Hello? Is anybody out there?

...

Do you hear that? It's the sound of crickets.

Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but the blogosphere seems like a ghost town to me. It's something I've noticed in the past few months.

There used to be a time when this blog would get up to 200 comments. Then 100. Then 50. Now I'm lucky to hit 20.

My stat numbers are the same, but it's mostly a direct result of google searches. This blog has become an encyclopedia of pop culture for strangers around the world.

But I don't want to be a reference.

And I don't like the way the blogosphere works. I'm tired of it.

When you start a blog, a lot of people offer advice on how to get more "readers." Because that leads to "advertising."

They don't tell you the reality. If you want comments, you need to comment on other people's blogs. So, if you want 200 comments on a post, you better be prepared to give up your entire life, because you're going to have to comment on 200 blogs. Every fucking time. (Unless you're Jane from Sea of Shoes. And nobody becomes Sea of Shoes overnight. Sorry, kids.)

If you want followers, you have to follow others back.

I understand the blogosphere is a community. And without this two-way street, I seriously would not have met some of the most important friends in my life. It's as simple as that.

But having a successful blog is exhausting. I don't have time to comment on other blogs, just to receive comments. I'm uninterested in following somebody merely for their follow back. Why bother.

I had a goal to reach 1,000 followers this year, and I'm so burnt out, I don't even want that many anymore. Because it's not real. It will just be a bunch of random fashion bloggers who follow me, hoping I'll follow back, and then after a few months, think I'm not paying attention, and un-follow me so they can start following others.

It's juvenile and I'm too old for this shit.

And after almost four years of blogging, I keep feeling like I shouldn't have to adhere to these rules anymore. If my blog is good, it should stand on its own.

If not, maybe I need to consider spending my time elsewhere.

If you're a blogger, than you probably realize how much time I put into these posts. Yeah, these are random topics straight off the top of my head, but for the most part, they're thoroughly researched. I'm a journalist. I was trained to be a fact-checker.

And I can't help but think that perhaps this blog isn't worth the effort anymore.

Especially if nobody reads blogs anymore. I seriously can't be the only blogger noticing the chill in the air. I can't be the only blogger with a declining readership.

Or maybe I just suck.

Anyway.

That's all.