Recently as I waft about the internet I have come across many references to the decline of the blog as we know it. Many people who started out at the same time as thekitchensgarden have disappeared off the blog map. Many are disillusioned and wanting to be involved still but batteries are running low. Many feel they are sending out messages in bottles. Some of you have even commented on this in your blogs.
But I still do not believe that the age of the blog is done. But maybe blogs need to change. Maybe there needs to be more of the US and less of the ME.
True, the real monetised blog is a very rare thing now and those who do make money from their blogs work a full time week to ensure they make money from it. But reading good blogs still has its place and , more than that, the conversations that result in the comments sections of blogs are pretty important too. In fact I think that this dialogue is critical. This is the US bit. 
So I am proposing two new pages to this blog. The Library page and Our Cottage Industries page.
(Of course my daily farm page will not change. And nor will it be affected by the new pages. After all I write the farm page – you will be writing in the new pages).
The Fellowship (you – my readers), The Fellowship of the Farmy, have blended yourself into a network of sorts. We have one important page already the Join Us page where we introduce ourselves to the other readers. Many of you comment and even more just read and sometimes you even answer each others comments. I want to take this a step further. I want to set up these two new pages where the comments are the reason for the pages to exist. I want to give you two new pages where the comments ARE the blog.
I want to extend our network and take one area of this blog world in a new direction with new challenges and really build on our relationships – create new networks in a very modern sense, let’s jump on and see where this vehicle takes us. The two new pages are all about you. Not me. I will only be the hostess.
The two new pages can be found under MENU – see above.
The first page will be Our Cottage Industry page. So we can really focus on supporting small home industries. Your industry. Many of you work from home, many of you sell on the internet, or in markets, many small businesses are women led and I for one really want to support these initiatives. So, go into the comments of the Cottage Industry page and tell us what you have for sale. Come on – we want to know!
This may be a small page but I bet you it will be an inspiring one.
Do you make soap or jewellery or chicken houses? Are you an artist, do you knit hats, sew aprons or ballgowns, sell antiques, do you have an etsy shop or a webpage to promote your wares. Do you have a CSA, sell eggs or pasture raised pork or vegetables. OK. Leave your link and a wee description in the comments on the Cottage Industry page. And where you are based – you do not need to be specific but if you are weaving rugs in Turkey, quilts in Australia, or making soap in Missouri, or pottery jugs in Chicago, or wedding photography in Wellington, you just never know who might get in touch or be just down the road.
What a wonderful thing it would be if we were searching for that perfect birthday present and were able to buy it from one of The Fellowship and support our own people. We are going Personal. Forget Global we are that already, Global is so Tuesday anyway, we can’t get more global, now we are going Personal. Think small, lift each other up and think of how we can support each other and promote each other and enrich each others lives in the process. Let’s work together.
If you think Big Business is taking up too much room let’s find all the Little Local Businesses with integrity and quality and show them to each other.
The second new page will be The Library.
If you read a book and love it: jot down the title and author and genre in the comments of this new page.
If you have written a book and want to tell us about it – write about it in the comments of this page.
I will find all our previous book lists and add the links to this page too. Now we start afresh and our 2017 list will be current and growing as we read and write. No need for a cattle call of books – we can check the page anytime we like.
We have a very strong community of readers right here. Many bright clever people. You belong. I hear from many of you. Many of you have good strong voices. Use them. We have a wealth of talent in our own little village. Let’s share our strengths and use this blog as a spiders web of real connections.
And yes – I AM THE SPIDER!! ha ha ha ha. No not really – more of a squirrel.
Anyway – what do you think? Can we pull it off?
Can you and I make a change in the blog world and build from the networks we have already begun constructing. Shine a light on the readers – the most important members of this blog.
Have a lovely day.
Love c
The Kitchen's Garden 
112 responses to “Intro-Ducing Two New Pages”
Great post, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!
Sharing is the name of the game today! c
Wonderful, inspiring, beautiful idea. I love it!
You and I started about the same time i think? We have certainly known each other since my first scribblings. c
I think we did! I am running at a lower speed right now but absolutely love all that blogging brings to my life. Bith writing and reading and have made some wonderful friends some of whom I’ve been lucky enough to meet! Blogging certainly has bought something very positive into my life.
I think a lot of people started blogging because it was a new thing (now it is not) and when one writes a blog, there might be a burst of energy to start with, which probably slows down as one’s focus narrows. However, there’s never a dull moment on the farmy and your entertaining writing style along with the animal adventures keep us hooked 😉
Yes i think the narrowing focus is what gets us. However I also think it is important to allow our own selves to be where we need to be blog-wise and not succumb to the pressure to get bigger and monetise and things like that. I like the idea of the readers of the farmy begin able to settle into the blog even more, without that endless pressure to get more readers just find out more about these good and true readers. You have been with me since the beginning – so you will have seen all the changes. c
I think people need to go with the flow and write about what suits them and not feel self pressured into posting two or three things a week – that’s where most run out of steam. In that respect your ever changing landscape keeps you going …not to mention your almost boundless energy 🙂
Hey, that’s a fabulous idea. The reason I blog is to do something artistic every day because it’s cheaper than a shrink! Lol. So I wasn’t too concerned that viewing stats are dropping and blogging isn’t what it used to be etc, but it would be fabulous to connect with everyone and find out what everyone does. Thru you Celi and thru the lounge I’ve met some wonderful friends who I treasure as much as I treasure you. I’m into pages. Oh yes.
Your art is very beautiful – I look forward to you leaving a link on the creativity page (is that a better name? – I have named it cottage industries but i did struggle with that title.) c
Creative industry?
Market Place?
Skills Exchange?
Thank you. I love your daily blog, and I’m sure I will enjoy these extensions of it.
For some time now, I wondered if it was just my blog that was down in readership, then, noticed blogs I read closing or just sporadic writing. I think that FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram and such have fed into the instant gratification of today’s world, but, I still think there is a place for good writing, fellowship, ponderings, etc. Onward . . .
Yes, I think our reader numbers have consolidated in a way. Time to embrace that I think . Though I do wonder – if people are not reading blogs anymore then what are those people reading – news? FB and twitter have been around for years – is Instagram becoming bigger? I like Instagram as an instant arm of the blog – I see them working together not instead of. It is an interesting study but the blog world has to change with the times I think and as I have nothing to sell I would love people to use my blog to promote themselves and to exchange more ideas and in fact to LEAD. Readers need to be able to make more choices on my blog I think. We are going organic on this thought – who knows where it will lead.. c
I agree that a lot of blogs are extremely self-centered and thus become uninteresting after a while. You’ve got to have something to say – musing about your feelings will not do the trick. But there are lots of great blogs out there – and I don’t think those will die off, because they allow people to get in contact with others they’d never have met otherwise. And virtually experience other cultures and get support for the things they do. Personally, I have really become inspired as an artist, and, since I’m self-taught, improved from being in contact with others better than myself who have been incredibly generous about sharing tips and feedback.
I think your idea about the extra pages is brilliant. Let’s see how they work out. 💕
This is the real heart of blogging I think – the support and encouragement which enables growth – wonderful that you feel that ! c
what a good idea! Onwards and upwards. 😀
Yes – I look forward to seeing what happens next! c
This is a lovely idea! Community is my most favourite part of blogging…
It really is there isn’t it – that feeling of community.. c
I hope never to have to do without blogs, either mine or anyone else’s. My circle of friends, interests, and skills has grown and matured since I began. I live fairly isolated from friends and my own family, and I take comfort and companionship away from my interactions with my blogging friends. It’s true, the networks are one of the most important things we can achieve with our blogging. It’s what community’s about.
Yes. Do you sell any of your quilts? c
Yes, I’ve done commissions in the past. The cost of fabric is quite high in Australia though, so I can’t make them as cheap as most people think they should be! Sadly I can’t compete with Chinese labour, and on top of the fabric, I do need to charge something for my time even if it’s never a realistic representation of how long it actually takes. But if any Farmy member Down Under wants a quilt, can’t make it themselves, and wants to get in touch, I’ll be happy to talk to them about it. Sending a quilt overseas would just add ridiculously to the cost, so I think it’s probably not a good idea…
I don’t think blogging is going away, but I have stopped reading many blogs because they are pushing things that they are getting paid for (I love recipe blogs and they tend to be big into this, although some not as badly as others). I started blogging myself as a personal journal so I could look back and see what was going on with our farm, and when nothing is going on, I don’t publish. And I love seeing what others are doing on their farms! Shared experiences are important to me, and I love being in contact with so many wonderful folks around the world who are doing similar things.
Yes a journal of farming – this is how I see it too – so useful to be able to look up this day two three or fours years back and see what things were like.. c
In the age of Facebook and Twitter, blogging has dwindled away. When I first started blogging, the intent was to keep my friends and family up-to-day on our adoption. That was 9 years ago. Now it simply chronicles our life and the journey we travel.
I love the idea of adding pages for the community. Honestly, that is the big pull that many feel to Facebook – community. Yet somehow, the community you’ve managed to pull together here is so much better. So kudos to you to everyone who participates. We need more happy friendly communities working together in this world.
I think Twitter and Facebook have been around even longer than blogging – at least this was my impression – but maybe I am completely wrong – we need to create a time line of social media – maybe the girls can resarch this as a project I am not sure I would know where to begin.. c
The modern blog began in 1994. Facebook began in 2004. Twitter began in 2006. I do think having the girls do more research on social media, especially in today’s society, would be a great learning experience for all of us.
Thank you!! And thank the research team! c
I love your thoughts on blogging. I am going to think about how I can incorporate more US into my blog, too. 🙂
You have a very active comments section so I think you have LOTS of US and We in there. It amazes me the number of bloggers who do not reply to comments – On the summer I seldom get time to reply and I can see a blogger with heaps of comments not getting time to reply but if they only have one or two commenters it feels rude when there is no reply. In fact I ONLY comment on blogs who will talk back to me – I love dialogue.. You are very good at that.. c
The dialog is the fun part. Often my comments section ends up better than the post itself! 😉
Great ideas and always enjoy visiting you and the farm daily. Lets give it a go. Grest to support small business and creative ideas. I haven’t blogged for awhile but am feeling that i will be jumping back in soon. Thanks for waking us up! Its a new year, time to try something different! Cheers!
Though it is also important not to feel pressured to blog – if it is not fun and fluid and easy then it is a waste of your time – better spent on other things.
Love the new pages idea! How wonderful to have book references to find our next books, and to experience the creativeness of each other! xo
Do you sell anything off your farm Di? c
We do sell eggs to friends, and often some of our pork, but mainly we sustain ourselves on what we grow and raise. I have been getting into decorating the gourds we grow, which I really enjoy. Maybe I can include some of those on the cottage industry page? Di
I once painted gourds, and cut a hole in each to make it a birdhouse. The birds loved them but the weather took the paint off fairly quickly! c
Yes, gourds don’t last too long outside! But they can be turned into incredibly beautiful works of art…..almost like pottery, in a way (check out the beautiful gourd art on Pininterest if you get a chance). I used to throw and glaze pottery, and loved doing that. But setting up a pottery studio is quite spendy, and with the gourds I can grow them and create works of art. Right now they are gifts for friends and family, as they can be quite time consuming to create. Di
I think these are GREAT ideas! As usual, you are being a force for good in a larger world than your own. I love that about you! Spreading the energy, the positivity, making things happen.
As many people are commenting on why they do or do not blog, I’ll chime in. I too have gotten very frustrated with it, and you have nailed the reasons. I think that your advantage in blogging is that you write about your personal life and everyday happenings without exposing other people’s private matters. The engine that makes my days interesting involves the lives/problems/issues of my two teenage daughters and try as I might, I haven’t found the way to be open and honest about that stuff, in the sharing spirit, without simultaneously disrespecting their privacy. And privacy has won the day! Tima and the others don’t seem to mind much when they are front and center…so that gives you a lot to write about that’s very real, very ongoing, very engaging, VERY PERSONAL…but you’re not exploiting other people. It’s a lovely thing.
I would like to return to the blog because like many of us, I enjoyed the creative part…but it felt ever more self-serving, and I really dislike blogs that seem to be about advertising one’s own life. Ick. I’m rambling. Sorry. Just such a hot, juicy topic! LOVE YOUR NEW IDEAS!!
It is a very good point though. Privacy is a very real issue and needs care. And you are right I have a great big cast of characters who love the camera and love to be talked about. c