Hellooooooo, readers! And everyone else.
(Quick: name that SiriusXM show with a greeting similar to that one. Hint: It’s on The Catholic Channel. Oh and if you didn’t know, yes, I’m a Utah-based Catholic! [We do exist.])
Anyways, how long has it been since I posted anything? Lemme look…….. Wow, over three months.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: For better of for worse, blogging is evolving. So much so that what you currently know as blogging is simply not the blogging I used to know. How does this help explain my absence?
Simple: I’m not a commercial blogger. I don’t dislike them, because I think there’s at least a small need for them, but I’m not the kind of blogger who’ll post listicles or tutorials or posts on why you should buy X headphones (though mine are THE bomb and only become available once a year, o you might have missed out already) or how Y cleaner has helped improve my life or other nonsense.
I like doing the occasional sponsored post. But not so much that it overwhelms you.
Another reason why I’ve been so far away (from my blog, at least) is that, well, I’ve been living. I don’t post Weekend Updates or tell you about the Nth nice thing my fiancé has done for me, or take pictures of my delicious meals. I could do that, but sometimes I prefer napping, for instance. Or doing work for my on-the-side clients.
OK, maybe I could at least share Weekend Updates. After all, I see other bloggers post more often that every three months, so clearly I can too :). However, I guarantee that because of my family and fiancé, chances are they’re all great. So if you get jealous, you have one other job: To get un-jelaous.
All riiiiighty, back to the original non-ranty point of this post: Where your favorite bloggers have most likely been lately (when they’re not blogging). AND coming up later this week/month(?) I’ll share a mini Confessions Sesh!
On Bloggers’ Whereabouts
Have you wondered why Ms. Jenny Doe from That One Blog You Like hasn’t been blogging as much? Or why I haven’t been? Good question!
Chances are they’ve been on Snapchat.
(If you’re not on Snapchat, now’s the time where you may let out a big fat “UGH!” But hear me out for a sec..)
Snapchat isn’t just for teens. Sure, they use it A LOT because they’re more ME-focused than us more mature Millennials :/. But if you don’t like teens, then don’t follow them and you’ll get 0 posts from them. Easy.
Now remember how blogging used to be? All raw and candid? That’s how Snapchat IS. So if you originally fell in love with some blogger who got so annoyingly perfect and commercial that you stopped following her, then I guarantee you she’s not that way on Snapchat. That’s because Snapchat almost purposefully encourages non-perfect posts, which is refreshing.
In the app, videos don’t always look great, pictures don’t always look great, rough winds always make hearing others difficult, and face swaps have a knack for looking messy. So it’s perfect for those of us who appreciate a genuine look at bloggers’ lives.
Plus, Gary Vaynerchuk approves. I’m not an obsessive Snapchatter (like him) but I nevertheless have been liking Snapchat and I encourage you to consider getting it.
A few of my favorite blogging Snapchatters:
- Amberly @ aprioritizedwe: Her stories feel as though she was writing a post, only these are cooler because she’s a funny narrator and her “characters” (mostly darling Baby Bensen and his adorable big [fur] brother Howie) are such stars.
- Todd Chrisley (Periscope!): I think we were Southerners in our “previous lives.” Well, we’re Colombians, so same thing. Todd Chrisley, the patriarch of his family (their USA show is currently on its fourth season) is honest, charming, hilarious, wise, old-fashioned, and all-around great. So if his show isn’t enough, tune in to his Persicope broadcasts for announcements, greetings from his grandkids, and even more Todd-isms. So worth it!
- Gary Vaynerchuk @ garyvee: He’s a Marketing and social media genius, author of numerous bestselling books, and never afraid to say it like it is.
- Giedre Krulikas @ giedre.elena: We’ve been blogging friends for so long, that when n00bie ol’me saw she had started following me on SC, it took me a second to follow her back. Also, her baby is cutely DIVINE.
- Heather Dubrow @ heatherdubrow (of Real Housewives of Orange County fame): Though RHNJ is my fave RF franchise, Heather is among my top four-five favorite housewives. Others would learn so much from her and her stories show a different side to her, which has been interesting to get to know.
- Raven Smith @ snapdragon15: She may be the star of her blog, but her witty sons are the stars of her Snapchat. I first started following her blog because her Conservative ideals aligned with ours. Except for her alcohol-related posts, years later, I still enjoy her honesty, and her stories are hilarious.
- The Pioneer Woman @ thepioneerwoman: Y’all, Ree Drumond is inspiring, beautiful inside and out, real, and her “snaps”/stories are like an extension of her fab show.
Lastly, ADD ME to your Snapchat! >> msanniepaul
Besides Snapchat, your fave bloggers may also just be on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and/or Twitter.
All those microblogging venues make it great for sharing quick, little updates instead of full-blown posts that may take us hours to develop and produce.
I, at least, have posted about 42 times on Instagram since my last blog post. That represents an average of around 14 pictures and videos a month, or two a week. So I may not post on TRL often, but if you want to hear from me, IG is the best place to find me.
Find and follow me! @MsAnniePaul on Twitter, @MsAnniePaul on Instagram, and ANNIE SAID IT on Facebook. And a BONUS follow! Our cat, Simba, has his own Instagram, which he uses to discuss dumb wedding trends: @Her4LeggedBros on Instagram.
Ahh, thank God for Whisper
Everyone “whispers”… I’m not a flight attendant so you know this didn’t come from me!
If you’ve been struggling to keep some things to yourself because you’re so public that you fear what you say will have huge repercussions, then Whisper is for you. Even if you’re not so public (yet), Whisper is for you. I swear, Whisper must be full of real-life celebs and popular bloggers who can’t ever say (out loud/publicly) what’s on their mind.
Whisper IS anonymous, and names are automatically generated for you (you could change yours but why blow your cover?), so unless you tell it where you are and/or post beyond identifiable details about you, it’s nearly impossible for someone to know who said what. Moreover, you don’t get followers on Whisper, and though your posts (known as “Whispers”), can get Likes, it’s not a big deal if they don’t, as it’s not a popularity contest…because no one knows who you are!
When someone does or says something dumb that I can’t respond to or I just want to vent, I turn to Whisper. I’d discuss what some of my Whispers have been about…but then again, I’d ruin my cover. So instead, I’ll leave you with what I would post on Whisper if I hadn’t posted it on here first:
^Not sorry.^
And another one: I can’t stand it when moms Snapchat the booze they “need” to “cope.” You chose to be a mom. Lead by example.
And a last one: I can’t stand it when women leave their kids and husbands at home because they “need” to “cope.” Again, you chose both those things. Cherish them.
OK that may be all for my Whisper-like rants that won’t turn into Whispers now because I won’t blow my cover. But you get the idea.
We may have also been Anchor-ing our own mini podcasts!
Anchor is an app that lets you record two-minute-long “podcasts.” Now, regular podcasts are cool, I’ll admit. BUT they take a lot of time to listen to and to create, don’t they? They’re not like streaming radio where, well, it’s live. They’ve been prerecorded so you gotta sit down for the full hour because you don’t know where to skip. And nowadays, EVERYONE has a podcast. That’s simply too much time and my attention span doesn’t last that long.
Enter Anchor, which is like the Twitter of podcasting. What you thought you needed an hour to blabber about, Anchor makes you do in two minutes–or two-minute-long “waves,” so you could essentially just record a few Waves and make them all part of a single story, à la Snapchat.
Look for me on Anchor – Annie Paul.
Where else?
Your turn! Where else did you discover YOUR favorite bloggers to have been when they’re away from their blog? Or if you’re a blogger who hasn’t been blogging all that much, where else have YOU been? Tell me in the Comments and thanks for stopping by!