Confessions of a Modern-Day Blogger: Defying Irrelevance

Who knew that blogs were still a thing? Show of hands ... anyone? Surely - they're no longer relevant... Also, I can't see your hands, silly.

Greetings, fellow nerds! I find myself pondering (as I'm sure you are) the curious decision to embark on a journey often deemed as "old-fashioned" — yes, I'm starting a blog.

In a world where tweets fly at the speed of light and TikToks capture the attention of millions in milliseconds, the humble blog may seem like a relic from a bygone era, a digital dinosaur clinging to relevance. Yet, here I am, defiantly embracing this virtual parchment to share my nerdy musings with you all.

But why, you may ask, would a writer, podcaster, content creator and tabletop gamemaster like myself choose to venture like this? 

Allow me to present my case in defense of this antiquated blog.

Depth of Forgotten Details: 

While a podcast episode or a YouTube video may offer a snapshot of an idea or topic, often I find there are details dropped for the sake of "audience retention" and pacing. In some instances, details are missed due to the nature of dynamic conversation in a podcast. The worst offender and likely culprit to lost details is my swiss-cheese memory. Those who've known me long remember many a message scrawled on the back of my hand in sharpie as a coping mechanism. Those who know me best have learned to forgive me when I forget their birthday, their baby's name, their dietary restrictions, and so on. My family is accustomed to the daily Google calendar reminders, task lists, and color-coded post-it notes throughout the house. 

In all its oldfangled glory, a blog allows me to dive deep into the intricacies of the posts or videos I've made, to capture the finer points I missed, and offer you a "behind-the-scenes" look at all I do.

Community Building vs. The Dastardly Algorithm: 

Social media can be great for community. I've met some wonderful authors, writers, and content-creators in that space. The problem is that every post, every comment, every video and tag - it all serves the dastardly algorithm. My long form videos don't work well on TikTok. My short form videos wouldn't do well on Youtube. And Twitter? Or X as we must now call it - well ... containing my thoughts to a hundred characters is the highest form of editing-hell.

When you want a taco, where do you go? A Mexican restaurant.

Can you get a taco at Denny's? Sure, but which taco will you enjoy more? 

While I do post a lot of the same/similar material across all platforms, the goal this year is to diversify my content across all platforms and serve my audience the content they want on the platform they want it. I want to give you tacos at my Mexican restaurant. My hope is that you enjoy it, and tell everyone else to get their tacos from me. When you want pasta, you can get that serving from me elsewhere. And when you want burgers, I'll have a place for that too. 

Ideally, you'll love my restaurants enough to stay a little while, take in the atmosphere with your friends and hang out with me. And with me - it's happy hour every hour!

Archival Treasure: 

This ... hmmmm .... this might sound like tooting my own horn. I'm a little hesitant to say it and yet, what's the point of this blog if I don't?!

I've lived a lot of life for my age. I've had extreme experiences. Whether good, bad, sad or hilarious - they are all worth remembering. Speaking of .... remember when I said I had a horrible memory? You didn't forget, did you? 

What better place to document these memories before they're gone for all time? I'm not a bashful person. If you stick around, you'll be exposed to pieces of my life that may:

• Shock you - like the memory of my bed shaking in the Philippines, only to find out my estranged grandparents were getting it on right next to me.
• Inspire you - like the retelling of an anonymous Christmas tree delivery when I was a young mother, single and destitute.
• Delight you - like the story of how my husband was my best friend's boyfriend, how she is now my wife, how my wife had my daughter, and how my husband is A-OK with all of this! (I'm going to label these the Jerry Springer Chronicles)

I'd always planned to write these memories into a book, a la Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs or Justin Halpern's Sh*t My Dad Says. Working three jobs doesn't afford a lot of time for writing, and yet, somehow I can make time for this BECAUSE I'm making it part of my job (it's a little Jedi mind trick I'm playing on myself - shhhh).

Unlike the ephemeral nature of social media, this blog will stand as a lasting archive of these adventures, a treasure trove for the future. And you, dear reader, will get first access - free of charge!

So, dear readers, as I embark on this whimsical blogging escapade, I invite you to join me in celebrating the art of storytelling, the joy of sharing knowledge, and the thrill of embracing the nerd within.

Let's defy irrelevance together!

Until next time, nerds!