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Have You Ever Considered Unplugging Your Blog?

Six years ago, on this day, I started two blogs, Amlokiblogs, and Daily (w)rite.

I wanted to see which of the two, WordPress or Blogger, would do better and then axe one of them.

Each year I’ve seriously considered dropping one or the other, but when it came to pulling the plug, I couldn’t.

In these six years I’ve seen five deaths in my combined family, many ups and downs in health, spent a stint on the wheelchair. So even in the most impersonal of posts, I have memories.

Sometimes words don’t just serve the purpose of communication– they also become tags your brain recognizes and then the day on which you wrote those words gets recalled, fully formed, in much of its detail.

While a lot of the memories the posts bring are pleasant, others are not, but as a writer, I need them all. The sort of subtle journaling that goes on with my posts, I think that’s valuable to me as a writer.

Blogging for me will now tend more towards listening to my readers. On my other blog, I asked: When did You start Your Blogging Journey? and have received a wide range of responses.

On Amlokiblogs, I’d like to ask: 

Have you ever changed blogs? Have you considered unplugging the blog you have now? What’s kept you blogging?

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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30 Comments

  • P V Ariel says:

    Hi Damayanti,
    Nice to be here after a long time!
    I am here today via Indiblogger
    Happy to see this interesting post
    O M,…. I never thought of such an activity
    After the activities at Google's Knol platform
    I started my blogging activity thru blogger.com, and have created
    a good number of blog pages in different niche, and two different languages. English And in Malayalam.
    In the recent time I shifted my main blog to WordPress platform, and I stick to it. But I never thought of unplugging any of my blogs, even though some are not doing well I do not want to do that! LOL
    Thanks for sharing this D
    May you have a great week ahead
    Thanks again for all +s
    Best
    ~ Phil

  • This topic is interesting to me. I had a blog on blogger but started having all kinds of strange technical problems (like not being able to get the cursor to appear in the text box) which made it really difficult to write. One of my favorite readers (actually only had six and they all were favorites) asked why I didn't get a different site and it sounded like a pretty good idea. Had all my content moved over to WordPress and it's the only place I put new content. It's been great. Since it's like a journal for me I want to keep everything in one place.

  • yammeringlew says:

    I used to do a blog on blogspot. It was really fun, but at some point I got tired of it, mad then later I deleted all my posts. That was pretty dumb of me. Now I'm back to blogging and I use WordPress.

  • Subroto says:

    I have two blogs. The first one was started as an extension of the radio show I used to do with my friend on the local radio station. We had been doing the radio show for quite a while before I discovered the blogosphere and decided to put our show for a wide audience. The show lasted 10 years, the blog just two. It's still there on the web, attracting visitors pulled in via random web searches, living a life of its own. My own blog lead a lonely, uncommented existence for a long time. I did not mind as it was my way of expression though readers would have been welcome. I have had lot more visitors since I started participating on weekly writing prompts. But these days Blogger prompts me to switch to Google+. I have resisted due to a (misplaced?) loyalty to blogger. Had flirted with the idea of moving to wordpress but decided to stay faithful to blogger instead.

  • Joy says:

    I have put a stop to my of my blogs Dstepladder2hope.However, I continued with it as a Facebook page instead. I started blogging with Whispering Leaves at a time when I needed to pour out, vent, just let out my feelings. And then some years later I started another one chef-on-the-run. These two sometimes languish for want of attention, but they are never forgotten and I would not want to or rather I cannot stop blogging.

  • LastWord says:

    I had Blogger and WordPress too, with different blog personalities. I found WordPress offered me more flexibility and presented themes that were more in keeping with my blog. So just over a year ago, I merged the two blogs into one. I now write as 4 different personalities on the one blog.

  • Thought about it, but realized I'd go crazy if I didn't write something every day.

  • dicameron says:

    Hi – A year or so ago I had a blog that I created for a specific purpose (to goad me into continuing to write my first novel). I wrote first draft chapter by chapter for quite some time and it really helped get me into the process of it and to get some feedback from readers along the way. When I'd reached a certain point though, it was time to take it back and complete the work on my own, so I deleted the blog. It had served its purpose.

    I now have two blogs. http://www.thespyandthestoryteller.wordpress.com is about writing, and about how I write and particularly my first novel.
    The second is http://www.jillastory.wordpress.com and is where I'm publishing a novella chapter by chapter. The novella won an award in 2006 but since then the publisher folded, so I'm giving publishing it for anyone to read.

  • Lexa Cain says:

    I wouldn't want to revisit past blog posts. Water under the bridge and better off forgotten. But I have changed blogs. Twice. I'm really happy with the one I have now! 🙂

  • I take mini breaks but don't bother to schedule them. I'm just not that organized.

    I'm sorry you've suffered so many losses. It can take a toll. I'm thinking of you.
    Heather

  • M Pax says:

    I did move my blogger blog to my website. Why? Time and effort. I needed to consolidate. And since i pay for the website, it made sense to give it preferential treatment. I wanted a site to be about more than networking, I wanted things for my readers/fans. The site lets me do that, blogger doesn't. I have stepped back from blogging to give more time to writing. I don't regret that decision.

  • Writing, and particularly blogging, proves to be a valuable outlet for me. There are times when I hit the pause button – loss of a loved one, permanent changes and adjustments in life, hectic schedules with too many things to do. I'm never gone for too long – only long enough to catch my breath and give true meaning to my work, so it can be shared in the spirit it was intended. If my heart's not in it, or the words are too hard to come by, what's the point? It only wastes everyone's time. I care about my followers too much to do that to them, and faking it just isn't in my deck of cards.

    Nice to learn more about your story, Damyanti. Keeping you close in my heart!

  • i considered switching from Blogger to WordPress, but after talking to WordPress users about why they thought WordPress was better, I realised Blogger did everything I needed it to do. So I didn't. I've never considered unplugging, but I do have two blogs, and one gets less attention.

  • I've always stuck to my current blog now. The fact that I've invested so much time into my blog makes it hard to unplug. I guess it's just like pulling the plug on a writing project that's just not working though. Blogging is sort of like a journal, but for all the internet to see. 😉

  • shelly says:

    I've actually considered dropping blogging altogether. But I just can't. I love everyone I follow. And everyone in the blogosphere are so supportive. So I just can't.

    Hugs and chocolAte,
    Shelly

  • Li says:

    I started a blog in late 2010 but deleted it after 2 weeks because I really had no idea what I wanted to accomplish. One month after that, I decided that rather than share anything personal – I was just coming out of a difficult time in my life – I just wanted to write stories. And so I started Flash Fiction, and though I slow down sometimes I don't think I'll ever pull the plug. Blogging is part of my life now. And by the way, Damyanti; I'm taking a break this month to do some projects and re-posting the series I wrote for the REN 3 Blogfest – remember that? 🙂

  • Unplugging..seems hard!!! No matter how busy the life may be..But blogging is always the way to pour out all feelings that too while interacting with so many new people 🙂

  • Mridula says:

    I have switched from blogger to wordpress but with the same content. I am way too addicted to unplug as far as I can see in future.

  • Tony Laplume says:

    I've got quite a few blogs. The only ones I've outright abandoned were specifically designed to operate for a limited time.

  • The Meet and Greet at West of Mars started off on Blogger. But then they declared me a spammer and ignored my attempts to clear my name. I already had my WordPress site in development and wound up picking up and moving everything all at once in a panic after Blogger threatened to delete the entire blog. A lot of my pictures and graphics never made the change.

    so… if given the choice between Blogger, who can arbitrarily decide to delete my blog for no good reason, and WordPress, I'll take the security. Plus, I really like it.

  • I started blogging for therapeutic reasons. I just enjoy the people too much. I only have the one blog, and don't think I could handle another.

  • mooderino says:

    I've cut back on hoe many posts a week I do but I've yet to reach the point where I no longer do it at all. Still feels like fun (most of the time).

    mood
    Moody Writing

  • gaurab27 says:

    I feel sometimes we need to give time to ourself, we need time understand life and how we feel so I do unplug myself from the virtual world many a times.

  • klahanie says:

    Hi Damyanti,

    I'm glad your two initial blogs have reached their sixth anniversary. I will tell you that I'm much more likely to visit this blog site of yours than your WordPress site. I don't like the way one has to sign in on that application.

    I know that through all this time of your blogging, you have experienced some traumatic, painful times, along with resilient inspiration.

    I've always had the same blog. It will be seven years old in February. Sometimes I get disillusioned with blogging. I, as you know, have a bit of a cynical attitude towards all those blog hops. I do, however, continue to be blessed with a lot of interaction. I don't have, considering how proactive I am, that many followers. Yet, that's not the important aspect to me. The positive interaction we share, the times you kindly allowed me to guest post on here, are wonderful highlights. I'm grateful to you. You listen and I listen.

    Keep going and do so at a pace that is conducive to your well being, my friend.

    Here's to a positive 2014.

    Gary 🙂

  • Hi, Damyanti,
    I have abandoned my blog now and then for a few weeks, but I always come back. Not sure I could ever abandon it totally.

  • ayjay says:

    I have considered closing down my blog several times (that's bound to happen in over 10 years, right?) but never have, even when I didn't post for 6 months. It started as a fairly angsty early-college ramble and has gotten more professional as I have. While I've hidden some of the more embarrassing posts from the early days, I'll never delete any of them because like you, I have an emotional attachment to much of the writing.

  • Trisha F says:

    I've only ever had this one blog, at least as "my" main blog. I've co-run other blogs but they never went very far. They weren't meant to, really, though – they were just meant to be fun.

    I have changed the URL of my blog, but I don't want to move to a new blog. I like that I've created a platform that regular visitors recognise, and I like the history that's contained in my blog.

  • This was the first blog of yours I started following and it would be a shame to see it go.
    Never considered changing or dropping my blog, not even to move to another platform. Now I have two A to Z blogs I get to be a part of and the IWSG site to keep going. I'm in it for the long haul. Because I enjoy it and to help others.

  • D.G. Hudson says:

    My blog was an experiment as well. I wanted to meet other writers and share photos and information. I'm still enjoying it and writing novels in the background. Blogging I like, but that's it as far as social media. No time for more with a sick daughter who has chronic illness. Good luck, you did have a lot of adversity last year.

  • I have changed blogs, shortly after I got my domain, I moved my blog there. This past holiday season was rough and I had a lot of bad days where I considered deleting everything, including my blog a few times. Usually, I'd turn off the computer and go to bed (it was always 3am when these moments happen) and when I woke, I felt much better and didn't want to get rid of everything.