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Blogging is Dying.

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 Hollie

Blogging is Dying.

There I said it.

I’ve actually had a document on my computer titled: “blogging is dying” for a couple of months now. Past that, I haven’t continued the post. Maybe I was waiting for the best moment to post it, maybe not. Either way, blogging is slowly dying.

I’ve contemplated writing this post for a while now, but I don’t know where to begin. It’s probably a mismatched bunch of words that don’t flow together but when is that anything new?

So here we go:

I started blogging in 2010 when blogging was beginning to grow. Everyone was blogging!

It was the new thing to do instead of writing a Facebook update that was 10 pages long. I think in 2010, I followed close to 20 blogs. I was captivated by their writing, and it ranged from runners, to triathletes, to even a chocolate blog (you know).

I followed people with similar interests. Most people were posting at least a few times a week, if not more. To be honest, I think most blogs posted daily, which I did too!

2012-2014, continued the trend and blogging continued to grow. As the years went by, new social media was created.

There were so many new platforms:

Instagram: To take photos of everything you did!

Twitter: To write short burbs and updates about life!

Facebook pages: When one facebook isn’t enough, get two!

Pinterest and more (to save blogs, recipes, and whatever else you’ll read or follow up on!

I remember kicking my feet at getting twitter…ugh another thing, I couldn’t keep up. I ultimately got most of them, except for Pinterest, because I just pin cat memes.

Then 2013 was a big year for me. I moved four times: New York to Virginia to Texas to New Jersey. I ran my first marathon, and moved in with a boyfriend at the time who put a ring on it (yes Tim). It was the year where I had no idea what I wanted to do. I lived off of savings, made some money blogging, and just job searched like any early 20 year old.

In 2014, life settled down a little bit (not much, but enough). My husband and I got engaged, settled in NJ, and I finally set a half marathon PR. 2014 for blogging was probably my “biggest year”.

What does biggest in blogging even mean?

Most page views? Most engagement? Most money made?

All three!

Then in 2014, a lot of things on the internet changed. Social media channels began to grow, and many runners turned to Instagram to document and give running advice. I tried to go that route with long blog post captions but quickly realized I liked Instagram for taking photos of pretty places. It isn’t my personal preference to write a novel caption about how inspired I was to get out there.

I run and come home. I don’t have an inspiring story about every run, I just get out there and do it. I’m just a woman in the Garden State trying to make it look cool. I don’t like to post half-naked photos and don’t like to give advice about running. I don’t want my account to be running only and don’t want to create a separate Instagram account for my personal life either.

My Instagram is my life whether I have a blog or not. It isn’t limited to running, because my life isn’t limited to running. Maybe I’ll never have a niche, but that is fine. My blog talks more about my training and life, while Instagram is just photos and short captions. A couple of weeks ago, my husband I celebrated our anniversary. Not running, but part of my life.

View this post on Instagram

Celebrating our 3 year anniversary.

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on Apr 12, 2018 at 4:39pm PDT

Anyway, with the growth of Instagram and other social media, came the slow fall of blogging.

It isn’t just blogging that has fallen, and many running publications have ceased too. For instance, Competitor magazine only exists online. Runners World was acquired by Hearst.

This post isn’t too bash anything or anyone. It’s just to briefly explain what I’ve observed in the last several years. It’s not the only view, and for some their blog has gotten bigger, which is great!

In summary, social media such as Instagram has grown. People would prefer free advice versus paying, and to be honest, people don’t want or have the time and interest to read blogs anymore.

So How do You Support Blogs?

The easiest way to support any blogger or let them know you’re reading is occasionally comment (and no I’m not begging for comments). Commenting or sharing posts/articles are two big ways to support bloggers without doing much.

Many people have told me in person, “love your blog” and to be honest I’m shocked they read. Sure, right now I average about 500 page views a day, but I rarely get more than 1-2 comments per post, so I have no clue who reads, if anyone! No one is a mind reader. I don’t expect anyone to read, but it’s always nice to hear from people who are.

I will still blog because I like too. I’ve stopped blogging every day, but I’ll continue to blog. This post is not meant to be negative, or put anyone down. It’s just the trend i’ve noticed throughout several years of blogging (which of course different people notice different things).

Questions for you:

How long have you been blogging? Is blogging dying? Discuss?

Blogging Review

December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 Hollie

The year has come and gone. Last week, I recapped my running in 2017 and now it’s time to recap blogging since this is a Running Blog. I have begun to think a lot about blogging in 2018. Where is it going? Is it dying? Will fueledbyLOLZ die?

Eventually yes, all good things must come to an end. I have a longer post about the direction the blog will “go”. Mentally I have written the post, but I haven’t strung 500 words together. In summary, I probably won’t kill FueledbyLOLZ, but I will post less in 2018.

Instead of focusing on 2018 (which I will do at some point), it’s always fun to look back at the year and hanging out with friends and fellow bloggers and internet users.

danielle amelia and i — Danielle, Amelia, and I

Most Popular Posts from 2017:

My Running Story: My about me, running page.

My Running Burnout: What led to about 4 months off of running/racing.

Should You Race in Racing Flats?

Care Free Training

Interestingly enough, a lot of my shoe posts are the “top” posts. Yet, they seem to have the least comments.

Top Referrers:

Twitter

Facebook

Runners World Festival — Blogging brought many new friendships!
Photo Credit Marty D.

Thoughts about Blogging:

I do like blogging and I enjoy it as an outlet. For me, blogging will never pay “the bills”. I am lucky that I do occasionally get sponsored posts which equate to extra spending money. Those come and go and are completely unpredictable.

Plus, I don’t accept sponsored posts from something I wouldn’t personally use or buy which also limits how many I receive. It’s nice to receive sponsored posts, but will they pay the bills? No. It’s also nice to receive free product to review and try, and I’m always cautious when I do that (for instance, I’m clear in shoe reviews if I didn’t pay for shoes…which 95% of the time, I paid for them).

The platforms of which people choose to blog is also changing. With Instagram growing, many running bloggers have stopped sharing posts or writing lengthy posts and gone to microposts on instagram. You must do what works for you. I am not there yet because I do see blogging as an outlet. While my grammar and spelling leave a lot to be desired, it’s nice to connect with other bloggers and readers in that form, especially my “real life” friends (and dad) that don’t use social media but subscribe only to blog posts.

Blogging is 2017 wasn’t my highest viewership, in fact one of my lowest, but I still enjoyed it. At the end of the day I blog for “me” but it’s nice to share the experience with others. If I wanted to keep a personal diary (which I do keep a personal notepad), I wouldn’t press publish on a public website. Thanks wordpress for being more organized than I am…

Questions for you:

Bloggers: How was your 2017 in terms of actual blogging?

Do you have a favorite post? Do you keep a personal diary?

Running, Running Reads

Training: Back to NJ

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 Hollie

Last week was just about assimilating back to New Jersey. After getting food poisoning, this week was about getting back out there and just getting some easy runs in during the week. Even though it meant about 2 weeks between races and speed work, it was necessary. I was exhausted from vacation, as well as getting over food poisoning.

It all worked out, and with extra sleep, easy miles, and focusing on nutrition, I seemed to feel a lot better towards the end of the week.

Monday:	Easy 45 minutes
Tuesday:	Easy 45 minutes
Wednesday:	Easy 60 minutes
Thursday:	OFF
Friday:	Easy 45 minutes
Saturday:	Haddonfield Road Race (19:59)
Sunday:	Blueberry Challenge XC 5k (20:01)
Total Miles:	35-37

Haddonfield Road Race (19:59) 6:25, 6:26, 6:25

The goal of this race was to run a 20 minute 5k which I ran right on pace. The course itself is difficult and the day did not go exactly as planned but I was able to get done what I needed too with a few faster miles on my legs. Despite being one of my slower “races” recently, my effort was exactly where I needed it to be.

Blueberry Challenge XC 5k (20:01)

I have always wanted to do this race, but whatever reason, it never works out. The race is a mixture of a lot of grass, gravel, pavement, and finally, a stair climb up Blueberry Hill. Even without the climb, it’s one of the hillier 5k courses I’ve done. My goal was to try and run 20 minutes, and I met that goal.

Thoughts:

While neither are “fast” races indicating my fitness, I enjoyed both and getting out there again. Training isn’t linear, and I’m the same person who ran an 18:46 less than a month ago.

This week will also be a lighter week as I will be running the Philadelphia half marathon. I’ve never run particularly well there as coincidentally enough I had food poisoning in 2015 and in 2016, I just felt like garbage. Third time is a charm, right?

Posts from the Week:
How to Build Back Mental Confidence
Hiking Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder
Smile Brilliant Review and Giveaway

Questions for you:

Do you like running on trails or roads?

Have you ever run up stairs during a race?

Blogging Challenge

Reflecting on 7 Years of Blogging

August 9, 2017January 6, 2020 Hollie

Blogging has changed a lot since I started in August of 2010. You can read my first post here. Sure, I could correct several spelling errors in my first post ever, but it wouldn’t be as “authentic”. So I leave it as my 2010 college self-wrote it.

If anything has remained the same in my blogging, it’s that I don’t have the best grammar or spelling. I spell check, but there is always something. If you have ever held a conversation with me in real life, you know I talk a mile and minute, and my blog is pretty much the same.

But Back to Blogging in General…

I feel like a crabby, old fashioned blogger even saying that blogging has changed so much. When I first started blogging, it was just that. Blogging.

There was no Instagrams, twitters and people did not make facebooks for their page. You just wrote stuff and hoped someone subscribed through email. After you posted an entry, you moved on with life.

Now blogging is more competitive and social media is far more advance. You don’t write something and move on. You write something, link it to all of your social media, multiple times, promote, promote, promote and maybe promote some more. By the time you finished pushing your master piece of writing, it’s time to promote the next one. It’s no wonder blogging can get so damn tiresome. The least time-consuming portion of blogging is writing the post.

Hey you!!! Have you subscribed to my internet?

But here we are. I often reflect on blogging. Many bloggers who started much later than I did make a full-time income from blogging. They do the ten (thousand) step process of blogging, great content, and whatever else it takes.

That is their choice but blogging full time has never been mine.

Is it great to make money from something you work hard at? Of course. The majority of the money I now make through blogging pays for the 10,000 races I run each year with it…but that is really it. I don’t make a full-time income and I don’t spend hours on content creation and sponsored posts.

Part of the reason begins with I won’t promote products I don’t personally stand behind. I can truly say I’ve used and enjoyed every product I’ve promoted on this blog. Throughout the last 7 years, I’ve probably turned down close to 5,000 dollars worth of sponsored posts (whether money or product) because it doesn’t reflect my life or interests.

If you blog full time, you make more money by taking more sponsored posts. You can’t “love” everything so you cannot like and use every single product you promote. It’s a fine balance of blogging about product, life, and whatever else. Too many sponsored posts and you are a fraud. Too few sponsored posts and you eat ramen for dinner. That sort of balance doesn’t interest me.

Plus, to be honest I don’t sit still well. I don’t like sitting at home, I’m usually boring, and I don’t like to people, socialize, and network every moment of my life. I just like to run, eat at diners and talk about various topics that pop into my mind (like reflecting upon blogging).

So How Has Blogging Changed Since 2010?

First, as I just said I’m not a professional. Many bloggers, social media experts, and internet users know far more about “how blogging has changed”. I can tell you what I’ve noticed in the last several years.

From about 2010-2014 blogging thrived. Page views were high. There were months in 2013 and 2014, I would get 50,000 page views on LOLZ blog. I wasn’t even a popular, superstar blogger, so I can’t imagine what others got! But people were visiting blogs! Blogging was booming! There wasn’t a lot of excess social media. Just people and blogs.

I remember when I first started my twitter, I kicked my feet. Everyone had a twitter, but I didn’t find it appealing or necessary. I was finishing my junior year of college, barely staying afloat in Spanish class and dreaming of math equations and proofs. Then I started a twitter, and it’s still probably my favorite platform. You can follow people and things and not be creepy. There isn’t anything you really can’t follow on twitter at this point.

In 2014-2015, Instagram was starting to evolve and pop up. More people had instagrams, but the captions were short. I would Instagram everything. My coffee, flowers, dirt, a pineapple sitting on top of a cup. Then I would filter the $hit out of it pretending I was a professional photographer.

Now you can find Instagram captions that are longer than some blog posts. As Instagram continued to grow, blogging began to fall. My blog that once got 50,000 monthly views now gets about 20,000.

In the recent few years, several of my favorite bloggers shut down their blogs. Also, blogs that used to post weekly went to 1-2 times per month. Few people blog but more people used Instagram! My reader has dwindled for several posts daily to 1-2 per day that consistently update.

Now in 2017, the Instagram trend is still growing. With the addition of Instagram stories, which I occasionally use, it’s more fun and more live. As Instagram grows, I do find myself attempting to take more quality posts (all from my trusty phone). Personally, I like to follow friends and look at pretty photos. So I’m trying to mirror that. Will I ever take out a loan and buy some fancy camera. No…

So where does that leave the mother hen old lady LOLZ blog?

Will I continue to social media in year of blogging? Probably.

Will I continue to use all of my social media? Once again, probably.

Will I get a Strava? No, I can’t even remember to charge my Garmin.

I will continue blogging about life, running or whatever else happens. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, next week or next month (LOLZ to think about next year).

I don’t commit to anything. I don’t know what curves life will throw. I can’t guarantee, I won’t completely stop blogging for whatever reason but I have zero intentions today…not sorry I love talking too much.

Questions for you:

What is your favorite social media platform?

If you blog, how long have you been blogging for?

Running

The Importance of Easing Back into Training

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 Hollie

Whether you are coming back from an injury or just time off, getting back into shape isn’t always the most enjoyable thing. I like running. However, the feeling of being out of shape and always tired isn’t pleasant.

This particular return, it’s also been incredibly hot. Thinking out loud, when I left running a few short months ago, most of my runs were in pouring rain and the cold. Now it’s hot and humid. To be honest, during my break I also didn’t do a lot of cross-training, so I did also lose quite a bit of fitness. My first 5k back, I ran at a pace slower than the half marathon I consider to be unsuccessful. My second 5k I got lost, but I do think I made some sort of improvement. When I left running, I could run 18:30-18:40 5ks like no big deal. Currently, I believe I could push myself as hard as possible for a 20:00 5k (but it probably would need to be a flat, fast and ideal day).

But like anything in life, it’s important not to compare yourself to anyone, including yourself. Some people can jump right into training and never lose fitness. I’m definitely not one of those people.

During my run, I didn’t run, I didn’t cross train much and gained a little bit of weight. I also didn’t care about any of these things. That just makes getting back into shape harder.

So What are Important Aspects to Remember?

Easy Runs are Important:

You don’t have to run fast at all. Whether they are coming back from an injury, a rest period of anything else, too many people makes the mistake of running too fast. It doesn’t matter if you are in shape or not, if you train fast all of the time, you will set yourself up for an injury. In fact, running too fast all of the time is how I got my first tibia stress fracture. Easy runs are what build you stronger. It’s especially important for me, this time because I’m not coming back from anything broken and don’t have something especially suspectable to breaking by doing too much.

Don’t Compare Yourself:

As humans, there is always something to compare ourselves too. Every article or blog I’ve ever read always says “don’t compare yourself”, but that is so much easier said than done.Whether it’s while running or not. Don’t compare yourself to yourself either.

With fitness, you are always at a different point journey. We are never in the exact same fitness level all of the time, and it’s important to recognize that. Don’t train how you once trained. You have to build up to the fitness you were once at. Determine your paces and realistic goals from where you are right now, not 3 months ago.

Slow and Steady Wins the Base Race:

Many times, after I begin running again, I want to go as fast or run as much as possible all of the time. That is unintelligent and going to result in an injury. Ease into training and allow yourself to slowly build your base. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is fitness.

No matter where you left, getting back into shape is challenging. It’s not effortless or streamline. Perhaps a better reminder for myself more than anything!

Other posts:

What to do Between Training Cycles

NonRunning Workout Ideas

Question for you: Have you ever taken time off of fitness entirely?

Tag: life