This blog celebrates its sixth birthday

The aging blogger

Coffee with Clark was born as a blog May 3, 2009, with no idea about where it was going or if it would survive. 
On after its sixth birthday, now in its seventh year, that is still true. 
But while much has changed in the world and with the blog since then, including the aging blogger,   Coffee with Clark is a minority in the rapidly expanding "blogosphere" mulitmillions where most blogs don't last long.
As with most blogs, I think, I started off with a flurry of writing and posts, and then slowed down. There were 339 posts the last seven months of 2009, the most of any year since. And the top two of my three most active writing months were August with 76 and July with 70.
For the record, the third busiest month of blogging was May of last year with 50 articles and such. and 2014 also had 276 posts, the first increase in three years.
All told, including this posting, I have posted  1, 415   times--writing, book reviews, photography, travel, my watercolors and art and more. That's an average of about 20 times a month. There have been more than 181,000 page views from people in 133 countries. That fact alone astounds me and fuels my imagination about who reads this and why.
The blog has changed and still is evolving. Layouts, typography, content, colors, purposes. In fact, I am increasingly wondering  why I blog, what the purpose and intent of the blog is.
Some of this is because I have also changed, and also I've been teaching the course Blogging for Journalists class which spun off out of this blog. My students' reports included advice from other bloggers who urge bloggers to know their purposes.

Obviously one reason I blog is because I teach blogging--I don't believe you should teach something you can't do or haven't done. And, I am a journalist--this is part of who I am. As one friend said, "You've got your newspaper column back." I'm also proud of the blog's success, including winning "Best Writing" award for a blog in Oklahoma. So I will continue.
But if you look at the number of posts this year--just 53 so far, something has changed. Yes, I'm busier with other activities than before--and blogging, writing, takes time. 
I do know there are many articles, photography and art I've intended to write and post through the years that never seem to see the light of day--stories I want to tell.
But that excuse aside, I think it shows that I'm perhaps a little tired of where Coffee with Clark is--that it needs more change on its birthday. That's my challenge as I try to figure it out as my life also changes.
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I've also started other blogs, especially for the classes I teach:

• The blogging class--BlogblogUCO
• The twitter class--#clarkclassUCO
• The international media class-- Clarkinternational