Blogging - Ten Years And Counting

Jonathan Freitag's last post mentioned that he had been Blogging for 8 years, which got me to a wondering how long I had been on the Blogosphere. So a trawl through the old Commander Series forum showed that my first post was on the 18th January 2010, with the subject an AAR of a BKCII game. I know a friend had started Blogging late on the previous year using, I presume a now defunct, platform based in Germany that was free (you had to pay for some in the UK back then!), but with limited storage. If you wanted more you had to pay for it, so posts had to be deleted, or less pictures used. Now not being the smartest computer person in the World by a long shot, I dipped my toes in the water and with a bit of help, merrily started Blogging away. I vaguely remember there being issues with this platform, but what they were are lost in the mists of time, but on 26th May 2011 I switched over to Goggle's Blogger platform and the rest is, as they say, history. 

 

To date I have 97 followers and have made 274 posts, excluding this one. Briefly looking back over the post list is quite revealing, with a typical wargames butterfly approach to projects, most of which have stalled early on due to a whole variety of reasons, most relating to work getting in the way from what I can remember. Rules have come and gone, periods played to death and then sidelined, such as Dux Bellorum whilst others like BKCII have remained a constant.

 

A year or so ago I did mention in my end of year review whether it was worth continuing Blogging, given the time and effort involved and the often limited feedback received. The overwhelming response was to carry one, which was rather heartwarming! I'm glad I did but I do wonder if Blogging will still be around in another 10 years time? The trend to move over to platforms such a Facebook seems to continue unabated, but personally I like a good Blog post to read rather than glance at a Facebook or Instagram message. Afterall you can't do a good AAR on Facebook, although I've seen that people have tried.

 

Like many others I have enjoyed being able to keep in touch with other gamers across the World during the trying times we are currently living through, when face-to-face contact has not been possible for our family. Getting that virtual gaming hit has been more important than ever and looks like it will continue be that way for the foreseeable future. Blogging has also enabled me to 'meet' other gamers I am highly unlikely to ever meet in person, as well as discover new periods, rules, scenarios, figures, etc and at this time has become the next best thing to a wargames show. I know I've not been too keen on them in the past but you only really miss something when it's not there!

 

To end with I'd just like to say a big 'Thankyou' to all the Bloggers I follow for the time and effort that you've all put into your Blogs and which I've enjoyed reading no end. Also another big  'Thankyou'  for those that take the time to read my efforts and to make comments, all og which are greatly appreciated! So until next time...