One Year of Blogging...

Where does the time go?

Beware:  incoming wall of text. 

Sunrise, Sunset

So it's been one whole year since I've started this blog.  1 year is not a long time in the scheme of things but kinda feels like forever to me.  This whole thing started because I was spending more and more time looking at wargaming blogs for reviews, ideas, just some fun stuff to read, and seemed like people were having a lot fun with the interactions from others, building and maintaining an online community, and I wanted to be a part of it.  So far, I think it's going alright.   I really appreciate all the visits into my own corner of the internet and I hope that my comments encourage others as well.  Actually, I still feel very new to blogging  and it's no small skill to be able to write something that is both entertaining, easy to read and understand, and maybe a little informative.  I hope that I am improving. 

It's Not Me, It's You.

I have no idea how to judge if a blog is successful or not.  Number of Page views? Number of followers? Number of bots that spam your posts?  Is it fun?  For me, the thing that has become the most fun and rewarding aspect of blogging is the COMMENTS!  I like leaving comments on other people's blogs and checking back later to see what they say, and love it when comments are left on my blog.  I think everyone likes comments, and sometimes this creates a rewarding cycle:  I'll leave a comment when you post, you leave a comment when I post...even small comments like "Hey good job, I like that," or "atta boy!" are nice to receive.  And while it might not be EVERY post it's more often than not.  These sort of on-line relationships are the ones that I like best and I count myself LUCKY to have a few of them.  If I have any immediate goals for this blog, it's to increase the number of these mutual symbiotic relationships.

Without receiving comments (and let's not forget the little gift that BW sent me after "the shipping disaster" that I still need to repay),  I think I would of stopped blogging pretty quickly.  It'd be too much like shouting into the void. 
So to the people that consistently leave comments and feedback, even small ones:
Thank you.
I really appreciate it.
And I hope that you think I also consistently provide you with comments, and that they increase your pleasure of blogging.

Comments when content is interesting  

Now that I am a 'Master Blogger" with a whole year of experience; I've noticed two other trends with comments.  One is that people will leave a comment when the post is 'of interest' to them but ignore the rest.  I think this style of interaction represents people who have more specialized interests versus more of a generalized interest in wargaming.  I like all things wargaming so I tend to leave comments everywhere, because I'm a little bit into everything.  This sometimes results in weird situations where I'm following a blog that seems to focus on Napoleonic land battles which I have almost no interest in collecting...( I would play in any nap game, I just don't want to collect the figures)

-why? I find the history hard to follow, I don't know what the soldiers are called (whats a Fusilier, how is it different from a Grenadier,  and what's a Hussar?), the uniforms are intimating the paint, you need a ton of miniatures-

..but the blog is interesting, the author is entertaining, I like the discussion of scenarios and AARs, there are awesome tutorials on terrain and conversions, nicely painted miniatures, etc.  (you get the idea).  So I'll leave comments on their blog post after post.  Sometimes, the person responds back and then we enter into the mutual symbiotic pattern that I described above.  And we all feel happy.

BUT!  And Speaking for myself here; if they don't, or just leave a comment here once in awhile when the post is interesting to them, then I find that my behavior will start to match theirs.  Each one of us leaving comments once in awhile when something peaks our interest.  A pattern of Comments When Interested.
- I don't think this is a bad thing necessarily.  It's perfectly acceptable, it's just not as much fun.  : )

It's also understandable.  Looking back over the last year I've mainly written about ACW and AoS, and if those two subjects don't really interest you then all that is left are my outrageously humorous jokes.  Which should be enough; my wife always rolls her eyes and says that I'm hi-lar-ious.  And one thing I have learned after hundreds of days blogging (365 of them!) is that you got blog about what you find interesting, otherwise it becomes a chore.  It's nice when others also find it interesting but no one is required to.
And I imagine, that most of the people on the 'Followers list' fit this category. Interested enough to read along and comment once in awhile.  These people are also appreciated, and I hope that when a post I write is interesting to you, you'll say so.  I promise that I will do the same.

--unless you have a google plus profile, in which case i'll be lucky to even FIND your blog because I do not know where to look, I just don't understand that platform.  So far I've only been able to find two blogs through google plus and that was by luckily clicking random places.  I also don't know how to leave comments through google plus.  Google plus is lame.

Not responding to Comments in General

The other trend I've seen is that the author doesn't respond to comments at all.  And while people can do what they want, I find this behavior weird.  It's kinda like walking right by someone who just said hello.  I'm sure the person is not intentionally being rude, it's probably just not their style to build interactions.  I've found that on blogs like these, while I might follow along I've stopped leaving comments altogether.  You'll see that on my blog, I like to acknowledge comments with a thank you.  It just seems the right thing to do and I enjoy blogs more that are similar.  

Ok, enough talk of comments, it is time for action!  And that action is: more reading!

Highlights of Year 1

So my original intent in this section was to make a list of blog posts that others had written and that I had really enjoyed, that were posted throughout this first year.  Kinda like; 'here's some stuff that you wrote that I really liked.'  

However, the list started to get too long and cumbersome,  I started to get worried that I'd leave someone out, and getting the links right was such a pain in the ass; that I gave up on that idea.  Either I am way too easy to please and like everything or there is a wealth of excellent blog posts out there.  Not on this blog of course..   How was that for an extra special look behind the scenes here at Terrible Loss.  And because I am a comments leaving machine I know I've already told you how awesome your post was.  Just know that if I said that I really enjoyed a post or series of posts, that I meant it.  

My blogroll has grown tremendously, and the number of blogs that I actively read has increased.  I really do enjoy what I read and makes me feel more connected to this wargaming hobby.  Which great for a guy like me who doesn't get to game as much as he likes; because families ruin everything.   I also figured out how to get it to display only a certain number of blogs at once, because I don't like it that the list just goes on and on and on down the page.

It's Not You, It's Me.  

On a much more manageable topic, let's talk about little ol' me.
Looking back through my posts, I find that I still like most of them.  I think I can see a small improvements over time in being more clear.  Overall; my favorite posts are the ones that are more than just "hey, I painted something (poorly)" or "look, I played a game;"  my favorite posts of mine include a discussion about the scenario, a review of some sort, and the tutorials.
-The tutorials are not meant to hold myself up as an example of being awesome, but hopefully come across more as "here is what I did, I hope this will be helpful to you."  Also that if I was able to construct something than anyone can; I am not known for being the most handy or good at skilled labor.

Also I am pleased that the blog has an overarching tone of fun and being positive.  We all could use more of those qualities in our lives.