It's been about 3 months since I first opened my website.
I didn't have much to say about anything last month, but there's a few things I've thought about since the last post.
I am gradually getting better about numbers. I still occasionally look at them.
I debated posting an update when I hit 10K or 15K views on my site, but I was unsure of what really counts as a view.
I don't know for sure. So I don't think I'll make any posts about it right now. Maybe for bigger milestones. (like how YouTube does with play buttons)
Another thing is they feel really random. Sometimes when I don't post anything, I'll see a wave of activity. Sometimes when I do post something, the numbers are low. Some days I'll see a spike and not know why, because I can't think of anything that would cause that. I've read a few blog posts about it and I'm still skeptical about it.
Even if the numbers were accurate, I want to get out of that numbers obsessed mindset.
I am thankful to anyone lurking who might enjoy my writing or art. My way of showing gratitude is by giving you more things to check out. That's what being a fan is, right? I don't want to waste time by saying empty platitudes. (Although I probably do waste some time by not being more concise about some things...)
I'm not saying I'll never do it, but I only want to do it when it matters.
I ended up adding email to various pages. Thus far I haven't gotten any emails. lol
However I consider it more future proofing, if someone wants to they can but if not it's fine.
I'm still part of the 32-Bit Cafe commmunity. I have had some interesting discussions there. However I still get too emotional at times, so I've been distancing myself a bit from chatting. I would like to join events in the future, still sorting things out.
I also heard about the Lospec community. I'm mostly lurking for right now, but I'd like to make more low-spec related art in the future.
I have added a few people from the community. We've had some discussions. It's been nice.
I have had a handful of people comment on my page. I kind of didn't realize it was a feature at first. But I was happy to see people enjoyed my writing enough to comment.
I am getting used to editing pages. I have one part I automated so I wouldn't have to do it manually. I have been focused more on adding new posts than adding new pages currently.
I'm debating getting rid of my status area on the homepage.
I feel like I don't have enough to say to make it worth having. But I also made art just for that section already.
I'm not sure. Even if it's just listing what I'm currently into, maybe that is enough.
(Edit: I decided to remove it)
(5/7/24 Edit: I am trying a comment box on the homepage instead.)
I have been slowing down my pace a bit. I have added a lot less in February 2024 than I have in previous months. This is partly because I spent over a week sick. lol (though thankfully the worst was only a few days)
I'm slowly getting better at accepting that I don't need to work on something every day. I am trying to rest more. It's a work in progress. Some days my head is foggy and trying to push it doesn't work. So I try not to over do it on those days.
I know it sounds strange, but removing the obligation of sticking to one thing on a set schedule (and failing at it) has actually made me more motivated to work on things. I suddenly feel like my limiters are off, and I can do whatever I want to. I have various ideas I want to work on, but still struggling on what order to do them in.
I feel excited making gradual progress on my website. It feels like a growing body of work. That just adding something a bit at a time is satisfying, whether it gets views or not. It's similar to filling up a coin jar, and seeing it fill up bit by bit.
I know that technically you can build galleries on social sites, but you're limited in how you control it. It usually defaults to new-to-old order, so older things gets buried. You also can't really decorate it or arrange it that much, the way you can with HTML & CSS.
Another thing is the platform can change what is trending at any time, so if you started on a website for static images, and now they are pushing short videos, you either have to change what you are doing to what is trending or accept a big view drop. I often hear creators I follow mention issues like this, and I feel down about that. I hope more people can understand the enjoyment that comes from owning your own platform.
(PS: I know this is on neocities when writing this, and I don't control that. However I think it's a good place to try it out, and you can always move to a different host later if you change your mind.)
That's all for this time. If I think about anything else I'll do another blog post, but I'm not going to force it if there's nothing new to say.
If you'd like to reply to this I have a comment box and a contact email.
If you'd like to support what I do, I have a Ko-fi.