Sunday, January 18, 2015

Happy 4th Blog-O-Versary!!!! Now What?


A card for every occasion

Well, it's wacky tacky's 4th Blog-O-Versary and 400th post - a fact that endlessly tickles the fancy of a certain someone with numerical OCD.  Surely, there are bloggers, columnists, sewing enthusiasts, adventurers, cooks, crafters, painters, and poets far more prolific than I but, at an average of 100 posts per year, I am actually feeling less lazy than I look.

I'm hoping my enthusiasm is contagious.

I've tried writing this post at least one hundred different ways and I'm still not sure what the outcome will be.  I hate to sound maudlin but after four solid years of blogging, I am coming to realize that my "unique voice" and passion for silly, old-timey stuff may not "B UNIQ."

First rule of B UNIQ Club: Don't talk about B UNIQ Club. 

Before I started wacky tacky, I had never felt the need to keep a personal account of my life (that documentary wouldn't even make it to the bottom of your Netflix queue).  Before I started wacky tacky, I didn't really understand what a blog was (a bit of a hiccup).  Before I started wacky tacky, I rarely used a computer outside of an office environment (luddite much?).  Before I started wacky tacky, I didn't know how beautifully female-dominated the medium tended to be (damn you, glass flooring!!!).  Before I started wacky tacky, I had dreams of connecting to a broad audience (are you there world, it's me, Mr. Tiny).  Before I started wacky tacky, I believed I could find some measure of success lending an authentic perspective of my favorite things (not like a show on the Food Network or a book deal or anything - no delusions of grandeur here).

At this point, I think that my reach may have exceeded my grasp (too broad in my topics, too silly, not silly enough, too much over-sharing, too impersonal).  I think that I operated in a bit of vacuum.  I think I was too far behind the technological curve.  It think that in many ways, it seems a vain conceit to continue pursuing an investment of so much time and energy that yields comparatively puny returns.  With interest (readership/comments/etc.) in wacky tacky at an all-time low, I sometimes feel like I've failed before I've even hit my stride.  I think I over-think things.

So on a celebratory, if self-pitying note, my question on this the fourth anniversary of wacky tacky's birth is, "Is it just me?"  The inspirations is there, but the motivation is questionable?  Are other writers experiencing the same thing?  Is blogging a fading form of communication?  I try to keep things "light, bright, and polite" here but having celebrated four fun years of adventuring, creating, reading incredible blogs, and making friends from around the world, I'm wondering if it is time to redouble my efforts and blog more frequently and more furiously or is it time to take a rest?  I think there is a natural beginning and a natural end to everything and I wonder if wacky tacky has reached its conclusion.  If I sound whiny, please remember...

"It's My Party (And I'll Cry if I Want to)" - Leslie Gore

Since starting wacky tacky, I have traveled more than I ever had before (Appalachia, the American Southwest, Europe, and Japan).  Since starting wacky tacky, I have grown in my sincere appreciation for all that is weird and wonderful in the world (writing things down sort of sharpens the images in my mind and deepens my gratitude).  Since starting wacky tacky, I have refined who I am and found out what is important to me (this blog very much included).  Since starting wacky tacky, I have broadened my perspective on what wacky tacky means (not relegated to any certain era/style/region/culture).  Since starting wacky tacky, I have allowed more people from wildly diverse backgrounds into my life (the blessed consequence of a decided introvert finally opening up).  Since starting wacky tacky, I have a record of all the things for which I must remember to be grateful (I have always had a bad memory and am way too quick to forget).

All things considered, the problem of waning interest in wacky tacky is such a small one.  Nevertheless, wacky tacky has become such a part of who I am that I can't help but reevaluate and consider the future as I roll over into my fifth year of over-sharing on the internet.  As a huge THANK YOU to all of the brilliant, generous, and talented folks who have read wacky tacky and celebrated with us, I share with you a short video of me performing my favorite trick in the world - rolling over!

Or, more specifically, rolling down a hill!

THANK YOU, you wacky tacky turkey necks; to you I owe a huge debt of gratitude!  Your questions, comments, and suggestions are much appreciated!


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

26 comments:

  1. i think people's interest in blogs over all is waning. and people are so used to things like instagram where you just like something, no one comments anymore. i like to look through my old entries sometimes and i'll be blown away that i got 38 comments on some posts!
    I love wacky tacky! and I hope you'll continue as long as you are interested. just think, if not for this blog, we would never have met and i could never have insulted Mary by guessing her age! (haha almost two years later and i'm still cringing!) happy fourth blog birthday mr. tiny!

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    1. Thank you for your insight! I definitely want to keep wacky tacky going. I'm just going to try and change my perspective; I've been thinking about it as a job (a job I love, but still a job). I'm going to try and adventure more (I've been slacking) and just focus on the fun! Thanks again for being a friend and a wacky tacky supporter!

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  2. Oh puhleeze keep doing your blog - you have made a most coveted on my Blogodacious Blogroll. I especially like your posts when you alter garments (or add pom poms).

    I have been blogging for a number of years and the one weird aspect about the medium is that it feels like you are hollering down a tunnel and not getting back an answer, not even an echo.

    I love reading blogs - that is my morning routine with my coffee. I mourn the many, many blogs that have just simply died away and others that pull the plug for one reason or another.

    Happy Blogoversary - from one of your loyal readers.

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    1. Wow! Thank you so much! I am going to put my best foot forward and remember how much joy I get from writing wacky tacky (even if it feels sometimes like no one is listening). Thank you for your continued support!

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  3. Who was it who said "that it's YOU who put the U into unique?" (Well, I just did about you but you know what I mean ��) If there are other bloggers out there as wacky and tacky as you, I have yet to find them! If it's time to move on, we'll understand, but you will be missed indeed!

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  4. I hear ya, doll. Its hard to feel the love now a day. But I still love what you do and am happy you blog, otherwise, how would we ever have met? Well, actually it is possible we would have met given where we live, but come on! Stick it out with me!

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    1. Thanks, pal! I'm so glad we have met! the intention is to definitely keep going with a renewed focus on having fun and adventuring more. I hope to see you as part of those adventures soon!

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  5. Please keep up the excellent blogs Chris! I have noticed that my weekly news feed of blogs has definitely lessened (including mine however I'm using the lame excuse that I'm still getting settled into a new state and marriage. I do have some fun blogs planned for this coming Spring and Summer. There are several hidden gems here in Oregon to share!) and I'm not sure about this weakened state as well. Your blogs however by no means fall into this category. I look forward to reading your blogs and hope you will continue to provide such provocative and at times intimate takes on past and present wacky sub-culture. They are definitely a great way to archive the past which seems to be slipping further and further away. Keep up the good work friend and congratulations!

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    1. Thanks, pal! I cannot wait to see all of the fun things you find up in OR. I have a running list of places to see for every state and OR's is long! Thank you for your friendship and support!

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  6. It really takes four years to hit your stride -- I say keep going. And more sewing-for-Mary posts, please!

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    1. Thank you for your invaluable insight, Peter! I look to MPB for inspiration, style, and wit! I already have so many new pieces formulating in my brain; I hope this year will see more designing and more fashion pictorials! Thanks again!

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  7. Please, Please, Please keep blogging away. I have shared your blog with some others who appreciate wacky and they will miss you, too. I keep going on mine although my readership is almost nil and would be more nil if it wasn't on Peter's blog list where I found you. I like a blog way more than an instagram pic. I don't twitter either.

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    1. I truly appreciate you sharing the wacky tacky fun with your friends. Thank you for the motivation to keep on keeping on!

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  8. I hope you will continue your blog, I truly enjoy it. I understand feeling frustrated with it, because I feel that way myself. It's kind of a "what if you wrote a blog and nobody read it?" moment, except it happens more often than I care to admit. I am still writing mine because I still want to, but it IS more fun if you know people are reading, and enjoying it! I am reading and enjoying Wacky Tacky, and I hope you don't stop!

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    1. Thank you very much! It is a weird thing because I do love having a record of great moments in my life just for myself, but I really do write wacky tacky to create a discussion and encourage people to find the fun wherever they are. I think I just need to focus on the extraordinary people I have met through blogging and the joy of writing. Thanks for your support!!

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  9. Oh I do enjoy reading your blog and hope you don't throw in the towel. I will say that how I read blogs has changed I use an app for blogger ain't while it frees up some time for me it does take some of the comments and interaction out of blogging. My favorite parts of yor blog are your fabulous creations, I find them inspiring.

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    1. Thank you for your support! It helps me to understand that the medium and the way people participate us changing. I appreciate your comments!

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  10. Happy Blogiversary, Mr. Tiny! You are such an inspiration (you make me want to dust off my blog and go again), and I just adore you. Plus I feel like we've aaaaaaaaalmost busted down the blogosphere barrier and have become real-life friends. Don't stop, don't change -- you're wonderful, and I'm so grateful to you and impressed by FOUR YEARS! That's high school! xoxoxoxo Karen ("Sparkleneely," who is too lazy and befuddled to sign into her many google accounts)

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    1. Hahaha!!!! Thanks, pal! I feel like we are real life friends already; I can't wait for the day when the virtual borders are breached! Thank you for being such a good friend to wacky tacky. I hope this post didn't sound like a threat or pathetic cry for attention; sometimes I just question my contributions to the internet. It helps to have people like you remind me how luck I am. Thanks again!!!

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  11. Aren't anniversary posts the absolute hardest? It feels like you are giving a best man speech or delivering a eulogy...but it's for your blog. It's always awkward and I totally 100% can relate. I love your blog and wish their was more men that would be willing to be open and share on the internet. And I totally agree...I think blogging has similarly made me ok with my weird. The more I let the weird parts show the more I hear "ME TOO!" and then I don't feel so alone. Over the years, you have been one of those people saying ME TOO! I appreciate that. I'm thankful for having met you via the internet world, because you share with me things that I didn't know I needed in my life. I feel like I have shared that damn Bunny House post with a dozen people over the years.

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    1. Yes, and my blog-o-Versary comes so quickly after the new year when I'm already reexamining things and failing at all my resolutions! Thanks for the encouragement. I am so grateful that we're blogging buddies!!! Did you know that the bunny people have started a kick starter so they can buy a bigger house?!?!! I want some of that gall; somebody buy me a house!!!

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  12. Happy Blog-o-versary!! I hope you keep Wacky Tacky going. I love reading about the places you visit.

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    1. Thank you, Karen! I'm going to try my best; there are still so many places to go and dresses to sew!!!

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  13. Hey Mr. Tiny, please just keep on doing what you love doing and writing about it. Fact is, though I may have only commented on less than a handful of occasions, I really enjoy your blog regularly. I'm a fellow enthusiast of all things mid-20th Century, so I mostly read the blogs devoted to that glorious era. I came to your blog originally via a link on Kevin Kidney's site, but I soon added the link to my own blog so I could easily follow your Roadside America exploits.

    Unfortunately, all of we bloggers do seem to let our beloved blogs slide after a time. In my case, I haven't posted any new entries since acknowledging the birthday of the late, great Al Martino back in October. But I still do intend to get back to posting someday, despite the momentum having been lost. Ideally, I think that all of us who share the same basic ideals and tastes in pop culture need to form a collective and support each other in order to maintain interest in blogging. I suspect many of us (including myself, admittedly) have gotten lazy due to the phenomenon of Facebook, yet the fleetingness of social network posts really pales in comparison to a well thought out blog entry.

    So please keep on posting your fun articles on "Wacky Tacky", Tiny, ol' pal. Many of us out here take great comfort from them! Cheers! :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Pete! I really appreciate the kind words, your insight, and the pep talk! Let's both promise to keep on keeping on!

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