good part.

Then there’s the other part.

Some of us want to be life long learners, others have had enough.

Which one you are depends on your outlook.

Either the world is such a mess no one and nothing can ever change it.

Whether it’s over-population, climate change, or down to a pesky neighbor, you either give up, or look for hope.

I’m not the Doomsday Blogger dealing fear and looking the other way.

At the same time, I’m not the Everything Is Fine blogger.

I tend my own patch of literary dreams right here on boomerpdx,

As a life long learner, I’m open to suggestion, interested in new ideas, working to connect the dots of then and now, of maybe and for certain.

If I write a post I expect it to go viral, off the charts, to the moon.

Yesterday’s post, Old Age And What To Do About It did just the opposite: two hits.

Did two people read it, or just click it?

If they read it they came away wondering ‘what’s the point?’ I read it over and wonder the same thing.

 

A head of gray hair is a signal: You’ve either got the wisdom of the ages, or you’ve slipped into nonsense and expect others to agree because you’re old.

If you’ve achieved the wisdom of the ages, you’ll want to share it.

Sharing means letting it out at the appropriate times.

But, if you slipped into the nonsense part you can’t keep it to yourself at any time.

 

The Ultimate Boomer Blogger

A woman decides to show the world her vision of things and starts a blog.

Say it’s a travel blog, with an Oregon travel blog post.

 

After a series of heartbreak and bad dating experiences, I decided to move to Alaska regardless of whether work lined up.

I knew I needed to prove to myself that I could make my own dreams happen without a partner by my side. I packed my car again and began my journey to Alaska, solo.

 

Sound familiar?

Instead of emotional travel, or desperation travel, the ultimate boomer blogger is an older woman seeking comfortable surrounding and wine.

Looks pretty good from here.

Hit the road, write platitude filled posts that ring empty with locals, but make outsiders feel like insiders, and you’re there.

Include pictures of you in the surroundings drinking wine at picturesque stops for extra credit.

Did someone say Eat, Pray, Love?

 

In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed by panic and confusion.

This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and set out to explore three different aspects of her nature, against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.

 

In summary, women hit the road to break free of expectations and come away with a fresh look at life.

The man breaks free of expectations and soon starves to death.

Is this a hard choice? Noooo.

 

Hit The Learning Curve Angle As A Better Blogger

The name boomerpdx is a signal: baby boomers in Portland.

With that in mind, I expected, when I began, to accumulate somewhere between 93,000 to 110,000 visitors and readers and members by the next week.

 

In Portland, Oregon, adults aged 65 and older—the core of the retirement-age Baby Boomer generation—make up roughly 14.5% to 17.2% of the city and metro population, translating to approximately 93,000 to 110,000 people within the city limits. 

 

But, that’d not how the algorithm works. At least that’s not how it works with boomerpdx, which was a surprise.

In a way, writing a blog post is like drinking a tall can of beer.

First you tip it a little.

Then a little more.

 

 

Then tip it on end and give a shake for a big finish.

 

 

PS:

If you have an audience based on region and age group, be of service to them. BoomerPdx in service to baby boomers in Portland.

There it is.

 

PSS:

Some posts miss their mark. Old Age And What To Do About It missed the mark. Two hits are a miss.

Another blogger might get down with those results and pull back. Not this one.

If I get two hits on a piece I worked on, a piece based on good advice from a proven source, it’s just the beginning.

This may not be the blog you want, but it’s the one you need.

That doesn’t make you needy. Then who is the needy one?

It’s me, of course. Me and every writer seeking more than two hits on an important aging blog post.

A rational man would see two hits and stop; I see the challenge ahead.

Who’s with me on challenges? Are we quitters, or strivers?

Find the right angle.