I got a question - why I have decided to leave my quite succesful blog written in my native language and started once again even in a foreign speach on a new place, which nobody knows.
For answering that, I have to sketch out some fact about my previous blogging.
I started to blog in the year 2010 - at the time when blogging in my country was still in it's infancy. It was a hobby which people found stupid and made jokes about it. These "old" bloggers appreciated annonymity, their nicknames and web adresses were a secret to their surroundings. My blog was posted on a local domain of the third order with it's community and unwritten hierarchy. The top was enjoyed by author's blogs - novice writers, poets, young unknown artists, 'philosophers' and intereting diarists - who organises challenges, projects and blogger meetings. On the other edge were beauty, fashion and food blogs. It's targets were different - authors usually hadn't desired to become a part of notorious elity - and they made their own blog community.
Throughout my six years of active blogging there I made my own path and got close to the top. Maybe I was a part of - some people have thought that about my blog. It was very hard-won and slowly-getting succes.
Set it all the right level - succes there doesn't mean blog as a livelihood and 10k of Instagram followers. I've never got an invitation for a blogger party evening or parcels full of products for free. I got big recognition in that community and a lot of bloggers as my real friends. Fortunately, a lot of these friendships are still alive!
Two of my fairy tails got it's place in a children's book, a part of one article was included in one of the most readed newspapers in my country and maybe three times I was stopped by a stranger in public asking me if I am that blogger with nickname XXX. From the perspective of today's commercially succesfull bloggers I was nobody.
Past years 2013-2014 the second wave of bloggers had started to be born. Based on foreign ones these blogs became interesting for public, not only for local internet communities. Main topics were and still are:
beauty
fashion
book
lifestylef
food
For today's most succesful bloggers are their blogs their livelihoods too. They make Youtube vlogs, recommend various of products (which their fans wish to buy only because their favourite v/blogger has it), runs their own labels of acceories etc. They became a succesful marketing tool and it's very difficult to distinguish an ordinary article from PR one.
While previouly no one flaunted with his blog, now I see number of girls creating new blogs just because it' fashionable. And these girls, who wish to became VIP bloggers with their faces on the cover of magazines, are asking on forums now what they should write about...
This wasn't a reason why I left my blog. I'm not one of those who wants to get cosmetics or books for free for posting it's reviews, instead of I like to write about cosmetics. I'm not expecting thousands of readers or Insta followers jut because I write in English now.
The occasion of my left was simply - past that six years I was growing and changing as abolutely everybody - I started to write my blog when was 13 years old! My articles were changing - fewer thoughts, less stories or fairy tails, more handmade jewelry. I slowly created a small label including my blog nickname which I found undesirable later - my customers, who have known only my jewelry, were finding my blog - that one I posted on something like my diary in my 13! In that age I couldn't make any necklace yet...
Also my friends from that community were still reading it - that blog started to tie me. I felt I had to leave my native place. I couldn't write so honestly anymore - they have some ideas about my blog which should be too violent for them to change. What would they say to me if I started to post articles about natural cosmetic there or articles about my other hobbies? Would my customers buy another piece of jewelry If they found an opinion of mine they disagree?
I started to prefer anonymity once again and left previous web adress for searching another land I can conquer. I wish new readers for Þórví's hidden land who find it unexpectly. I would like a few wanderers more than hundreds of readers I cannot be myself in front of them.
With love
Þórví
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