DryStoneGarden

Plants, Stone, California Landscapes

Flower

5 Years Old

Happy birthday to DryStoneGarden. This blog is now five years old. I use the word ‘old’ because at this point keeping a blog does feel like an old-fashioned thing. This year especially, I’ve seen a lot of other garden blogs stop posting. Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Pinterest, and all those other platforms seem to have siphoned off a lot activity. Which is a shame. Those platforms all have their merits, and I’ve dabbled in some of them, but I’m actually really glad that I haven’t shifted to any of them, that I still host my own content on my own website. A blog is still a great way to collect thoughts, photos, drawings, info, links, and any other content that seems worth posting. Maintaining this site has directly increased my knowledge about those core subjects that interest me — stone, plants, native plants, gardens, and landscapes — and I regularly find myself using the links in my sidebar or going back into the archive for images or links to help with my design work. I’ve also learned a lot from other bloggers and just wish more of my favorite ones were still posting. I appreciate everyone who has commented or linked or just been a reader throughout the years. Keep reading, I’ll keep posting.

— Addendum 12/14/13 —

Perhaps because of the five year birthday, this map of the online world (full size here) at xkcd.com had me geeking out enough to spend time trying to decide where this blog and where the garden blog world in general would belong on the map. Probably a peninsula on the island of Photoblogs, though possibly in the Diary Blog or Miscellaneous Blog territories or even an unnamed island near (but not quite in) the Sea of Zero (0) Comments.

9 Responses to “5 Years Old”

  1. December 5th, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Katie (Nature ID) says:

    Congrats, Ryan. I know how you feel. Isn’t it amazing to think you’ve done this so long? I appreciate having a record to look-up when I can’t recall something. I’ve seen a drop off, too, and I blame it on the demise of Google Reader. I don’t mind being a relic, who knows, maybe someday “antique” blogs will have a yet-foreseen value.

  2. December 5th, 2013 at 10:04 am

    ryan says:

    I think you’re well over five years yourself, so congratulations to you, too, Katie. There’s a certain pride in being a relic. I still get as much traffic as ever, so evidently there’s still value. It’s just really noticeable how much more insular my blog is these days, compared to the garden blog heyday. Which is what happens, I guess. Thanks for coming by to comment and for your own many years.

  3. December 6th, 2013 at 6:32 am

    Katie (Nature ID) says:

    I started my own blog in 2009, and I’ll have 5 years next May. I backdate posts to the date of my photos which go all the way back to 2005. I don’t know what you mean by “insular”?

  4. December 6th, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    Gayle Madwin says:

    Congratulations! I’m glad you’re planning to stick around. My blog is twelve years old, but I think that’s only been possible because the topics have always changed when my interests do.

  5. December 7th, 2013 at 10:55 am

    ryan says:

    Katie, over or just under 5 years is a good long time. By insular I guess I meant I feel more like a little blog island these days, whereas before I used to regularly participate in bloom day and other memes and there was a lot more back and forth with other bloggers.

    Wow, Gayle, 12 years! That’s tremendous. I know what you mean about changing topics. Wandering between subjects has helped me stay interested, too.

  6. December 8th, 2013 at 10:09 am

    Town Mouse says:

    Happy Birthday! Yes, it’s interesting how other media are starting to “replace” blogs, as our attention span is getting shorter and shorter. But I agree, having a blog is great motivation to keep going, keep asking questions, keep sharing. (Now I just need some rain to help me feel more optimistic about the garden).

    I think Ms Country Mouse and I were at 5 years in November – but who’s counting?

  7. December 12th, 2013 at 9:17 pm

    Kelly says:

    Hey Ryan: Congratulations. I’m so happy to hear that you’re going to continue on this particular technological adventure. It’s always interesting and pleasurable to read what you’ve been thinking about and what you’ve been up to. Not sure I would get that from the more blurb- and image-focused venues, like Facebook and Pinterest. Long live the written word – the looping, meandering and finally, articulated thought.

  8. December 15th, 2013 at 12:43 pm

    ryan says:

    Town Mouse, I’m counting! I remember your blog as one of the first I started regularly following, and I credit you guys as the ones that still post regularly and with high quality. You guys should congratulate yourselves on keeping it going.

    Thanks, Kelly, you’re right. Condensing a rambling rough draft into something coherent is just about the most productive thing I ever do. That’s how I plan to keep senility at bay in thirty years.

  9. January 4th, 2014 at 6:33 am

    Country Mouse says:

    Keep on posting! Glad to keep you company in the blogosphere!

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