When I started blogging 5 years ago blogging was like….
Not very many giveaways and a group giveaway was unheard of because to enter a giveaway you had to leave separate comments for everything
No one had sidebar sponsors aside from maybe a blogher ad and those were reserved for MEGA HUGE bloggers!
People commented and responded more
Seeing a sponsored post was something you just did not see because blogging wasn’t about making money
No one was very focused on numbers and the only way to really measure numbers was through google friend connect
Pinterest was invite only
Instagram did not exist
Neither did google plus
Stumbling was reserved for drunk nights home
People did a lot of centering their words(guilty) and changing font colors mid post(guilty again)
Cartoon headers were HUGE
Music on blogs drove you nuts
Blogging was like….something we did just for fun and because we really wanted everyone to know about our weekends
It was the best day ever when your blog got 10 comments
Linkups were something you did every single day
The thought of 1,000 followers seemed unheard of and something that would never happen
I do not remember there being blog cliques or maybe I was too new to notice
I love blogging but sometimes it’s funny to look back 5 years and remember when blogging was like…. a different world!
When did you start blogging? What do you remember it being like??
Oh my goodness seriously! I mean I didn’t start 5 years ago but it was the same way 4 years ago for me 🙂 Oh how times change…
I first started 5 years ago and it only lasted maybe 4 months. It was like my little diary of events to share with my family. When it was suggested to me to restart a blog I never realized how much freakin’ work it was going to be. Amazing!
I loved this little trip down memory lane! I had almost forgot about half of that stuff!
I started blogging in 2008 when I moved overseas. It was a private blog for my family and friends to keep tabs on where I was traveling and allowed me to share photos and stories with them despite the time differences.
I gave up blogging for a few years and just recently started my first public blog. Wow, how things have changed! It’s a fiercely competitive world but full of very friendly people too. I’ve met some wonderful people since I started blogging publicly.
x
V
Life+1
I started in 2007 and was VERY casual for several years — a blog here and there, every few weeks or so. I loved reading your post about how blogging has changed!
Hi Neely!
This is such an interesting post! I only started blogging last year, and I still feel very, very new to it all! I really appreciate that you have stuck to the “old school” style of blogging. It’s really refreshing! While I didn’t start my own blog until last June, I’ve been an avid reader of blogs for at least five years, and everything you mentioned are all the things I remembered and why I loved reading blogs back then. That’s certainly my aim with my blog. I don’t have any intention to blog for anything other than my own personal enjoyment!
I wasn’t blogging 5 years ago, so I had no clue what it was like back then. It sounds like there have been a lot of major changes!
I started blogging back in 2008 and people thought I was weird so I wouldn’t talk about it. Now when people find out I’m a blogger they look at me like I’m some celebrity or something.
Pinterest was invite only!?!? OH My Goodness !!! Thanks for taking me back a bit becaus emost of this I didn’t know…
I loved this trip down memory lane. It’s crazy how much blogging has changed!
I started almost four years ago, and it doesn’t even seem like that long ago. Yet sometimes looking back it seems like a lifetime. The days before Pinterest & Instagram *gasp* how did I survive! 🙂
Gosh that was memory lane.. I’m still guilty of centering my posts but that’s my OCD factor and I just like it that way.
I started what about 5 years ago too I think. Loved this little post!
I have only been blogging since May, so this world is fairly new to me! Everything you described sounds a lot like how tumblr was 5 and 6 years ago for me though!
Hahahaa! I started blogging like 3, almost 4 years ago! I remember a lot of this
I started about 4 years ago – there was no Pinterest at all when I first started! It’s amazing how things change…
Blogging is a completely different world than it was 5 years ago! I started seriously blogging last year but had an Xanga back in junior high and such. Crazy how things change!
wow what a trip! It certainly has changed a lot over the years, but it’s good that it’s evolving 🙂
This is so true. SO TRUE. I remember it like it was yesterday – it’s crazy how things change and shift as even simple things like blogging take on new meaning. I have closely connected with some readers, but I’d love for that to happen even more!
EWWWW Cartoon headers. Hope that doesn’t offend anyone but those drove me nuts. I never gave into that fad. 😉
HAHAHA well I just started blogging myself, and I’m not sure that any of those advancements you speak of make it any easier!! 😉 I love it though! Congrats on 5 years!
I started only 9 months ago, so this is still new to me! It takes a lot more time and organization than I originally thought it would, but I am still loving it!
I love it. When I started blogging a few years it was just starting to get big. Sometimes I wish it was like that but we can choose to run our blog like this. Congrats on 5 years!!!! You are a role model for me and continue to look to you as a person I want aspire to be.
I recently started blogging, but I’ve been doing Youtube for over year and it is the same sort of thing on there!
Crazy! You have come so far and so proud that you have built this into a business for yourself. And I am glad I am in a blog clique or not with you!
Wow, I can’t imagine all of those limitations! So much has changed in 5 years!
Haha! thank goodness music (and animated HTML, if we want to go back further) is no longer a ‘thing’!
I started blogging back in the late 90s.
That was a time when online conversations were had by IRC.
Blog narratives were soul-baring, truly vulnerable and expressive conversations between people scattered in the world… with no imagery to bias impressions, no ulterior purpose except to… let words loose…
There was an innocent then, that I miss. The same type of nostalgia and ‘it will never be the same’ that you feel when you visit the world and find that the lonely beach you discovered by chance one vacation, is now a 4-star resort with glitz and glamour.
Yet, we’ll adapt, and find beauty and meaning in our world today. 🙂
xo,
lauriel
EyeForElegance.com
i started a little over 5 years ago with no intent of anyone but maybe my family and close friends reading it! it’s definitely funny to think about how much it’s changed!
I looked at my Bloglovin’ suggestions the other day and almost died at every post being a catchy Pinterest-type list. “10 Reasons you should read my blog post now!” It kind of drove me nuts. I think we’ve gone in the wrong direction in many respects.
I started 2.5 years ago. Amazing how things change, isn’t it?
I’ve only been blogging for two years and it’s changed so much! I hope to keep growing and learning though 🙂
I can absolutely agree with this. Blogging sure has changed a lot over the years!
I stated blogging with Xanga in college. I thought I was the Carrie Bradshaw of my campus. It’s humiliating just thinking about it.
Congrats on reaching the 5-year mark! I started anew about 3 months ago and it was the best thing I’ve ever done. Starting again from scratch after 3 years was tough, but I’ve made more progress in a few months than I had in one year. I so remember when Pinterest was invite-only and still miss that exclusivity. I’m not complaining, though. Blogging has come a long way and I hope it continues to grow along with us. To think it’s responsible for several livelihoods is something I couldn’t have dreamed, and I can’t wait to see how much farther it’s gone 5 years from now.
Yup, I started about 5 years ago too. It was a whole different world!
“Stumbling was reserved for drunk nights home” HAHA!! My husband and I used to do this way back when. It was so weird to me to learn to use stumble upon from the promoting side of things.
The dynamics of blogging has definitely changed over the years. It’s very interesting.
I started my first blog in 2009 which I kept private then decided to go public with a new one in 2013, so it’s been a while. This one is totally different from anything I’ve done and I truly enjoy it.
WOW- Reality check to our Founding Blogging Mothers! Crazy! We’ve got some real support blogging these days! Thanks for sharing!
I started blogging 15 years ago, in 1999. When blogs were still called “Web logs” and no one even knew what those were and questioned why you’d even share anything on the internet with STRANGERS. Blogs had .gifs and dolls and I’m so glad those are gone.
I started 8 months ago! Newb for the win!
Hahah, congrats on your Blog Anniversary! I have only been blogging for about 3 months and honestly didn’t notice much about blogs before that. Some of those things seem to be really interesting — cartoon headers…hmmm interesting.
thrifting diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
I hate how many sponsored posts I see now. I know people are trying to make a living, but there is a tactful way of doing a sponsored post without making it feel like an advertisement. Not every blogger has mastered that skill yet.
I only recently started really blogging, but I had a livejournal and whatever else was around back in the 90’s and early 00’s. It’s been amazing seeing sites change and grow.
I only started for myself 3 years ago and as a “job” a year ago. Its crazy to watch it change in my short time.
You know that I originally started blogging cause of you! 🙂 And even though I don’t blog anymore, I still read and try to comment whenever I can … but to be honest, a lot of those things you mention are the very reasons I stopped blogging. I think it changed so very much from what it used to be, and I just don’t have the time or energy to put my heart into it anymore.
I have been blogging for a little more than 2 years and I know a lot has changed since then.
IT’s crazy how fast time has gone by! And, I feel kind of awesome for being one of your first readers WAYYYY back in the day. While things may have changed, it has been awesome getting to know the real you through your blog.
I started blogging RIIIIGHT before the blogging blowup. It is so crazy to see how it has evolved.
I started blogging 5 years ago and seriously feel the same way!!
This is great. It is crazy to think how much blogging has changed. I have only been blogging for a few years, but in that short time a lot has changed as well!
I actually like how blogging has evolved. I’ve turned a hobby into a career, and I’ve made so many friends and contacts along the way! I feel EXCITED when I see a blogger friend get opportunities to partner with companies, and before those opportunities didn’t exist. I think the blogging community is headed in a great direction 🙂