Thursday, March 06, 2008

A Sixth Anniversary For O.C.

I'm having quite a stimulating week here at Chez Gauthier. I've done school presentations, I've started getting ready for next month's on-line chat with a library in Maine, and I've been fielding inquiries for more author visits. And then today I celebrate (well, let's say I notice) the sixth anniversary of Original Content.

This blog is one of the few techie things that I grasped before my computer guy did. When I asked him to take a look at Blogger to see how I'd go about starting a blog, he didn't know why I wanted to bother when he had already made me a website. Blogs weren't anywhere near as common as they are now. In fact, before I started mine, I googled "children's literature" and "weblog" and found somewhere between four and six sites. TodayJacketFlap's main page says it includes more than 650 children's book-related blogs. I guess a lot can happen in six years. Still, I find that number staggering.

This blog has changed over time. I didn't post every day for several years, but had a goal of generating new material two or three times a week. (I didn't always meet it.) I didn't have a method for readers to comment for many years. I didn't have my covers up here for a long time. I didn't know what a blog roll was until I started noticing them on other kidlit blogs.

I cannot recall at what point I started noticing that there were other kidlit blogs. Maybe in 2005? Though I have found a link to Kids Lit from back in 2004. Also, I was obsessed with Jane Yolen's On-line Journal (like a blog but different) from the end of July, 2004 until the beginning of April, 2007.

In spite of the changes, I remain amazingly consistent. Or, perhaps, I am not capable of evolving and changing. My purpose for blogging remains the same as it was the day of my first post--to bring original content to my website on a frequent basis. I am still intrigued by the line between YA and A literature, just as I was in my third post. And I was writing about Beowulf back in March, 2002 just as I was last fall.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

6 comments:

Megan Germano said...

Congratulations to you! That is an impressive number...6!

Jen Robinson said...

Wow, that's a long time in blog years. Congratulations! Here's to six more years.

Unknown said...

Happy blogiversary! Six years is very impressive!

It's funny, but for several years my reaction about blogs was pretty much the same as your computer guy. I'd been developing web sites for years, and I thought a blog was just a way for people who didn't know HTML to make web sites. It took me a long time to catch on, but I'm glad I finally did and got to know all of you wonderful people.

Kelly said...

Yay, Gail! I am so glad you're here.

Gail Gauthier said...

Thank you all.

Sheila--Unfortunately, I've read articles promoting blogs as website replacements for authors or as "a beginner's website." So even now I think there's confusion about what websites and blogs are.

MotherReader said...

Six years!!! Man, six blogger years is like forty human years. Rock on!