Can you believe WUL celebrated its fourth birthday earlier this year? I didn’t make a big deal about it as I’ve done in years past, because… well, I don’t know why.
But I should have, because in a world where blogs come and go (as so much else does), I’m proud that WUL is still around. Four years may as well be four decades in our world of instant gratification!
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Those of you who’ve been with WUL from the beginning have seen how it’s changed. The only thing that is more or less the same is the theme I started with (and I love it too much to let it go… for now…) and which, incidentally, influenced the look and feel of my business site once that was set up. There’s just something about the little bird that I love, and that I don’t want to let go of.
But it’s changed in so many other ways. We changed the tag line (bet you don’t even remember what the old one was), we welcomed guest bloggers, many of whom have become fixtures here. And though some have moved on, I’m grateful to each and every one of them for their contributions, because WUL is what it is because of all of us collectively.
We went through dry spells, and extremely fertile spells (a post a day for a while… I honestly don’t know how I did that, hats off to bloggers who can make that happen). Some of us shared very personal experiences (cough, me, cough… Gini, did I get that right?) and you responded with warmth, and sincerity, and support. We’ve had active discussions, some fairly heated, some more playful, and we’ve done it all together.
What do you think?
We know when you like posts, by your sharing and commenting… but there are a few things I’ve always wondered about, Analytics be damned. And, four and a half years down the road, I think it’s high time I asked you directly.
I want to know what you like/don’t like about WUL, what you’d change if you could, which posts compel you and which make you reach for the “delete” button… and yes, I want you to be honest… preferably civil as well, but definitely honest!
Because, as you know, WUL is a labor of love for all of us. Just like all labors of love, it takes a lot of time, and especially since I’m trying to build my business back up at the same time, I need to make sure we’re not just publishing here for the sake of it.
And that is why we need your feedback.
I didn’t want to do anything as formal as a survey, but I would really appreciate it if you would leave your responses in the comments section, so that we can make sure WUL continues to be a forum that challenges you intellectually, stimulates you emotionally, and makes you comfortable enough to kick off your shoes and stay a while.
Here are my questions:
1. Off the top of your head, can you name some of your favorite WUL posts (even one)? What made them (it) so? Are there some writers you prefer over others?
2. Do you care how often we publish posts on WUL and, if so, do you have a preference? When do you actually read the posts? Have you ever thought we publish too often?
That’s it. I mean, I could ask more questions, but I figured short and sweet is better.
But if you have other comments about WUL, please do let me know below. See that rocking chair above? That’s for you to sit in as you tell us what you think.
Don’t worry, we’re not planning anything drastic. We just really want to know what you like about the blog, and how it provides value to you. So thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts – we really appreciate it!
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Happy belated birthday Shonali and WUL! I haven’t been here in a while but I recently added you back into Feedly (which I’ve been using for years as my feed reader) and wanted to stop by to say hi. I’ll be back and glad to know you’re still posting too!
Ari Herzog Thank you Ari! I really appreciate you stopping by and need to do the same over at your place. I won’t make excuses but look forward to connecting more in the future as we did in the past. I hope you’re well – have a terrific weekend!
I’m really proud of you, Shonali. As you know blogging this long takes fortitude, and it is a very personal trial. I can’t believe I’ve been doing it for 7+ years now. But if we didn’t write here, would we not write or create elsewhere? I think that’s the truth about bloggers. They are just modern writers. God bless you, and keep rocking the free world.
geoffliving That’s awesome! My blog celebrated its 6th birthday this month. Keep writing. Forget those who say blogging dies.
geoffliving Thank you, my friend! I could have sworn you’ve been blogging WAY longer than 7 years. It feels like you’ve been doing it forever, and I mean that in a good way. :)
I think you’re right about creating elsewhere… it’s something I’ve been thinking about too. In fact, I think that’s part of why I’ve kept with the blogging – because it is something I “make.” Back in the day I wrote and directed plays, and made fantasies come to life. This is the same thing, in a bit of a different way. :)
Funny while being barren lately for blog posts been really trying to get here everyday and of course I MISSED YESTERDAY! LOL I need to find the ginidietrich follow friday highlighting your ublic Radio skills since that is the anniversary I met you. Since then you went on to be a successful professional and ginidietrich has been partying with Diddy and Lindsay and basically becoming a globe trotting TMZ case study. How did that happen? I need to write a blog post about that! 8)
Gosh there have been a lot of great posts here from you and the team. Time to make more 8)
Howie Goldfarb But you didn’t answer the two questions! ginidietrich
Four years! That speaks volumes Shonali, for sticking with it! Congrats!
Frank_Strong Thanks, Frank! You’ve been blogging for a while too, haven’t you? How many years has it been for you?
Shonali A little while. What I currently write on is a little more than four years, but I got started with a web page that more or less functioned like a blog. Wrote little updates from abroad when I could get connectivity. Oh, the Dreamweaver days.
Frank_Strong Wow, you worked in Dreamweaver? I tried to get my head around that a long time ago, but I couldn’t… I think I was still too intimidated by the technology. Now it might be different… but for me, that probably wouldn’t be a good use of my time.
I love the way you have brought your blog back!
So I’m a relative newcomer to the blog, but I love what I’ve read so far! I think the recent Mother Theresa story struck me the most, as it was personal, relevant, and unique content. It really stood out in my in box (I’m a read-by-email person).
I don’t care about frequency, I care much more about quality.
And I’d pretty much read whatever/whenever you care to write :)
rosemaryoneill Thank you, Rosemary! I had no idea you were a read by email person. The things one finds out when one asks.
Btw – if you like that form of reading, then you should check out tootzypopblog – I absolutely LOVE it. It’s a very different kind of newsletter, and one that always makes me think. Marcia (the founder) wrote a terrific blog post on https://shonaliburke.com/2012/06/13/blogging-upstream/ for WUL a while back too, I was psyched that she found the time to do that.
I really enjoy your blog too (I’m not just saying that) and like you with WUL, I’m pretty new to it as well. I know I haven’t been commenting a ton recently but it is my goal to do more of that.
Shonali rosemaryoneill tootzypopblog OK had to come back here and say thanks for pointing me toward @tootzypopblog! Coolest. Site. Ever.
rosemaryoneill Isn’t it though? You’re welcome! Also, THANK YOU for coming back to record your impression. A lot of people wouldn’t do that. You’re awesome.
WUL is on my blog reader, and that is usually how I access it (1-2x/week). Depending on the topic, I share posts on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. My favorite posts have been some of the personal ones, like the “No More Apologies.” However, I appreciate the ones on communications/pr. There is usually some nugget out of each post. Thanks for being dependable and having great content.
ayatlin I love that we’re in your reader! Thank you so much for that. And I am so grateful for the feedback.
The personal ones sometimes are tough to write, yet recently, I’ve noticed that’s more of the kind of story I want to tell. Everyone and their brother is writing about PR (not always well, but they’re doing it)… I mean, there are definitely stories on the PR & communication side I want to tell too, but I don’t want them to be banal posts. I’ve been noticing a clear evolution in geoffliving posts – though he is VERY prolific, way more than I – and that gave me the courage to ask this too!
Two questions? I can do that, just have to do it quickly and then get back to work. Most memorable post: the Susan Komen one. Why? Let’s see, it was relevant, objective, taught me something, and made me a more savvy social media consumer. How often? Here’s my problem — like most of us I am SLAMMED for time. I could literally sit and read other peoples’ posts all day long, and comment on them, and share them ……. I always love your post and if you explicitly ask me to comment (like you did today) I will go out of my way to do it for you. But lack of comment doesn’t mean I didn’t read (I’m sure that’s true in most blogging scenarios) and lack of reading your posts doesn’t mean I don’t care — it just means I didn’t get to it. Which I guess is a long obtuse way of saying weekly rather than daily is more likely to get read and to be easier on you. Thanks for your candor, Shonali. You always make me think (and frequently make me laugh :-)).
biggreenpen First of all, THANK YOU for coming over so promptly to respond, and then you wrote such a thoughtful comment – thank you again!
I know exactly what you mean, Paula, about being slammed. That’s one of the things I’ve been thinking about. If I get to scan – note I said “scan” and not “read” even 50% of the content I should, it’s a good day. Some days I don’t get to do it at all, because am I going to focus on the client work at hand, or dealing with health issues, or read/comment? And if that’s true for me, surely it is true for many others.
So we’ll be trying a reduced schedule and we’ll see how that goes. And I do want to write more posts like the Komen one. I think that was one of my favorites too. It took me about four hours to write, I think..!