I Need Your Help. Do You Need Mine?
I decide to abandon my unschooling blog, leaving it online to look after itself while I move on. But then I discover I can’t actually do that. Blogs need attention, whether we’re writing on them or not. If I don’t keep a close eye on my website, making sure everything is updated regularly, and paying for the latest versions of plugins, things start to go wrong.
Something goes wrong. Despite my best efforts to protect my blog, it’s infected with malware, which shuts it down. I look for a way to get everything back online quickly. And while I’m researching my options and trying to make some decisions, I suddenly feel weary. Is my blog worth retrieving? If I get it online again, will something else happen? What problem will I encounter next? Perhaps I should just let my website slip away.
After thinking about all the work I’d lose if I don’t do anything, I pay an IT person to debug my site. And so Stories of an Unschooling Family reappears. Did anyone notice it had gone? Maybe not. That might be a problem.
I still get a fair amount of readers even though many more people are writing about unschooling than when I created my blog thirteen years ago. But is people’s interest high enough to warrant spending more time, money and effort on this site?
“I could put a buy me a coffee button on my blog,” I say to my husband, Andy. “If my posts are useful, someone might want to pop a few dollars into my blog-hosting-fee fund.”
So, I create a buy me a coffee button.
A while later, Andy asks if I have any ‘coffees’ in my account.
“No.”
“It’s just as well I like buying you coffee,” says Andy.
I smile. My husband buys me ‘coffee’ all the time so my blog can continue.
Deciding not to be crushed by the lack of ‘coffee’, I ponder another idea: would anyone support me regularly by paying for a membership if I offer extra content?
I spend a few days thinking about bonus content I could create. Perhaps, if nothing else, I could offer access to this blog in return for support.
I generate some fun images of good, encouraging and helpful friends chatting to each other and put together a Youtube Shorts video, telling everyone about my latest idea, the Friends Club. And now I’m waiting to see what will happen.
So, is my blog still helpful? Or has it had its day? Could it be time to pack everything up and delete my posts?
“What will you do if you delete your blog?” asks Andy. “Don’t you want to continue even if no one wants to support you?”
“No,” I say. “Even though I have lots of fun creating posts and videos for my blog, I want to do something that makes a difference. I could still use my skills and have fun doing something else.”
”Won’t you miss the friends you’ve made through your blog?”
I think about the fabulous friends who buy my books and stop by with encouraging words that are far more valuable than virtual coffee.
“I hope we’d stay in touch,” I say to Andy, “even if my blog disappears.”
So, friends, I need your help. Do you need mine?
PS: if you watch my video carefully, you’ll discover two women who share an arm. One of them also has an extra hand around her waist. That’s the fun of creating AI people!
Update
After a lot of thought, I’ve decided not to go ahead with the membership Friends Club idea because I know I will find it almost impossible to create content for three different sites: this blog, my Wholy Souly blog and the Buy Me a Coffee site. Trying to keep up with everything will drive me crazy and squash my love of sharing stories. I’m keeping my Buy Me a Coffee button, so if you’d like to donate a coffee in return for what I share here on my unschooling blog, your support will be greatly appreciated. A coffee always helps!