If Taco Bell taught me anything, it’s that “Change is Good.” I can certainly agree with that to some extent. But as someone who still loves the ’80s, change is not always easy to come by.
Specifically, I’m talking about the world of blogging.
I started Mommy’s Busy, Go Ask Daddy over a decade ago. I had two young boys and was building a social shopping website. To promote our site, we reached out to bloggers (they weren’t even called “influencers” yet) and asked for reviews of our site.
The cost at the time was anywhere from $25 a post to upwards of $2,000. It was really hard to wrap my head around that, so I decided to do some investigating. And thus, I started this blog. It was partially to understand the tools and networking that bloggers used, but the other half was because I’m a writer at heart and truly missed writing.
What followed was an eye-opening experience as I was shocked at how amazingly supportive and cooperative the blogosphere (no really, that’s what we called it) was. As a dad, I went with the daddy blogger angle, which certainly worked to my benefit. Yes there were already a number of great dad bloggers out there already like Mitch or Adam, but in the giant world of mommy bloggers, we were a pretty rare breed.
Over the years, I learned a great deal about blogging, giveaways, hashtags, social sharing and ultimately the coveted Disney Press trips. It’s those trips that really cemented some blogging friendships. Not to mention giving me the opportunity to visit Pixar Studios, interview Kermit the Frog and even walk the red carpet at a Star Wars premiere.
Since then, the trips have stopped. The giveaways are gone. And I’ve even slowed down on blogging in general.
My posts had gotten much meatier with tons of photos. I do love putting them together, but they are quite time consuming and, well, life just gets in the way.
Which brings me to now.
I still stay in touch with the old blogging gang through various Facebook groups and the like. Earlier this year, someone posted on this very topic, simply asking who among us was still blogging. That got me sad. Because so many of us had let things slip a bit.
But it also gave me a spark.
Why can’t I bring back some of the old luster? If the 1980s have taught me anything, it’s that retro is so in right now.
I mean, one of my favorite shows right now is Cobra Kai. I have a fully functional Atari 2600+ that connects beautifully to my HD flatscreen. They’ve made action figures of some of my favorite cartoons as a kid, such as Dungeons & Dragons.
As a New Year approaches, I’m not making any resolutions. But I am setting a goal for myself to write a lot more. I apparently still have loads to say and loads of geeky Legos, action figures and jigsaw puzzles to share.
In the meantime, do me a favor and swing by some of my friends’ blogs. Just tell ’em Andrew from Mommy’s Busy sent ya!
Hop on over to:
She’s Trippy – The sensational Sheila loves to travel almost as much as she loves Cheap Trick.
Blog By Donna – The delightful Donna’s got it all from delicious recipes to creative crafts to fantastic fitness tips
My Boys & Their Toys – The always jubilant Jennifer runs a really fun lifestyle blog, chock full of Disney goodness (living in the Orlando area helps)
Shop With Me Mama – The kindhearted Kim shares a little of everything in her lifestyle blog featuring gift guides, reviews, giveaways and more
What’s your favorite blog?
I’m not a blogger, but a follower. I miss all the blogs that I use to follow. I learned of so many new products, and of course enjoyed the “reviews and giveaways”. I’m happy that some of the bloggers I followed are still blogging.
Thanks for the comment, Jackie! Some of us are still here and we miss all those blogs and followers too!
Knowing you from and being from the ‘olden days of ‘mommy blogging’, I have truly missed it!
It was definitely an amazing time to do what we did!
Thank you for the reminder and for the jump!
Hey there, Liliana! It seems a lot of us still miss it. Great to hear from you!
I miss the “glory days” of blogging, too! It was such a fun time! I still blog, but it’s more personal now as I rarely do sponsorships anymore. Glad to see you still here doing your thing! The blogging space needs more dad voices. I’ve added you to my feed reader. (Yep. I still use a feed reader, haha!)
Thanks, Mandy. And of course I remember feed readers! I probably still have an active one that I haven’t logged into for awhile!
Well, Andrew. I have been around for quite some time, and your blog/website (which I’ve always enjoyed) and being on the internet since 2001. Prior to that. I wasn’t online at all. But since I’ve been online all these years, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers simply disappear over the years, sadly. I was also a fan of the Daddy Forever blog as well. Ken was great, too! I’m sure you connected with him at some point. Anyways, I’m happy that you still manage to post now and then. Hopefully, you’ll eventually go all out and revive your blog like back in the day! I was mainly a silent reader/fan of yours, who hardly ever posted any comments. But rest assured, I am probably one of your earliest readers. I remember when yopur bous were young and such. Then they became a certain age, and I recall reading something you stated about you and your wife experiencing the empty nest scenario. I was there as well. Anyways, stay geeky always, like me. Geeks for life! We are grown men, but we will always remain a kid at heart. We are many, and we are proud of our geekdoms! All the best to and your family, Andrew!
Ronald, I can’t thank you enough for your thoughtful comment! Without comments (or shares/likes on social), I have zero idea if anyone out there is even reading my stuff. And you’ve been reading as long as my own mother has! I really appreciate it and I promise to be even geekier than ever. Just stay tuned!
It’s refreshing to see that you still have that spark. I look forward to seeing what you might concoct in your lab. 😉 Surprises are the best! Good one’s that is. So here’s wishing you all the best. I’m an email subscriber (obviously), so I know when you step out from your lair and decide to post something. Here’s to a fun and revitalized you! Just go for it when the muse moves you!