What's in a Blog Name? Day 1 of 30-Day Blogging Challenge

Hivers what's up? After my post last month I haven't visited this space until my good friend Hive account@kayceeports2020 launched her Introduction Post aptly called The Pilot Episode with Kaycee Ports. I can tell that she wasn't expecting the warm welcome that this community has shown her. This space is really welcoming 😊

I have a new post in the works since 3 weeks ago but I stumbled upon Hive account@tegoshei's 30-Day Blogging Challenge. Knowing me, ever the dog who goes after shiny new things as my friend Hive account@anneporter puts it I'm just going to have to do this first over that 😂.

I love this challenge because of two reasons (1) it helps build engagement among Hivers and (2) it's fun! I totally agree with Hive account@tegoshei when she said that while quality is of great value here on Hive, we must not also forget to have fun in the process of blogging. Let's join in on the fun Hivers and take part in this challenge!

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
-Juliet in Act 2 Scene 2 of "Romeo and Juliet"

If you guys aren't familiar with the above line, Juliet said this to Romeo when their romance blossomed despite the fact that their families are sworn enemies. She went on to say this as she meant that only their names are the enemies, not them as who they are. A rose can still smell as sweet even if it were called something else. Romeo still is the love of her life even if he had the name of their enemy.

In that sense, I agree. We are so much more than our names. Our blogs are so much more than what we call it. I have just read Hive account@ybanezkim26's post and I always wondered what that 26 stood for. I know now! It's not his age, it's his birthday. I have been following his work and I can say that his username gives us a clue of what he writes about. It's uniquely his. He gives us a peek into his awesome brain through the way he writes. But I also think that what we name our blogs would totally influence what we will make out of it. It's our brand. Kim also shares quality travel posts and he has made his name in this space because of that. You can expect that his posts are of good quality, heavy and sharp. His posts are not for the faint of heart.




As for Hive account@thegaillery, it's about the part of me that I would like to share with everybody. It's a portmanteau of Gail and gallery, in case you didn't get that. I've always had a fascination for the arts but I followed what I knew was practical back then - to have a career in the sciences because that's what pays. It's still true now, I know. But I can't help but think how my life would've turned out had I chosen the road less traveled. I had a chance to talk to a high school classmate one night and he said that I'd changed. He recalls that I was the "smiley" girl back then and now he sees me as perpetually stressed 😂. Tragic, right? Who would've thought that eight years of chemical engineering would do this to me? Hahaha, nevertheless, I think there's no point in crying over spilled milk so here I am now trying to correct what I've gotten wrong along the way. I shouldn't have let the ChE life control me, I should've taken charge of it. So here's my attempt in rectifying that. In the gloomy phase of adulthood, The Gaillery will show the colorful side of Gail.




In my introduction post, I shared about the three reasons why I think I have a place here in Hive. I craft my posts with these in mind.

I've also come to realize that one of the things I needed to work on as a blogger was to shift my perspective from that of an earner to a contributor. I have to add value to the blockchain first before I could think about what I can get out of it. It was about adding value first over rewards. If it were the other way around, I will not thrive in here. I have to give value first before I expect for anything in return.

In my first year as a blogger on Steemit, I've realized that apart from being making the blockchain work for me, I should do my part by contributing to its overall value as well.




My previous post didn't get as much traction as I hoped it would. I'll be honest, it did make me feel frustrated for a while. I was back to the cycle of questioning myself again if this was worth it. If you didn't read it, please do! Here's a quick link. I was about to consume myself with frustration but I told myself that I wouldn't go back to the mindset that got me stuck in the first place. There's no where else to go but forward at this point. It got such a low monetary value but it did give me engagement. I got to know other Hivers outside my Steemit circle. I realized that apart from the monetary perspective, I could look at it from an engagement point of view. I got people talking about their jobs and what makes them actually feel fulfilled. I guess I'm good with that.

One thing that I noticed as well here on Hive is that Self-Help isn't quite a celebrated topic... yet. I'm guessing that it's because people here would prefer to talk about cryptocurrency, travel and community. I am optimistic that as the Hivers are growing in number, I can expect for the self-help movement to rise albeit slowly, but gradually. So to all my fellow self-improvement junkies, we'll get there! I'd be glad to be part of the first bloggers who'd make it mainstream here! fingers crossed




I'd like to thank Hive account@tegoshei again for this initiative. If it weren't for her, this distracted dog would've still been procrastinating on the post it'd been conceptualizing since last month 😂. It's my hope that I can deliver my promise of adding value here by writing quality and engaging posts. Even if it won't earn me that much at least there's still engagement that I can still look forward to. Thank you for reading all the way through! See you in Day 2 😁