Wild mix and a suprise bag
Most of the time I write about "Something with Photo": Either about photos I took; learning stations that I passed intentionally or unintentionally; and thoughts about an image being captured.
A little piece of the blog is always left for my other hobbies and interests. At the moment it's all about needlework, especially darning and repairing clothes. And every now and then there are a few thoughts from life sprinkled in.
maipenquynh is not intended to be a photo blog - even if it is the biggest topic. As mentioned above, there's a lot more to it. But if it's not a photo blog, what else is it? How would I describe my blog?
All of a sudden, I felt the urge to label my blog. But doing so was difficult because a short and crisp description of my blog was not possible. In the course of this thought, I couldn't let go of another question: Is the overlap of my topics too small? Or to put it in other words: Are the topics too far apart and is there a lack of connection between the topics? Does my blog feel like a wild mix to others?
As I looked to the left and right of me in the blogosphere, I found many blogs to have a "wild mix" - just as life is, I suppose. Different topics are touched on, exactly those topics that bother the blogger. That doesn't bother me as a reader. The wild mix of others is interesting because it allows me to think outside the box from time to time. Of course, not everything on multi-topic blogs always catches my attention and I do skip posts sometimes. But having a possible point of contact is actually awesome. The most important intersection of topics is the person behind the blog: the blogger. On maipenquynh, that is me.
I got confused by the idea of having one focus and not doing too much at the same time. Talking again about being a diver versus being a scanner and how much the thought of having many interests at the same time but having limited capacities has bothered me.
Eventually, I am at the spot where I started: it stays as it is. A large portion of "Something with Photo", sometimes a few thoughts "thought out loud" and then there's the surprise bag. It contains everything else I do and want to show on my blog. The category used to be called "Scanner Focus" but that's too cryptic. The term "Wundertüte" (surprise bag) describes it better: it can be just about anything (except anything to do with photo).
With this I say goodbye to the previous name "Scanner Focus" - it was a good start to make up with "Being a Scanner".
While this text is still in draft status, I happen to come across posts by other bloggers who have already discussed this question. Such a relief. Also their conclusion that it's just right having a multi-topic blog, is a relief. Here are the links to the posts (german):
- bullion from the blog moviescape: Was ich bei der Analyse der Aufrufzahlen meines Blogs gelernt habe (oder auch nicht) (on his About me page, bullion writes it explicitly as well)
- Aurelia from the blog wenig reicht auch: Neun Jahre wenig reicht auch
How do you feel as a blogger - have you ever had the feeling that your choice of topics is too broad and could seem "random" to the audience? Or even the other way round and you wished to expand your range of topics? Or has this question never bothered you and you it was clear to you that you would cover exactly your topics (be it a mono-topic blog or a multi-topic blog)? If you've already written about it, leave me a link to your text!
Picture was first posted here: Inside and outside, buildings | Sunny 16 #2 (Set 1/6)
