Since that blessed time, my relationship with social media has changed and lessened. Social media does not work the way most people think it does. Facebook, X, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc. are not the digital agora. Far from it. You can't beat the algorithms. We've become irretriably meme-ized. IRL, social media simply does not work.
I remember how weary I had grown of online engagement last 30 March. Several times over the course of last year I seriously considered downloading my back-up file for this blog and saying "So long!" For some reason, I was unable to do that. Something kept telling me I would regret it.
August of this year will mark my twentieth anniversary of starting this blog. July of 2026 is my anniversary for starting to "blog" (nice verb) in earnest. While these significant milestones added to my reluctance to call it quits, they were not the determining factors. Over those weeks and months, as I considered whether to blog or not to blog, I thought about switching to a fancier platform.
Wordpress was all the rage for a while but it has faded. Several years go, I set up everything up to blog on Wordpress under the title Diaconal Digressions. This time around, I considered moving to Substack but I have no desire to monetize my writing. What I have to offer (which is not much), I offer for free.
In the end, I like simply Blogger. If nothing else, it keeps my html skills sharp. In any case, this platfrom is the home and digital habitat for Καθολικός διάκονος. Since recommitting to this effort at the start of the current liturgical year, I have been surprised by how much I am enjoying this again. It's been a true rejuvenation. It took me several years of blogging before I realized that the best benefit I derive from this is personal growth.
I know this is a blog post about blogging (Yawn!). Since I noticed that my moratorium began a year ago, I thought I'd observe it by indulging myself a bit. I am more than grateful for the surprising number of kind email notes and comments I have received from readers telling me how what they have found in this little cyberspace has helped, encouraged, and challenged them.
Since I am already blogging about blogging, I would note that with this post and tomorrow's, which will be my homily for Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent, I will have posted seven more times than I did the first three months of 2024, prior to my hiatus. So, I will press forward and see where the road leads us. For anyone reading, I appreciate your time and attention. I pray you derive some benefit from spending time (virtually) here.
Writing a blog, or being on social media is helping others without our knowledge; and proclaiming God's news to others.
ReplyDeleteOur blog may be about gardening, cooking, or whatever; it is an opportunity, (if we want it to be), to proclaim God's news to others.
If only one of those people visiting our blogs thinks about discovering more about God, then our work is done.
And that applies to all Christian blogs out there. We may think we are talking to an already converted audience; (Other Christians who visit and applaud or encourage our efforts). And that is good.
But if only one visitor reads what we have said, and searches for God; then we've done a great job.
To many people in this secular world, our writings may well be the starting point to a changed life.
Your blog, or social media presence, is a beacon in this dark and sad world. Never stop.
Let your blog be what Jesus would love to read.
God bless.
Yes, it may be written by me; but is it about me?
As always, Victor, thank you for your stalwart encouragement as well as your efforts.
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