There is something quite depressing and unsatisfying
about abandoned blogs. Unfinished narratives left permanently hanging in
cyberspace.
Bloggers always start out so committed to
their project, full of ambition as to where it could lead and a desire to tap
into an audience of like minded enthusiasts; home brewers, dog breeders, photographers,
bakers, first time mothers. Their readers emotionally invest in their story and get
hooked, eager for the next instalment in the blogger’s adventure. But after
those first committed weeks, months, even years of regular blog posts, signs of
neglect start to appear. Posts become more and more infrequent, the blogger
sounds a little bored, preoccupied or despondent if things aren’t going quite
to plan, often starting the post with an apology ‘sorry I haven’t written for
so long’. And then, inexplicably, nothing. Communication is cut off and readers
are left wondering what happened, returning to the blog every now and again in
the hope that there’s been more activity, only to be faced again, with that
final blog post and no explanation.
Scramblingeggs looked in real danger of
becoming yet another cyber statistic. Apparently 95% of blogs are derelict - virtual landfill that clog up cyberspace for eternity. After
7 years of documenting my progress in setting up and running 1, 2 then 3 Australian
style cafés in London, it suddenly went quiet in July 2013.
I’m here to reassure any committed Scramblingeggs followers that nothing drastic has happened. I’m still alive, the cafes haven’t failed and I haven’t waivered from my commitment to save the Brits from bad brunches. I’ve just been busy. Very, very BUSY. While I may not have any blog posts to show for it, I do have a little boy with a sibling due in less than a week, a house with a new kitchen and ongoing renovations, 3 busy cafes and most importantly a Lantana Cookbook; Café Kitchen, which was my main writing project of the year.
I’m here to reassure any committed Scramblingeggs followers that nothing drastic has happened. I’m still alive, the cafes haven’t failed and I haven’t waivered from my commitment to save the Brits from bad brunches. I’ve just been busy. Very, very BUSY. While I may not have any blog posts to show for it, I do have a little boy with a sibling due in less than a week, a house with a new kitchen and ongoing renovations, 3 busy cafes and most importantly a Lantana Cookbook; Café Kitchen, which was my main writing project of the year.
While I have felt bad about temporarily neglecting
my blog, it’s comforting to know that I’m in good company. Just looking down my
list of recommended blogs on Scrambling Eggs, I find 3 of the 13 haven’t been
updated in over a year. Some of my favourite bloggers have left me in a state
of limbo; eggsbaconchipsandbeans – reviews of the best greasyspoons in the UK,
Mister Barista – a 'cafe sink' drama narrated by an astute barista and lilyandchew - recipes
and stories from a North London vegetarian gourmand. I suspect their reason for abandoning their
blogs is similar to mine; too busy to blog.
Hopefully 2015 will see me and other bloggers at the keyboard
a little more frequently. If only to take down any abandoned blogs. Til then,
And if you're looking for the perfect Christmas gift - look no further. Everyone should have a little bit of Lantana in their very own kitchen.
