Blogiversary

Most years I forget the anniversary of this blog, but this one is a sort of milestone. Fifteen years have passed since I put up the very first post here at Miss Cellania. And so much has changed in that time.

When I started Miss Cellania, I was a relatively young widow with two small children looking for a creative outlet. Blogging was opening up to everyone at the time, with free platforms and plenty of readers. There was a ton of people making fun stuff to share. I threw my heart into it, and met many fine people virtually, which led to a career of writing internet content. That was so much fun! Then the blogging world contracted as the money went elsewhere, and those other jobs did as well. Social media brought way more people to the internet, but so many of those new users never venture outside social media. I've had to adjust, but I am much older, my kids are grown, my needs are few, the mortgage is now a light at the end of a tunnel, and my mother needs my time, so it's working out okay for now.   

In the last 15 years, I gained (and lost) another husband with five more children. I left radio for the internet. I bought another house and expanded it to a ridiculous size. My kids grew up. There was menopause. I upgraded my computer four times. I still don't use a smartphone. Some of my early blogging friends have given up, some have gone on to greater things, and a few have died. I miss Gene Maudlin (Old Horsetail Snake), Gerard Vlemmings (the Presurfer), and Kevin Gray (Nothing to do with Arbroath).

I still can't believe it's been 15 years. It's been a fun ride so far. 

Politics in the Trump era affected the internet, as people turned to everything online as a medium for anger. That combined with the lack of support for free and fun content made it harder and harder for link bloggers to find anything worth sharing. And then 2020 came, with the coronavirus bringing more struggle, despair, and division. You may or may not have noticed that I am recycling some very old content to fill in the gaps of this blog's entertainment schedule. I have noticed that the dearth of fun stuff is affecting other sites, because several times I have reposted something from 10 or 12 years ago, and it's been picked up and circulated by other sites (sometimes with attribution, mostly not). That shows me how hungry people are for something funny to relieve the stress of modern living.  

So I look forward to a few more years of hanging on to Miss Cellania, mainly for the fun and camaraderie, since it never brought in money.

On this anniversary, I want to thank everyone who comes to visit Miss Cellania, those who comment, whose who share links, those who send me material, and few who've gone above and beyond the call of duty to get me through. I appreciate all of you. You make it worthwhile and then some!