RECAP: My First Year of "Dad Blogging"

Note: The featured image is from my oldest son’s 1st birthday. I thought it was fitting since I’m celebrating that my blog has been around for a year.

“Dad blogging” is actually a thing. There are conferences/meetings around the country where blogging dads get together and talk about blogging. And by “blogging,” I mean getting away from their wives and kids. Just kidding. I’m hoping to go to one of these “conferences” some day.

This time last year, I published my first ever dad blog post. I originally started a blog with my friend Chuck Stephens at DadBS.com but we decided to go in our own different directions. It turned out to be a good thing for both of us. I decided to set up shop here (at VideoGamingDad.com). I had owned the domain name for years but wasn’t sure what to do with it. It seemed like a perfect fit for a dad blog.

I owe Chuck big time for giving me the idea to blog about my experiences as a dad and inspiring me to get started.

5 Things I’ve Learned Over the Past Year

1) People actually read my blog. It’s not always a good thing, especially when I write about experiences that involve other people. One of the first things I wrote about was an experience at my oldest son’s basketball game when he didn’t play a single minute and was extremely disappointed. I felt really bad for him and wrote about the experience (approximately a month after the game was played). Next thing I know, the coach left a comment and so did a couple of parents from the school (one of them was another team dad). I wasn’t complaining or even being negative but let’s just say that dealing with the comments wasn’t fun. I couldn’t sleep for days. I ended up calling the coach, hiding the comments and editing the post. It was a great learning experience for me though. I learned that the people I write about (even if I don’t mention them by name) could read what I write and potentially create an awkward situation.

2) Clicking the “Publish” button is extremely gratifying. There’s just something about posting something I wrote on the Internet that makes me feel like I accomplished something. I don’t care if anyone reads it. I am extremely proud of this blog.

3) I feel like I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been blogging for years about digital marketing and I’m not always confident in what I write. For this blog, I’m writing about my life and experiences with my family. Since I’m experiencing it first-hand, I’d like to think I know more about it than anyone else. Plus, as the father of three kids, I want to share experiences that someone else might find helpful.

4) Writing is easy when I’m in a groove. When I started this blog, I couldn’t post my content fast enough. I was so excited and I couldn’t write fast enough to keep up with the idea swimming in my head. I ended up having to pace myself so that I wasn’t posting something every single day.

Then I went on vacation to Disney in late-February and didn’t write a single thing. I also managed to lose my notebook with all my ideas for future posts inside. It was a major buzzkill. I lost my swagger. When I returned from vacation, I manage to post a write a few things but the momentum was gone. Ideas popped into my head but I didn’t take the time to write them down. Next thing I know, four months passed and I hadn’t posted a single thing.

Last week, I wrote about my effort to be more creative in 2015. Hopefully, I can manage to write at least one new post per week.

5. People might actually enjoy reading my stuff. I write because I enjoy it and I think it will be fun to look back someday on the experiences with my family. It is extremely gratifying (and humbling) when friends or even people I don’t know (like a parent at my kids’ school) tell me that they enjoy reading my blog. It’s a wonderful feeling. Hopefully, I can keep this blog going and I can learn even more in 2015.