Death of G+, A year in the life: Why come back to this?
I took a year (11 months) off from blogging. Anything I posted in 2018 were just unfinished articles I found floating around on my hard drive.
Great. I think I needed the break. I was getting pretty disillusioned with the whole online R.P.G. scene. Google had, and has changed their algorithms so that even the more successful blogs were having some trouble drawing traffic like they had in the past. My actual human viewer count went from small to nonexistent overnight. Which was a bit of a gut punch. Secondly our live gaming group just had a straight up busy year, so there was less gaming going on at the table. I'm one of those people who is far more creative when I can share or use what I'm working on. Otherwise I loose interest.
So, How do I find my self typing on the old blog?
Google announced that they are finally killing G+. Apparently by August 2019 the service will be, as they say"sunseted." Sunseted being a made up nice way of saying "slowly killed." I guess announcing that G+ will be asphyxiated by August 2019 wouldn't be as politically correct.
What the G+ situation has to do with this blog, (haphazardly enough also hosted for free on a google service.)
My relationship with G+ has gotten complicated.
The recent arguments on the OSR pages are a great example of why I started giving less than a shit about what goes on there. For what it's worth I have never called my self an "OSR" blogger, and no one has ever told me I was doing the things that would make me one. I am happy to sit on the side lines, eat popcorn and watch the folks on both sides of their many arguments tear their tiny kingdom apart before G+ goes dark. I like playing old RPG's, not arguing over who owns / controls the social landscape around them. That's all I'll write on that subject.
Still even as I distanced myself from social media via un-following many pages and people (including twitter peeps I brutally un-followed.) during 2018 G+ was still my main outlet to read about other people's and announce my own game projects. Without it I'm not sure how I will connect to other bloggers, or get the word about anything I'm working on.
Right now I'm listening to a live chat on discord, (Tenkar's Tavern Sunday RPG Breakfast Club, Nov 25th 2018) and the hosts are talking about getting the word out about things they are selling / working on. I have know for a long time that I'm never going to have any real reach or any actual "success" as it is normally measured. I'm not going to make money at writing games or anything like that. I don't have it in me to go to tons of cons or run around to stores selling my wares. It's just not me. I'm intrinsically a lazy ass homebody. Professional level products, profit, and exposure is forever beyond my reach. That's not how I measure success for myself.
My only measure of success it the ability to share ideas with friends and have some fun talking about them. A two hour conversation with Jens about die mechanics is more rewarding to me than making a few bucks.
My only thought is to start up the blog again, and network with as many bloggers as I can. In that vein I plan on working on my projects here as I always have, and also trying to link up with as many other bloggers as I can. Understand because this is me, I'm not on hundred percent sure how this is going to happen or how well it will work out.
Perhaps.... Just possibly ... the death of G+ will bring us back to the original promise of RPG blogging. Bloggers might be able to concentrate on our content rather than the latest arguments. Exchange ideas based on what other bloggers can be seen writing. I'm not sure. I just know the weight of G+'s various accretions being lifted might be as much of a blessing as a curse. At the very least it has reinvigorated me. Turning a negative into a positive as they say.
So I have a pretty extensive slush file of things I have been (and honestly haven't been) working on:
As the reader can see. I have things to talk about. I have stuff I'm working on.. I might as well talk about it. I might as well work on it. (what ever "it" is this week)
I have had some changes in my work life. Which means among other things I have to maintain hobbies in my outside life which are completely distracting and completely non-work related. That sounds like a no brainer to most people but for me I'm a bit obsessive. I'll think about work all fucking night and day if I don't distract myself. Right now having an active hobby life is going to be a positive mental health factor as much as a creative outlet.
That's it for today.
Take away these links as a happy Thanks-Giving-Christmas-blogging gift.
Disoriented Ranger's Blogg Jens writes longer and better than I do on every RPG related subject....
My link on Mewe My new social media. I'm not overly impressed with it so far, but hey whatever. I like the chat function.
Phase Abandon on Drive through RPG. It's free .. I want to add to it.... Argh.
Inoreader is how I've been following blogs. My opinion about it is still up in the air, but I like it so far.
Ty for reading.
-Mark.
Great. I think I needed the break. I was getting pretty disillusioned with the whole online R.P.G. scene. Google had, and has changed their algorithms so that even the more successful blogs were having some trouble drawing traffic like they had in the past. My actual human viewer count went from small to nonexistent overnight. Which was a bit of a gut punch. Secondly our live gaming group just had a straight up busy year, so there was less gaming going on at the table. I'm one of those people who is far more creative when I can share or use what I'm working on. Otherwise I loose interest.
So, How do I find my self typing on the old blog?
Google announced that they are finally killing G+. Apparently by August 2019 the service will be, as they say"sunseted." Sunseted being a made up nice way of saying "slowly killed." I guess announcing that G+ will be asphyxiated by August 2019 wouldn't be as politically correct.
What the G+ situation has to do with this blog, (haphazardly enough also hosted for free on a google service.)
My relationship with G+ has gotten complicated.
The recent arguments on the OSR pages are a great example of why I started giving less than a shit about what goes on there. For what it's worth I have never called my self an "OSR" blogger, and no one has ever told me I was doing the things that would make me one. I am happy to sit on the side lines, eat popcorn and watch the folks on both sides of their many arguments tear their tiny kingdom apart before G+ goes dark. I like playing old RPG's, not arguing over who owns / controls the social landscape around them. That's all I'll write on that subject.
Still even as I distanced myself from social media via un-following many pages and people (including twitter peeps I brutally un-followed.) during 2018 G+ was still my main outlet to read about other people's and announce my own game projects. Without it I'm not sure how I will connect to other bloggers, or get the word about anything I'm working on.
Right now I'm listening to a live chat on discord, (Tenkar's Tavern Sunday RPG Breakfast Club, Nov 25th 2018) and the hosts are talking about getting the word out about things they are selling / working on. I have know for a long time that I'm never going to have any real reach or any actual "success" as it is normally measured. I'm not going to make money at writing games or anything like that. I don't have it in me to go to tons of cons or run around to stores selling my wares. It's just not me. I'm intrinsically a lazy ass homebody. Professional level products, profit, and exposure is forever beyond my reach. That's not how I measure success for myself.
My only measure of success it the ability to share ideas with friends and have some fun talking about them. A two hour conversation with Jens about die mechanics is more rewarding to me than making a few bucks.
My only thought is to start up the blog again, and network with as many bloggers as I can. In that vein I plan on working on my projects here as I always have, and also trying to link up with as many other bloggers as I can. Understand because this is me, I'm not on hundred percent sure how this is going to happen or how well it will work out.
Perhaps.... Just possibly ... the death of G+ will bring us back to the original promise of RPG blogging. Bloggers might be able to concentrate on our content rather than the latest arguments. Exchange ideas based on what other bloggers can be seen writing. I'm not sure. I just know the weight of G+'s various accretions being lifted might be as much of a blessing as a curse. At the very least it has reinvigorated me. Turning a negative into a positive as they say.
So I have a pretty extensive slush file of things I have been (and honestly haven't been) working on:
I mean there's more in those sub-folders...I need help... send help!
I have had some changes in my work life. Which means among other things I have to maintain hobbies in my outside life which are completely distracting and completely non-work related. That sounds like a no brainer to most people but for me I'm a bit obsessive. I'll think about work all fucking night and day if I don't distract myself. Right now having an active hobby life is going to be a positive mental health factor as much as a creative outlet.
That's it for today.
Take away these links as a happy Thanks-Giving-Christmas-blogging gift.
Disoriented Ranger's Blogg Jens writes longer and better than I do on every RPG related subject....
My link on Mewe My new social media. I'm not overly impressed with it so far, but hey whatever. I like the chat function.
Phase Abandon on Drive through RPG. It's free .. I want to add to it.... Argh.
Inoreader is how I've been following blogs. My opinion about it is still up in the air, but I like it so far.
Ty for reading.
-Mark.
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