For anybody following, this blog is going on pause. 

I have learned much from this journey. I had a question when I started this blog. If I publish without using social media to drive traffic, will this blog make a noise? 

The answer is “no”. This blog rarely receives more than one hit a day on average, and I can’t determine how much of that is bots. I can count on one hand the number of people who read this blog, based on both their feedback and a few other clues. Ten times that amount knows this blog exists (because I told them) and doesn’t care. Among those I have met in the last year (a sizable number), I remember exactly one person asking for the web address. I have no idea whether they followed up on that referral. 

The problem is not a lack of social media driven traffic. I know this because I do not live under a digital rock – although I have abandoned social media, I have observed that same handful sharing something I wrote on their own social media accounts. None of these postings resulted in a corresponding rise in traffic, not even a few more clicks.  

I could be publishing the cure for cancer and the result would be the same.

No, the problem is a digital audience distracted by far too much information, endlessly scrolling through their feeds as they are consumed by self-interests and the news of the day. I could be publishing the cure for cancer and the result would be the same. I doubt the result would be much better if I was writing about vampires making love under the moon, or empires wrestling for control in a web of political intrigue. 

It makes me wonder: how much is lost is this deafening din we call the Internet? I suspect we were better off when the feed was controlled by the gatekeepers of legacy media. At least there was a chance of something getting noticed because it was someone’s job to notice. 

The bottom line is that it’s impossible to determine whether one should keep writing when you don’t have an audience to tell you whether you should or not. Hence, my New Year’s resolution for writing is a simple one: to take my writing on the road and see if there is an audience for it. 

I have a few leads on where to start, with this blog serving as a portfolio for any pitch. Combine this new effort with an offline opportunity to practice what I preach, and there isn’t enough time for marketing, practice, and continually writing for a blog without an audience. Something has to give. 

Will I return? That will depend on whether there is an audience to serve, along with the location of that audience. Truth is, each of us is preaching a message to others everyday, regardless of our awareness or whether we use words. If I find an audience far more interested in what I do versus what I say or write, then I’ll shift my focus on preaching through what I do. 

The goal was never to become well-known or even famous. The goal was always to make a difference in the lives of others. Writing is only one tool among many – if the tool doesn’t fit the situation, put it back in the toolbox. 

So, if you are one of those few faithful readers, click the “like” button to let me know you’re tracking. 

Likewise, if you stumble across this post and like what you read on this blog, sign up. With enough votes or sign-ups, I’ll come back to this blog.

Otherwise, my hope is that something already written here blesses you in some way. May you find whatever you are looking for.