2017 Blogging A to Z Reflections

The Blogging A to Z Challenge concluded on April 30 and I must admit that I was glad to see it end.  Overall, it was a good experience, but it is an exhausting experience as well.

Today I'm linking up one last time in order to reflect on my experience and to share some of my thoughts.

Notable Themes I Came Across:

• Maryanne Holloway's (@ If I Only Had a Time Machine), "We Didn't Start the Fire" which broke down the history-filled lyrics to the Billy Joel's 1989 song of the same name.
• Lisa's (@ Tales from the Love Shaque) "Hair Band Songs".  Lisa's daily trip down memory lane brought back a lot of memories from my junior high and high school years.
• Donna B. McNicol's (@ Romance and Mystery ... Writing My Life) "Oh, The Places We Will Go" travel theme was a wonderful collection of her travels.  Reading several of her entries gave me a serious case of wanderlust.

I actually had a theme this year - '92 Time Capsule.  Here are some of my '92 Time Capsule Superlatives:

• Most Viewed Entry: A is for Aladdin & Andrew
• Least Viewed Entry: (tie) P is for Prince Charles and Princess Diana, People, The Pelican Brief, & P.M. Dawn and W is for Wayne's World, Washington, Wimbledon, & Williams 
• My Favorite A to Z Entry:  I don't necessarily have a favorite.
• My Least Favorite A to Z Entry: X is for Malcolm X & X-Men

Thoughts On New Linking Up Format:

There was a new format for "linking up" this year.  In lieu of adding your blog to one, master link list, you had to create a hyperlink of your blog post that corresponded to the letter of the day and post the hyperlink in the comment section.  This new format, from what I understand, was an attempt to avoid dead links (people who sign up for the challenge and then don't follow through) and to save the A to Z team time, because they had to go through the list periodically to eliminate any blogs that weren't actively participating.  Here are my thoughts on this new format:

• At first I didn't think it was too big of deal.  I changed my mind once I created a hyperlink and posted it in the comments after the 9th or 10th time.  It got old fast.
• For me, it was a pain the ass to create a new hyperlink everyday, some of which I could NEVER get to work, go to the A to Z website, and post it.
• Scrolling the comments everyday to search for other participants, in order to spread some blogger love, was irritating.  I never once felt like I could get a handle on the never ending comments section.
• I completely understand the rationale behind the new method, but I did not like it.

Q & A

Why didn't I participate in the theme reveal?

Because I still hadn't decided whether or not I was going to participate in the challenge.

Will I participate next year?

At this point and time, probably not.

Why?

First of all, it's a lot of work.  Second, the challenge comes at a time in the year when my responsibilities at work begin to increase due to the approaching end of the school year.    I found myself working later and then scrambling around in the evenings to make sure my post for the next day was ready to roll, even though I prepared many in advance.  Third, although I enjoyed researching and writing the topics for my theme, participating in the challenge took time away from my participation in other linkups that I like to join in throughout the month. And lastly, as I mentioned earlier, it's a lot of work.

If it's so much work, why did I decide to participate a second year in a row?

Well, first, I love a good challenge.  I am a self-proclaimed challenge junkie.  I like to set a goal and then rise to the occasion, doing whatever I have to in order to complete it.  Second, I had done a lot of the prep work for my theme in advance and I hated to see it go to waste.  I seriously contemplated holding everything and participating next year with the theme, but the the whole reason for my theme, '92 Time Capsule, is because 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of my high school graduation.  Doing a time capsule theme 26 years later after the fact just didn't seem like it would be as relative or have as much impact.

Overall, how would I rate my experience on a scale of 1 to 10?

I would give my experience a 7.  I thoroughly enjoyed building my list, conducting the research, and writing the posts.  Everything I included was relative to the year 1992, which was a very significant year for me.  The entire experience was a nice little trip down memory lane.

If you are a fellow Blogging A to Z survivor - congratulations to you!  If you participated in the challenge, how would you rate your experience?  Was it a positive experience?

As always, thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful Monday.