I always forget that July 1st is the birthday of the oneClimbs blog, but I’ll remember and post one of these a few days after.
A retrospective post is fun to do. Reflecting on the journey is a valuable part of the journey itself.
I’ve been blogging for 12 years now and there is a large body of content that I’m very happy to have created. I’ve also added a podcast which I enjoy doing as well because there is just a different dynamic when it comes to talking about things. I started vlogging but didn’t really continue it just because of how much more labor-intensive video is.
Here are a couple of principles I’ve run this blog on since the beginning that I try to stick to:
- Not for profit – I still don’t run this site for profit and I never will, there aren’t even ads of any kind. At least for me, I feel like when there is a monetary incentive I’d feel pressure to simply push content that isn’t very genuine, that I’d require marketing and advertising tactics and other things to keep people engaged. It isn’t necessary to monetize EVERYTHING all the time.
- No clickbait – I only post if I have something of value to share. That way if anyone does come here, they will find ideas that have been thoughtfully considered and shared. Sometimes I’ll post multiple times per week, other times I will go a month or so without posting, but I have no desire to ever stop.
- Ideas, not pop culture – I still seek to avoid as much as possible whatever happens to be floating around in the cesspool of popular culture and create a kind of oasis of peace where ideas can be explored on their own merits. Other people have something to say about every trendy thing that pops up and that’s fine; I don’t want to be another one of the thousands of others doing the same thing.
- Traffic doesn’t matter – Sure, I have a general understanding about oneClimbs’ website analytics, and they are nothing spectacular, but I don’t do anything to influence it and I don’t care to. This site is not essential, you can live a great life never knowing it existed. If you happen to find it and discover something useful then it has served its purpose.
- Ideas above all – What I hope shines through about all things are the ideas; hopefully, ideas that resonate as closely as possible with what would align with the mind of God. This blog allows me to get the ideas out of my head and put them in a format where I can examine them. If I think there is value there, I share them; it’s that simple.
I feel like all of these things have worked well for the past 12 years and I don’t plan on changing anything.
The original motivation for starting this blog was simply to share, and that is all it has ever been since then.
If you do visit this blog and find value here, I welcome you as a fellow traveler. God has gifted us an amazing journey individually and collectively. It’s a fascinating thing to observe and experience.
The fact that we have scriptures indicates God’s desire that we record things of value and share them. Not for our own personal glory, but for his because he is worthy of it and it encourages others to trust in him and not the arm of the flesh.
