Happy kinda-sorta blog birthday to me.
The funny thing about rebrands is that you almost forget when to celebrate these kinds of things. But, yes, it’s been about a year since I hit publish on my first blog post as Thoroughly Modern Millennial.
Aside from TMM surviving out 2016, I also hit the 6 years of blogging milestone back in December last year.
Oh boy. 6 years is a long time guys. If my blogging life were a child it would be in Primary School already, learning how to read and do their times tables, and could probably work an iPhone to write their own blog posts (…maybe ambitious thinking for a 6 year old but I’m sure there are child genius’ this age who can sight read Mozart pieces on the piano or something right?). I, personally, have changed a lot in those six years. I’ve gone from Uni fresher to graduate to full time ‘adult’ (*snorts*). I’ve gone from writing about fashion shows and beauty products to activism, writing and books (though fashion, lifestyle and beauty still have a place in my heart).
Not only have I changed, but the blogging community has changed too.
You’re probably sick of us ‘old’ bloggers talking about it but blogging really was so very different six years ago. The volume of sponsored post/ad revenue/PR sample/event business was very much in its infancy. It was a very experimental and ‘odd’ thing to blog. For the most part, yes, all of us were in our bedrooms just writing for the hell of it. Now it’s a multi-million dollar industry (if you count the rise of Instagrammers, YouTubers and Snapchat-ers). Blogging is commercial now – and I wish people would seriously stop pretending this isn’t so. The fact I ‘rebranded’ (and not just renamed my blog) proves that, we’re semi-business savvy no matter how long we’ve been at the game.
There are so many facets of the community now and as long as you don’t get caught up in clique-y drama, stick to your people and ‘do you’, there’s a lot of opportunity to grow. But equally it is harder. You really have to work at your niche and the volume of content can be really overwhelming.
That feeling is one I’ve experienced many a time over the past six years. It’s been hard to keep going, but it’s been equality hard to just throw the towel in and let go. And I think that feeling right there trumps all in hindsight. It’s the feeling that this little corner of the Internet is so much a part of me, that the idea of not blogging anymore feels far too weird to contemplate.
Despite the blogging breaks and numerous hiatus’ I’m drawn to the idea of evolving and seeing that progress in my blog posts.
In the spirit of that, this is where I stand with TMM.
As I said when I ‘rebranded’ I wanted to do more. I wanted to show you guys more of my writing, my interests, and what I feel passionate about. I did, but I want to focus in on the stuff that people really responded to. The activism, the political, the racial, all dotted among the ’trivial’ lifestyle/beauty/fashion lines. I want to focus on writing, on quality (not quantity), and my fervent love of pop culture. I want keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone and equally want to put some good out into the World.
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If you made it to the end of that ramble, congrats! As a bit of call and response, I’d love to hear any thoughts on what you’ve enjoyed and would like to see more of on TMM.
Ria Xx
