Blog Review

Spending some time these days evaluating things around jayhardwick.com. It's been a little more than a year since I jumped in the blogosphere and I couldn't be more glad for that decision. Absolutely the right thing to do and the relationships gained and lessons learned over the last 15 months or so prove it for me.

Just as our family made a huge transition this year, I'm feeling like there may need to be some transitions with the blog. But, as I look at some transitions, some tensions arise...such as:

How personal should one really be on a blog? While I do not have near the readership that some of my blogging friends have, there are thousands of unique readers per month that encompass the globe. Should I feel uneasy about posting pictures of my family, videos, telling stories, etc.? How can I be personal without being stupid?

How do you connect with different readers who read for different reasons? Like a lot of my friends, I have a weird mix of readers: lots of "up and coming" church planters, friends and family, church leaders, people in Columbia, people in Greenville, etc. How do you vary content to connect with those readers?

I guess those are the biggest tensions I'm thinking through. To get gut-level honest, I went through a not so good season with this blog in the early days where I was trying to keep up with the Joneses: checked my stats all the time, checked technorati rankings, thought I was a big deal when the blogging "celebrities" linked to me...then I saw Ben's "No One Cares About Your Blog" shirt and it put me in my place! :-) And, some friends helped me evaluate and it's time for that again.

I want this blog to be a tool - for connecting with people in Columbia, for connecting with and encouraging church planters, for giving people who are away from us a window into our world.

I'd love your comments, thoughts, evaluations, etc. on the tensions and ideas I presented above and your experience with this blog. Leave a comment or send me an email...your thoughts are appreciated!

Comments

[Rich]

Jay,

Been wrestling with some of that same thing. It brings back all those junior high feelings, doesn't it? Wanting to be the most popular? Sad sacks that we are...

I think a blog, like an organization, needs a mission statement and a target audience. You may attract a lot of people that read for a lot of different reasons, but you have to stay FOCUSED.

Stay focused, and if what you write is good (and it is, I subscribe), the others will tag along just for the ride.

Stay well, friend.

[Clay]

Jay,

Just point and lead people to Jesus man!

Merry Christmas!

[Travis Thompson]

Jay,

I'm an anonymous guy who follows your blog . . . I appreciate the journey you're on, and the personal insights (it reassures me that some of the people I follow aren't truly "church-planting" machines) . . . I just checked my google reader stats and I've starred or shared posts from you 11 times since Oct. 22 . . . I know you just said you're trying to avoid the stats, but I'm sharing that number as an encouragment to you from a church planter in FL you have no idea exists . . . There are more people out there than the numbers suggest, and the change/inspiration/wisdom/humor you bring to them is immeasurable . . . keep doing what you're doing . . .

[Diane Hardwick]

PLEASE! Don't change anything - how else could I keep up with you?! Mom

[jay hardwick]

thanks to all who emailed and to you brave souls who commented. :-) great advice, encouragement, and perspective.

rich - focus is so hard for us ADD types, huh?!

clay - can't wrong with that! :-)

travis - i'm blown away and humbled by your comment. thanks for sharing and more importantly, thank you for being courageous in what God has called you to!

hey...even my mom got in the comment game! way to go techno-mama! your boy loves you always...and don't act like i don't call you. :-)