I’ve recently been making some changes online. I’m reducing my social media. I’m retiring four websites and replacing them with one new site, www.danstevenerickson.com. I’m editing my writing. I’m developing my writing skills and becoming a much more honest writer than I’ve ever been.
I’m not dumb. I wasn’t born yesterday. I know how the whole online game works, the algorithms, the self-promotion, the marketing, etc. Still, I must admit that I feel some sense of disappointment. Why? Because everything about the way the game works feels messed up and backward.
Five to seven years ago, I was gaining more blog traffic at my old blog Hip Diggs than I ever have since, or might ever again. I was doing my best to follow the rules and create content that people might want. I wrote about simple living and minimalism. The writing was honest. I live a simple lifestyle. But something bothered me. As I built the website and started looking for ways to monetize Hip Diggs, I felt like a hypocrite. Essentially, I’d be asking people to live simple and buy less while trying to sell them my course, my services, products, etc. I couldn’t do that, and in time I became disillusioned with the whole “minimalist lifestyle” trend.
I also began to become more sickened by the entire “blog” philosophy and industry, this idea that the shinier and flashier one creates their website and online…
