This gives me back my faith in social media.
A giant salute to any of you who have ever quit a job that focuses on pageviews and ad dollars over quality. Another salute to those of you who sometimes spend days in silence rather than adding something blah just for hits. Sometimes it’s okay to just shut up and listen. Sometimes it’s okay to just use your voice to promote other people’s awesomeness. I’m a writer, but I’m also an enormous reader too. Thank you for respecting the latter in the decisions you make about what you put out into the world.
And another thank you to the people on my blog who advertise here. I know how rare it is to be able to pay for my server costs without using an ad network. I recognize how lucky I am that most of the advertisers I have on my blog are fellow writers or bloggers or artists or small businesses who never tell me what I can or can’t write. I’m so lucky that I usually have waiting lists of people to get on my sidebar because people are so happy to support this blog. I love that my readers discover new and amazing people who advertise here. And mostly, I love that I’m part of this community. Thank you for that.
PS. Speaking of letting other voices be heard, have you read or heard something lately that you’d like to share? A song, a book, a post? If so, leave it in the comments. It’s up to us to make sure the good rises to the top, and that doesn’t always happen without help. Spotlight the good. Banish the shit. Ignore the mediocre. This is the way we work. This is the way we get better. This is the way we learn.
PPS. And by “we” I mean “me” too. I’m still learning every day what works and what doesn’t. I’m still learning that sometimes my silly fluff can be amazing, but it can also be utter crap. Also, “good” doesn’t necessarily mean “happy and sweet and positive.” Some of the best, most important and hardest things to read are critical or painful or bitter. Sometimes that means reading hard facts about ourselves. Sometimes that means admitting that there’s a kernel of truth there and that change is needed. Sometimes it means learning to judge yourself in a kinder way. Sometimes it means that there are assholes in the world who need to be punched in the junk. But always, it is good. Learning and listening and growing is good.
PPPS. I’m rambling. This is one of those posts where I look at it and wonder if it should go with the thousands of other of unfinished posts in my draft folder, but today I’m listening to the voice that says “This is good. Not for everyone. But maybe it will help for someone.”
I hope that someone is you.