It’s About Time for an Update

A few days ago I was working at my laptop when I heard the telltale ding of an incoming email on my phone. Appreciative of the distraction, I picked up my phone to see what landed in my inbox. If you thought that was the intro for a story full of plot twists – I’m sorry to disappoint you. The email was a heads up from my domain provider that my annual billing cycle had arrived and they would be charging my credit card.

The only reason that this story has any relevance to what I’m about to tell you is because it was the spark. Up until that point I was seriously considering launching another blog as a side project (a side project to my many side projects – but I digress). My thought process was that since everyone is cooped up inside over COVID-19, maybe I could produce some content that people may find useful (and perhaps bring in a little advertising revenue – the economy isn’t exactly booming right now).

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. Blogs generally take time to gain traction and anything I write now isn’t going to show any sort of return for eight months to a year. To compound that, I don’t really have the time it takes to launch a new website and crank out content on a routine schedule.

I have my hands full with Millwork Shop Drawings over at Superior Shop Drawings and we’re making a push to build a blog presence there. In addition, I also have Stogie Review (Ben has literally been carrying that website for quite some time now and I’m determined to lift some of that burden. Now if only I could get to a cigar shop to explore new products…)

And then, of course, there is my Personal Blog – Walt In PA. It’s hard to believe but this little place on the web has been up since 2009 and has over 1,000 Blog Posts. My interests have changed over the years so the content is a mixed bag. While the prospect of pulling the plug and starting fresh does sound exciting – I can’t bring myself to do it. There is simply too much of my history here.

Change of Scenery

If you take a look at my Blog Archive, you’ll notice a trend. Both the Blog Topic and Theme changes every few years. – I suppose this is my way of reinventing the blog without wiping the slate clean.

WaltInPA started when Stogie Review was in its heyday. Things were going very well for the cigar website and I was doing a lot of writing at the time. I needed an outlet and a Personal Blog seemed like just the thing. As time went on, the blog changed from one guy’s ramblings on the internet and started to gain a little structure. First it was Book Reviews, then Creative Writing, then Archery, then Competitive Shooting, then Weight Loss (seriously, it needs to revisit that topic), then it just went Random again.

I wish I could say that I had a plan and that going forward the topic would be specific. The truth is, I’ve always seemed to be happiest when the topic was whatever was on my mind. Sticking to a single topic and producing consistent content feels too much like work – and I have a lot of that going on these days.

Spark to Ember

With a spark of interest back into the blog, I’m going to try and get into the habit of once again writing for myself. It is something I sorely miss – even if I can count my audience on one hand. With any luck the spark will grow to an ember and, with time and patience, maybe I can breath some new life into this old blog.

In the meantime, I’ve overhauled the design – It seemed only fitting with yet another new beginning. The truth of the matter is that I was having difficulty with my old theme and I just happened to have a license for the one I’m using now. It isn’t something I would normally use on a Personal Blog but I didn’t want it to go to waste and I think I can make it work.

Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to write some content to get you caught up on what’s been going on in my life. From there I want to roll into what’s been occupying my time as of late. Again, I have no content strategy so if you are along for the ride – be prepared to stumble awkwardly from one subject to the next.