For almost four years, Beth and I have been blogging, and as of late we've wondered about the relevance.
Back in 2006 we were inspired to begin this blog for a number of reasons after attending an amazing scrapbooking event in Birmingham, AL. One of the key things we took away from that weekend were these wise words from one of the teachers, "I have a story, and it needs to be told." As we drove back to Indiana, we brainstormed the beginnings of what you are seeing today - our blog, It's All About the Details.
Before that weekend, we'd read blogs of some of the most influential scrapbookers of the day like Cathy Zielske, Donna Downey, and Tara Whitney (among others). A few of our friends had blogs, too, but we were hesitant to start our own, mostly due to the time intensiveness of it, but after that event in May of '06, we felt like we were ready to enter the blogosphere. We figured it shouldn't be too hard for us considering there would be two of us doing the writing.
Our goals as we began were to tell our story (write), witness about our faith, share our pictures, and network within the scrapbooking industry.
It was fun to come up with unique and sometimes silly posts, and once you start a blog, you start to see your entire life as a potential blogpost. As English teachers, this blog became a great outlet for us to write. It's not like we really got the chance ourselves to write; we were just teaching it.
What a joy it was to meet new people and hear their stories, too, through this technological tool! We felt like we made friends with those who were kind enough to stop by and leave a comment. We chatted about American Idol, family, travel, sports, and of course, scrapbooking. We were blown away with the outpouring of good wishes when we made the leap to move to Utah and follow our dream. It was like a celebration with friends all over the globe right here on this blog!
And then, as we moved far away from family and began this western adventure, again the blog served as a way to keep us connected.
But now, four years after the inception of this blog, we must admit we've been less dedicated to it. The blog landscape has exploded since 2006, and it seems that blogging has morphed for many bloggers. Many crafters especially have moved away from telling the story and instead use their blog as a showcase of their work for inspiration (which is not a bad thing). Super blogs draw readers in with daily posts and prizes. Manufacturers began to blog, and keeping up became overwhelming. It seemed like everyone had a blog and trying to read and respond to everyone was an impossibility.
Both of us write for our jobs, so the writing was less of a draw, and we found ourselves dreading our turn at the blog. And you know what? That's no good.
And to be perfectly honest, once we joined Facebook things changed significantly. Posting pictures and networking with people in the industry was so fast and easy! Sharing our faith was as simple as a sentence or two. And reconnecting with old friends from every aspect of our lives has been outstanding. By the time we would blog about something, it felt like old news.
So we've come to the conclusion that it's time to say good-bye to our little blog. It's our plan to figure out how to save all of our posts and comments so that we can keep the stories we've told along the way. If you're on Facebook and want to keep up with us, you can find us at facebook.com/beth.opel and facebook.com/susan.opel. If you aren't on Facebook, please consider joining. It really is a wonderful way to keep in contact with people, and you can participate as much or as little as you like!
Thanks, dear readers! We've so enjoyed sharing our lives with you these last four years.
Susan (& Beth)
PS. One of my favorite blogs that I ever wrote was this one about my Meijer Quest. Do you have a favorite that you remember?