Category: Status Update

June 2020 update

It’s June. As I currently mull over topics for my blog, I am at a loss for words. 2020 has been a mind boggling start to the new decade. From the botched response to the Pandemic from our government to the murder of George Floyd, I am left utterly speechless. A part of my life philosophy is to be well educated and informed on topics but knowledge has left me with no solace. I’ve slowly been transitioning this blog to be a larger platform and a part of that has been my desire to have a voice in this chaotic world. While I won’t get into the topic too much during this post, I am absolutely disgusted by the police brutality and use of military force; the protests have been largely peaceful and the sirens should be sounding when the police are armed to the teeth and have better protective equipment than our healthcare workers during a Pandemic. To a certain extent, our government is murdering its people and it’s important to take a stand for what’s right.

Scrapped Articles

Over the years, I’ve scrapped many articles. The most prominent of which was my gun violence article. I’ve talked some politics on this blog but have primarily kept the focus to creative content. I write on WordPress to relax and discuss personal growth projects. My Mental Health Awareness month series in 2018 was my greatest challenge but I was able to talk about my Father’s alcoholism. These last couple months, I’ve been reassessing how I post content. Business articles had a time and place on this blog but I’ve been happy with the decision to move the articles to Linkedin. I’m also beginning to start writing projects outside of the blog, like writing a book. Before June, I had begun work on integrating calls to action into the format of the website itself but that still is currently in progress. As for articles on race, gun violence, and politics, I am now reconsidering writing on Medium. That’s not to say I won’t write about those topics on here but Medium will allow me to write one off articles when I feel the need to voice my frustration. My blood is starting to boil again and I want to use that passion constructively.

Now… The month of June

The blog has steadily been growing over the last couple months. The new format will be an update post the first week of the month followed by typically 2 posts in the following weeks. In addition, I’ll be adding 2 annual series; Mental Health Awareness month and an Earth Day/Sustainability (Earth month) series. These series will be an article a week and last for the entirety of their respective months. Eventually, I would like to integrate the causes I support onto this site. At the moment, I have a couple I’ve donated to. Over the next couple months, I’m going to take a look into various organizations and learn more about social impact. As such, I don’t have an ETA on this. I have a couple ideas of what I want to do but nothing concrete.

Skillshare

The Pandemic I’ve been using as a time to reinvest in myself. I saved money from work and when I quit my job, I was ready to leave. Over the last couple months, I bought a Blue Yeti mic for streaming, podcasting, and more. I also signed up for Codecademy to have consistency with learning to code and am using Skillshare, so I can finally take writing courses and hone in on my other creative endeavors. Right now, I’m learning to paint and eventually I want to get out and take photos again. It’s been keeping me busy. I’m still learning languages and surpassed a 30 day streak on Duolingo; when the Pandemic ends, it is my hope to go out and see the world.

In Summary

It’s been a roller coaster of a year. These monthly update posts are meant as a way to keep you informed and let you know some of my thoughts outside of the articles I write. It’s a time for feedback and general discussion.

As always, thanks for reading! I’m excited for the year ahead as I finally start to do what I want with my life, not what I think others want me to do. The last couple months have been great seeing the blog grow and I’d be blown away if we hit 200 followers by the end of the year. Part of my strategy has been to promote the site and that starts on the individual level. Every like, follow, and share helps bring new viewers to this site. If you’d like to support me as a creator, below is the link to my donation page, which includes Patreon and Ko-Fi:

Support this Blog!

Have a great week and stay safe!

May Update 2020

Hello Everyone! It has been a crazy last month! From quitting my job to being locked inside, a lot has happened. As of now, my main priority has been to publish my first book. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, this will be nothing new. It’s a compilation of the poetry I’ve written over the years and should total 22 poems in all. I’ve finally gotten all the poems transferred to a google doc and am currently figuring out whether or not I need to go ahead and purchase Microsoft word. Kindle Direct Publishing seems easiest for my first book and from there I will begin to look at other options. I do have plans for a second book and this will be a true to form title. Written not on the blog, but rather entirely new material. It’ll stem from my practice of writing short stories and will either be a compilation of short stories or a novel written from beginning to end. As such, once my first book is published, expect to see some more short stories on this site.

In addition to getting a book published, I have started expanding my social media strategies. I’ve built a good base for content on the site but marketing and promotion have always been a bit of a struggle. I’ve started employing some of my college of business knowledge to help push my content further. Part of that strategy has been to start publishing original content on LinkedIn. If you remember years ago, I used to publish business articles on this site. That eventually turned into self-help and then eventually the content you see today. It’s much more relaxed on this site and I like keeping it that way. That doesn’t mean I don’t cover more serious topics like mental health (I’ll try to get an article out soon for mental health awareness month) but as far as business articles go, I stopped posting them on this site for a reason! LinkedIn over the last couple weeks has been fruitful and has helped promote my writing talent on a professional platform. I’ve fiddled around with the idea of doing a third website such as medium and a long time ago I thought about a sub website (“Mike Cole Gaming” or whatever I was going to call it) but ultimately decided against those alternatives. WordPress has been my home for the last 5 years and it’s been great building this website for over half a decade.

After five years, I finally have an official facebook business page. This has allowed me to promote to my friends and family without me having to use my own personal timeline. If my friends like my content, then they can like the page. Eventually, it’ll house photography commissions and hopefully painting, but for now the Facebook page is just to promote my writing. Why I didn’t have one before, God only knows. My blog took the back burner a bit while the call center sucked out my soul. As of now, I’ll be treating writing as more of a full time job. That is why I’m pushing content on LinkedIn, writing a book, and promoting myself as a freelance writer. I enjoy writing and during a Pandemic is the perfect time to see what it’d be like if I only did this. If I can generate enough revenue, I think I would enjoy doing this every day more than any job I could apply for. Creative hobbies are fun and where my company has failed me, blogging never has.

Eventually, I might open up my Instagram to be public as opposed to private. I’m still mulling over the logistics but for now I’m going to see how it goes with Twitter. I’ll be on Twitter more often, figuring out how to tweet and gain traction. I’ll also be monitoring the audience I attract as the blog continues to expand but all in all I see no issue when we make the jump from one hundred and fifty followers (3 away!) to a couple hundred and then hit the one thousand mark. While I don’t think we’ll hit the one thousand mark by the end of the year, I am optimistic that the site will grow by at least a couple hundred. I check the stats consistently and we’re already on track to surpass last years numbers; for the entirety of 2019. The number of views for April jumped four fold from 2019 to 2020 to illustrate an idea how well the blog is doing. I am truly excited to see what May has in store. If there is any content you’ve been missing, feel free to reach out and let me know. I love writing and if there is content you want, I’d be happy to take it into consideration!

And that’s it! Just wanted to do a quick update on what I’ve been working on. It’s a crazy time but the blog has never been better. I am starting to see growth on the website and we’re set up for a strong year. Every like, follow, and share helps drive traffic to the site as well as bring in ad revenue so I can support myself. As we start to get more and more people joining my Patreon, I’d also like to emphasize that joining Patreon should come with an invitation to join my discord community page. If you don’t receive an invite, let me know. Below is the link to my Ko-Fi and Patreon, so if you feel like supporting me, you can do so!

Support this blog!!!

As always, thanks for reading and I look forward to this year!

The year the Earth Said, “enough”

Today is Earth Day and I wrote an article. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this break from the Apocalypse!

So it’s Earth Day and we’re all inside. Unless you’re in Georgia, then you’re probably getting your haircut. This year is a little different from other Earth Days, isn’t it? While it’s easy to focus on the negative right now, an unforeseen consequence of the pandemic is people are driving less, have a new found appreciation for wanting to be outside, and are starting to garden. All in all, doesn’t sound too bad, does it? While the effects of the pandemic might not last for the environment, given long enough some individuals might form positive habits from being forced inside. This year, I wanted to take some time to discuss some of my personal habits and what makes me feel good.

I’ve always been inclined to walk. When I lived in Corvallis, I either walked or rode my bike to class, I never drove. If I needed a car, I’d carpool. It was a simple, elegant lifestyle. Corvallis was the perfect town for college. Public transit was also free but I only ever took the bus a handful of times, opting in most situations to walk. Towards the end of my senior year, I was running almost every day. It was great.

In Corvallis, I rarely ate out, which was a huge transition for me. Freshman year I went from eating out almost every day to kneading bread and crafting quiche by my Junior year. I learned to compost and use energy efficient bulbs and shower heads. I took sustainability courses and environmental economics.

And now I have Pokemon Go and an electric bike! I made a decision early on to not drive and opt for public transit when I moved back to Portland. I drove for a bit but ultimately stopped when it came to the economics of it all. I could buy a car for a couple thousand and then make car payments on top of that, or I could by a fold-able bike with a motor and a basket for around $2000. Now that I have plenty of time on my hands, I plan to be using my bike a lot more.

My primary hobby before the plague was learning to ferment food. To date I’ve made miso paste, hard cider, bitters, and sauerkraut. A DIY project was to make soap. I opted for an oatmeal textured, grapefruit scented soap. From the consumer end, I’ve been trying to find creative uses for cardboard and when I make purchases, making an effort to purchase all at once rather than a thousand different packages with one item each.

The next task is DIY projects and gardening. We are a wasteful society and I want to make positive change. If I can’t recycle plastic, I can at the very least learn how to re-purpose it so it doesn’t end up in some foreign country America has deemed its landfill (or create a completely new continent…).

And it wouldn’t be Earth Day without a call to action, would it? I spent the majority of the article talking about individual actions that I’ve done and that have made me feel good; in a perfect world, this would be enough. But, we do not live in a perfect world. In the 70’s corporations shifted responsibility away from themselves and led effective marketing campaigns to convince the consumer that the environment was their obligation and they should be good stewards. I can’t disagree with this. What I can disagree with is many companies have absolved themselves of responsibility and pollute as much as they can get away with. This needs to end. My recommendation is start with an education. Watch “Broken” and “Rotten” on Netflix, learn about supply chains. If you’re a student, consider sustainability courses and even down the road, a degree in sustainability (eventually I want to get my Masters in the subject). When you can argue beyond a doubt for the environment, that’s when people will listen and change can happen. Then, share your message. Start with friends, then governors, and then, perhaps one day, with corporations themselves. Profit shouldn’t be the bottom line, our health and the health of the environment should be. Happy Earth Day!

Like my content? Remember to like and follow. Share with your friends! If you want to support me financially, consider subscribing to my Patreon or buying me a cup of coffee through Ko-Fi! Below is the link:

Support this Blog!!!

I’ll also be trying something new this post! I’ve picked a cause and I’d recommend donating to them! The Ocean Cleanup is an Organization I’ve admired for a while now and their whole mission is to make the oceans a bit cleaner. Below is their link:

Ocean Cleanup Donation Page

I’ll be working on ways to improve donations and fundraisers on this site in the future as I’d love to integrate social change causes in the day-to-day of the blog as the site continues to grow and expand. For now, expect to see the occasional donation link but who knows what the future might hold! As always, I’d love to hear your feedback.

And it’s been a while since I’ve done a prompt, so here we go! What are you doing this Earth Day to make an impact? What is something unique or that you’re proud of that you do to have a positive impact on our environment? Looking forward to your responses!

Most Likes

So on April 20th, on the day after my 5th anniversary with WordPress, I also received the most likes on a single post in a single day. 14 likes. It’s crazy. Likes can vary from post to post but to put that in perspective, my posts typically receive 14 likes in their lifetime. If you go through my blog, posts that have been there months or even years have typically 13 to 14 likes. My posts from 5 years ago? Most have zero likes, the best typically had one. What was I writing at the time? Back then, I had word of the days and poetry commentary (if I even chose to comment on it). It was around May that I started to expand my writing and try to have some semblance of my own thoughts and it is around this time I started getting more than a couple likes on my posts. A like back then feels just as good as it does now and with my blog growing, it is satisfying to take a look back every once in a while. Some of you have been with me since the very beginning and I do notice, I see your likes pop up time and time again and I appreciate the support; I may not call anyone out individually, but as a blogger it’s gratifying to know that whatever I post, you are following me for me and not a persona I would like people to believe I am. There is a reason my domain is my name.

On the back-end, I do enjoy combing over the stats. Typically after a post, I check each day to see the views and the comments left. I see what content people prefer and do my best to meet demand (I actually have no idea what demand is). Another favorite of mine as far as data is concerned is looking at the map to see where the views are coming from. While the majority of views come from the US, at this point my blog has been seen by many nations throughout the world. And that’s what I love about blogging. Is, for every barrier we put up, we often find we have more in common than we do not.

My most popular posts seem to be my update posts. Clunky at first, like a fine wine they have only gotten better over time. And they’re fun to write. As I sit in my room, sipping my cup of coffee, I’m in a state of pure bliss.

Each like helps support the blog, each follow helps grow the community. Part of my content restructuring involves ideas for long term growth. What happens when the blog surpasses 150 followers? 200? 500? And then finally, 1000? Honestly, I don’t expect much to change. The benefit of having more followers is a larger community. I’ve been talking primarily about likes but another aspect I’ve enjoyed is comments. At the moment, very few comment on my posts but when I started, no one commented on my post. As the blog grows, I expect an influx in comments and I’m looking forward to it. All in all, it’s an exciting time for this blog.

And that’s it! Remember, if you like my content, share it with your friends or give it a shout out on social media! The more traffic the site can get, the better. And remember to check out my Patreon and Ko-fi! I’m steadily improving both, so please take a look and provide your feedback! I can add tiers for Patreon and set goals for Ko-fi, so let me know what you’d like! Below is the link:

Support this Blog!!!

Looking to contact me via email? Click below:

Contact me!!!

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below!