A couple of Fridays ago, I didn’t post anything. I post on Tuesdays and Fridays, but that Friday, I didn’t post.
I’d been busy and wasn’t feeling all that well, and well, I just didn’t post anything. I was temporarily a blogger who wasn’t blogging.
But it soon passed.
Did you even notice?
I don’t suppose you did. Still, it was an important day for me because I almost always do what I say I’m going to do. But no one seems to have suffered from my brief absence. I didn’t get any reports of people wallowing in the mud from boredom or reading Glenn Beck’s website because they just needed more words.
Still, I feel compelled to offer some advice about what to do if there’s a moment when I’m not here for you.
I suggest you read my two favorite blogs and my current “honorable mention” blog.
The Two Blogs I Read Consistently
Months and months ago, I stopped reading Leo Babauta and also all of the arrogant writers who don’t allow comments on their blogs. (I don’t know that Leo’s arrogant, so that accounts for the strange structure of the preceding sentence.)
Stale, lifeless advice that falls into the vacuum of hollow words too weak to withstand challenge doesn’t appeal to me.
Don’t get me wrong: I like arrogance. I’m arrogant, actually. But arrogance in a vacuum is in danger of exploding, imploding or at least really annoying someone quite strongly.
I read dynamic, entertaining and well-considered blog posts that say something interesting about minimalism, simplicity or living responsible lives.
You can bet I’ll be reading every post by Robert at Untitled Minimalism. You’ll remember him from his guest post about systems here last Friday.
He’s a lot like me, I think, but he’s a bit more analytical and often more thorough in his posts. He sometimes gets fewer comments on his posts than I do, although he seems to be gaining commenters while I seem to have stagnated a bit.
Read Robert’s blog if want to read something written by a real person who isn’t pretending to live with 21 items and a backpack and who isn’t pretending to be more advanced on life’s journey than he really is.
I’m also a committed reader of Ex-Consumer — although I’m never sure what letters to capitalize or whether there’s a dash, something that really bothers some proofreading center in my brain.
Jenny talks about money a lot. I don’t do that because I have less of it than she does, apparently. She’s paying off her debts, but I’m still creating them sometimes. (Everything’s up to date. Don’t worry.) She’s on top of things and fully in charge of her life, it seems, while I have more questions than answers. Don’t you think?
Jenny wrote for So Much More Life about her decision to give up her dishwasher — based on my suggestion here.
An Honorable Mention
I’d love to include Mike from Homeless on Wheels in my list, but he’s only recently started writing posts frequently enough to be called a blogger — and he’s getting better at blogging every day. His recent guest post here about single-purpose and multi-purpose devices may have introduced him to you, and I hope it did. His RV lifestyle appeals to me in a way that I don’t really understand.
Should I have included your blog in my list? Is your blog similar to mine — and worth reading? Or would you like to suggest a blog that you think is worth a look? Please say what you think. Feel free to promote yourself.
Although I don’t keep up with dates and I can’t tell you exactly how old this blog is, I’ve been doing this for a while now. As I write more about living a simple, deliberate life, I seem to read less. As my blog grows, I read fewer bloggers.
If you’re saying something good, however, I want to read what you have to say. And if I happen to go missing for a day or two, I want my readers to know you can trust some other voices. But what voices should we trust?
Gip Plaster is a web content writer. Previously a journalist, online bookseller and even a corporate advertising guy, Gip now specialize in writing high-quality content for websites — his and other people’s. Learn more here.
Can you say rambling?LOL
I’m sorry sometimes my dry sense of humor gets the best of me. I hope your regulars will soon learn that I am you sister and just have to interject sometimes. Better a dumb comment than none at all. Keep up the good work, someone must be enjoying it.
A few people seem to be enjoying it. All comments are accepted. In fact, I don’t moderate comments anymore, so the dumb ones get through without a hitch.
Gip
Hey Gip! I did notice you didn’t post last Friday. I was hoping you were off on a relaxing long weekend or something. 😉
Thank you so much for recommending my blog to your readers! As you probably know, So Much More Life is a must read for me. And I’m a big fan of Robert’s Untitled Minimalism.
I’ve popped over the Mike’s Homeless on Wheels and liked it a lot. I’ll have to check it out again!
I actually struggle with the proper format for Ex-Consumer as well. Ha, ha. The logo is written in all lower case, but when I’m writing it out — I write it just as you have it written above.
I’ll use Ex-Consumer as the proper style then. It seems right to me.
I’m glad you checked out Mike. He’s doing a good job and destined for great blogging things, I think.
Gip
Hi, Gip. I noticed you didn’t post Friday. I’m a faithful reader, don’t always comment but always find you worth reading.
You ask: “But what voices should we trust?”
None and all. What works for someone else may not for me and vice versa. I read blogs for inspiration and ideas. Reading about minimalism hasn’t given me the least desire to count my belongings or give up my car (impossible for an number of reasons – you see how defensive these people can make me?) but it does reinforce my vision of a clean uncluttered life. Right now I’m avidly following a blog by a young woman who is nomad-ing around the world with her husband and baby (http://almostfearless.com/) and vicariously enjoying her adventures (with no desire at all to duplicate them)
The blogosphere is a great chaotic infinity of information and opinion. I don’t look for advice and answers, just ideas and stimulation. Keep them coming. And I’ll keep reading.
You’re right about not trusting any advice without examining it and about advice vs. inspiration.
Thanks for pointing out Almost Fearless. I took a look, and I hope others do too. Readers interested in living a nomadic life and those with families to consider in their decisions should be particularly intrigued. It a well-written blog.
Gip
Hands up I didn’t notice a missing post, but I barely know what day it is anyway, and have been known to forget my daughter from school. What a great phone call that was “Hello is that Mrs Wright… we have your daughter here…” anyhow I digress…
I read Leo’s post today, and was so impressed I tweeted, which is rare for me. Everyone and his dog (there’s some clever canines out there) reads Zen habits, so a retweet from me adds no value whatsoever, and therefore is an unnecessary action – I’m sure Leo would approve of eliminating the unnecessary. I do get where you are coming from ref blogs without comments, but for me ZH is still worth a read if only as a reminder to me where it all began and what motivated me initially.
Good Job giving Robert and Jenny a shout out – they deserve it. Working hard those guys… Here’s to a growing audience for two superb blogs.
Homeless on Wheels eh? Better check it out, as anyone who reads my blog will know the RV (Camper van in UK) is my retirement plan. Sell up and move on out. Reckon I may find Mike’s adventures quite appealing!
ps – gave you a tweet whilst in the mood. I’m a bit skinny with them! Totally forget about Twitter etc…
I hope Mike talks more about the details of his lifestyle in future posts. That would be great.
When I was kid, RVs were called “campers” here in Texas. Of course, my mother calls the trunk (or boot) or a car the turtleback, so we may not have always used the simplest word available.
I almost gave you an honorable mention, Jo, but since you’re only just back to blogging, I thought I’d save that for another time. Everyone knows I read your blog, don’t they?
Gip
I’ve never heard a car trunk called a turtleback, Gip. Must be a Texas thing.
Is there any particular aspect of my RV lifestyle you’re interested in? I’m always on the lookout for ideas for posts. Hmmm… maybe I should do a what-would-you-like-me-to-write-about post one of these days.
Mike, that worked really well for me. I did my “I’m giving away $10” contest, and my readers identified a few core things they’d like me to talk more about. Since then my traffic has been climbing a bit, so I think it worked. 🙂
Actually, Mike, I don’t remember reading exactly how your housing situation works. I get the idea that you don’t often move your RV, but then that makes me curious why you chose this over an apartment… Is it the cost only? Or are there things about the lifestyle that appeal to you? Is there a community of close friends around who also do the same thing? Where do your utilities and Internet come from? etc…
Also, what are the biggest challenges?
Just some ideas. My level of curiosity on this subject runs deep, and I’d love to hear more about it.
Great idea, Gip. I could even make a series out of it – RV Living Basics or such. Thanks!
In the meantime, if you look at my March and April 2007 archives you can read some of my early musings about RV living.
I’m from Wisconsin, and to me a “camper” is something you pull behind another vehicle (like a pickup truck), and an RV is a separate vehicle with its own engine, etc.
That may be a completely arbitrary way of looking at it, but it works for me. 🙂
I don’t remember the word RV at all when I was growing up. You had Winnebegos (the brand name was used for all self-contained RVs) and then you pulled a camper trailer.
I should have been a linguist. All of this stuff fascinates me.
Gip
Robert and Jenny are on my regular rounds, as are you, Gip. I don’t know that I always notice if a blogger, even one I read regularly, misses a post, and even when I do, I don’t think too much of it. I don’t follow a strict schedule myself (maybe I should?) so that might be part of it. If I don’t see a new post in over a week I usually notice, and if it goes for two weeks then I wonder what’s up.
Thanks for the mention, too; I’m glad you enjoy reading my blog.
This may be part of the whole simplifying thing, but I don’t keep track of whether other people miss a posting date.
I *do* get a weird “what’s going on” feeling if I don’t hear from somebody for quite awhile though, and that prompts me to go check when their last post was.
Usually that feeling takes longer than a week to set in, though. 🙂
Glad you’re back at it! I’d hate to see this blog disappear.
I do get that “Hey, where’d they go?” feeling now and then and go check on someone.
I’m not going anywhere. What else do I have to do? Except, of course, make some money and enjoy my life.
Gip
I couldn’t agree more. Zenhabits has to be the most smug, self-satisfied load of bilge I’ve ever had the misfortune to keep coming across. Five different life tips I’ve already been given a million times. but this time in a different order.
Lifehacker was once great. The stuff I see on there now makes me cringe – awful little ideas that … just why ???
They’re running out of ideas. There is a limit to how many times they can regurgitate the same old santimonious drivel – yeah, I’m looking at you Zenhabits. What annoys me is that it’s not even in any of my feeds. And STILL it keeps on coming.
Bev, I know what you mean. On my blog I tend to cover similar topics, but I like to think I at least have a different perspective on them – and I leave discussion open (comments on!). I think the discussion is what keeps changing, which is why comments are invaluable.
Good to see comments on an older post. I never turn comments off on any of my posts. That means you can keep talking about the topics I post for years, if you like. It makes them more relevant, more engaging and more useful, I think!
Gip