Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Screw the “niche” rules. This is a personal blog. And I’ll write what I want.
I’ve been blogging a long fucking time. Sometimes vigorously. And sometimes not.
I’ve weathered the trends and fads of blogging. I’ve muddled through the technological changes as platforms and tools have advanced over the years. And I’ve navigated my own changes as this blog has evolved and pivoted alongside the shifts in my life.
There’s a broad perspective only a certain amount of longevity in an arena can provide. And I feel like I’ve achieved that after fifteen-plus years into this blogging thing. You might consider it being able to see the forest for the trees thanks to the gift of time. (Y’all know I love me a good metaphor.)
Looking back
I declared in one of my annual birthday posts a while back that I was going to reinvigorate my efforts here, having been sporadic at best for a long damn time. As part of that process, I did a lot of soul-searching about where I’m going as a blogger.
Of course, sometimes in order to move forward you have to consider where you’ve been. And with over fifteen years to consider, I’ve certainly had lots of phases and iterations of this project to ruminate on.
Part of that rumination was considering the blogosphere in general over the last 15-20 years. Even though I’ve always kept it real here—it’s kinda my thing—there has always been pressure to conform with “the rules” of blogging. If I wanted to be “successful”, that is.
Fuck that.
Doubling down
One of those rules is that sites need to be not just niched, but hyper-niched. “Niche down” has become the advice cliche’ from the gurus. There have been times I thought if I heard “niche down” one more fucking time, I’m would lose my ever-loving fucking mind.
That doesn’t work for a personal blog like mine. Given this blog’s longevity and pivots along the way, that really doesn’t work. There are many folks out there who are trying to carve out a niche as an expert in their area, which does require hyper-specificity. Which is fine for them. They can rock on with their bad selves.
My blogging goal is different, though. I like connecting through personal experience. A personal blog is sort of a serial autobiography. And life stories don’t fit into a neat little box, do they?
So maybe my “niche” is simply being a fucking human. (Which I suppose may become a novelty now that the Pandora’s Box of AI has been opened.)
I think the “niche down” disconnect may be that the gurus operate under the assumption that we have the same goal—to go viral and be the biggest name in our area.
I don’t want to go “viral”. The hassle of that sounds like a fucking nightmare to me. ‘Cause let’s face it, that’s where the trolls live. I’d rather hang out with you—my thoughtful, steadfast readers.
The Future
Given my ups and downs with tending to this project, I’m working to make good on my promise to myself to be more dedicated to it. So as we barrel forward into the latter half of 2026, my goal is to write more in the moment.
I’m also pushing towards including more short form (e.g. Postcards) posts that would have simply been published on micro-blogging or social platforms in the past (e.g. Instagram, Facebook).
But given the hellscape of those platforms, it’s become crucial to publish here first. I’ll still share to those platforms in some form but it will be secondary to being in control of my content here.
Bucking the system
This site runs on WordPress which is decidedly not a micro-blogging platform, though. You should see my SEO tool lose its ever-loving shit because I’m posting things that are under 300 words (among other offenses). It’s kind of fun to piss it off, to be honest.
But I also have a penchant for longer form posts so those won’t be going away. I’m just going to write what I write. That, and continue to mock my SEO tool over my morning coffee. It’s really just digital blood sport at this point.
Having said that, finding a consistent writing rhythm has been the biggest challenge. My dear man and I have a lot on our plate running our mini media empire. (We’ve sort of unleashed the Kraken with Southwest Art Towns which demands a lot of attention. As Kraken often do.)
I’m making progress on protecting my writing time, though. And I’m settling into the new path for Val in Real Life.
Moving forward
In the end, this is a personal blog. And my life isn’t one thing any more than yours is.
I’m writing what I want, unapologetically. If that makes me less successful, so be it.
But if what I have to say resonates with you, that makes me very happy. Thank you bearing with me while I pound my multi-faceted peg into the square hole of the internet.
Let’s stay real together
I hope you find this blog to be a place to connect over life experiences, warts and all. And as I more carefully manage my social media presence as that landscape continues to devolve, meet me here. Leave comments and let’s chat.
You can also sign up for my newsletter to get everything from the Val in Real Life world wrapped up in a neat little package.
Peace out!
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