State of the Blog

I’ve been blogging here at Crazy Bananas since 2002. Yes, that’s 14 years of blogging. That is A LOT OF SELFIES, YOU GUYS! I love blogging, and I’m so glad I stumbled upon this strange, little medium 14 years ago. Back then, we didn’t even call it a blog. It was a weblog, a journal for me to share my thoughts and ponderings as I transitioned from full time college student traveling Europe to moving to Kansas City and being unable to find job and waitressing to pay rent to my first real jobs to having a baby and getting married to becoming a director at work to quitting my job to pursue my passions to today….wherever we are now! Sometimes I don’t even know.

But that’s why I’ve always loved blogging. It ebbs and flows just like I do. When I started, blogging was about sharing everything. The good. The bad. The ugly. There were no filters and for those of us who felt truly alone (especially when it came to parenting) blogs were where we found others saying “me too.” As a younger mom, without much support in real life, I needed to find others who could understand how hard this parenting gig was! I loved the raw honesty of those early days.

As my life evolved, so did this blog, as did the world of blogging in general. As blogging software became easier to use, blogs started looking more sleek and streamlined. Photography became an integral part of blogging. The words were still important, but having good images was also extremely valued. For me this provided an opportunity, as I was just beginning my journey as a photographer. But it did change the medium. As the photos got prettier, the words became more watered down. Truths were still told, but they were more censored. It happened in all the blogs I read, but it still surprised me. Blogging was becoming a real way to earn a living and support my family. There was an ad network, sponsored posts and brands wanting to work with me. It was the weirdest feeling to realize I had become my own brand. So strange. It’s still strange to me.

When I quit my job a year ago and started my company, I really didn’t know what that meant for the blog. While I wanted to pursue photography, writing has always been my first love, so I kept up the blog as well. But in the last year, I’ve realized while photography is my business, blogging and writing is my happy place.

The days of making enough money to sustain a family through blogging are finished, I think. Sponsors now want more for their money….more mentions, more numbers, more proof of return. And that’s okay, I’ve been on that side of the coin as well. But for me, that means compromising the authenticity of the blog, and I’m not okay with that. So going forward, I hope to get back to my blogging roots.

I want this blog to be my happy place. I want to write here and share what I love with you. I still will work with sponsors, but only when I really believe they understand me, my mission, and my audience. I don’t want to become a talking head.

Thank you so much to everyone who completed my reader survey. I have so many fun things I want to share with you this year! Along with more content about the topics I already cover (like photography, parenting, Kansas City, etc.), I’m excited to share more about recovery, health and style. I also plan to work on getting more video content up this year, which should be a fun challenge!

I’m so grateful to all of you who have stuck around for this nutty journey. I kept writing, even when I felt stuck, because I knew you were reading. You guys inspire me and keep me creating, which is such a gift! Here’s to many more years of blogging, sharing and connecting!