Everyone understands that when you start a blog, the benefits begin to accrue almost immediately. Caitlin and I experienced this when we re-launched caitandryan.com. Within weeks of our highly-targeted email announcement, the site quickly became the most trusted source for modestly interesting information about Caitlin and Ryan Page. People who knew the two of us but were even more intrigued with the arrival of our new son, Ryder were equally taken with the website. The carefully concocted mix of words and photographic cuteness were too powerful for a handful of people to resist. The effects on our life were immediate and profound. After launching the site, I was soon recognized numerous times on the street by the semi-regular blog readers. Some, perhaps many, of these people had been considered “friends” previous to the launching of the blog, but I discerned a genuine difference in their respective levels of kindness. I knew that having opened up to them, through the internet, that in turn I could expect an increased level of emotional availability in these “friendships.” People whispered intoxicating things to me, like “I generally enjoyed that post” and, “That was a little bit of decent.” We were on top.

But like so many successes that arrive overnight, unannounced or via PriorityMailâ„¢, our newfound celebrity came with its own set of problems. Vanity began to work its dark magic. The once-pure activity of posting random tidbits of information about my family and activities, wherever it was deemed to be reasonably non-embarassing, had become tedious. To compound the problem, blog readers had tasted the sweet nectar mixed from equal parts hilarity and utter nonsense; when the spigot ran dry for weeks at a time, they didn’t take kindly to it. Or that’s what we secretly imagined. Finally the levee broke – an email piled up in my inbox; it was a loyal reader reaching out – breaking the unspoken code of blogging: “I talk, you listen”. A heartfelt request such as this could not go unheeded. I had to take a hard look in the mirror. I realized then, that I didn’t like the blogger who was staring back at me. I’d grown complacent, resting upon the laurels of my considerable previous accomplishments. Although physically, I was still quite something to behold, inside I’d grown two kinds of soft like a deviled egg.

I had to turn it around. It seemed like the thing to break the cycle was ironically, another blog post. I had to confront the beast head on, and I had just the topic. A post about the ups and downs of blogging. I was about to turn this blogging insiders-club on its head, and let people see what really happens behind the keyboard. So here it is. Along with my pledge to you, gentle reader to come back:
Bigger
Better
Bloggier.*
We’re back and we’re going to blow the doors off this here thing.

Until we get really busy.

*Offer not valid in AK, HI and OH. Restrictions apply. Not a guarantee.