This is just a quick personal observation post before I get back to the retro related ones, but I wanted to take a moment to say something to all of my fellow bloggers out there that I know of who still update their sites on a regular or semi-regular basis: congratulations.
You see, last week I noticed in my Blogger dashboard that many of the blogs I used to follow at one time are now dead as a doornail. Many haven't been updated in months and a good handful haven't been touched in years -- the one on my list with the longest dormancy period I saw was five years!
It did make me a little sad -- I'm sorry to see them fall by the wayside. Naturally, many of them had a retro/vintage theme. One of these sites that I was aware would no longer be updated any longer was 1972: The Retro WW Experiment. The WW stands for Weight Watchers and the author, Mimi, would make and post meals from 1970s Weight Watchers booklets. I thought she had a really great niche these for a blog, but after she failed to get an interview with WW's founder, Jean Nidetch (who also died last year) she closed the shop up on any new posts.
I guess I'm bringing it up as an excuse to pat myself on the back, because there have been a couple of times I thought of throwing in the towel myself (although I'm awfully glad and grateful that I stuck it out.) When I first starting writing Go Retro in 2007 I did it with the intentions of just posting for fun; I certainly did not expect to attract a lot of readers or make any money with it right off the bat. It took about a good five years before either of those things started to happen (and make no mistake; while I run advertising on this blog, it's not like the revenue I get is anywhere near an amount to live off of; more like I'm grateful it covers filling my car's tank up with gas every couple of months.)
And it's only due to the fact I've been out of work for a while that I've been able to update this site and obsess over the layout and other things about it so much. Blogging can be a lot of work and it can really take a while to build and audience and see results. So I get where so many folks I followed no longer have the time and/or the passion to keep at it.
Having said that, another reason for this post is just to mention the updated blog roll I added at the bottom right side of the page, below the contact me form. I encourage you to check out these swell bloggers' sites, that are still quite active and updated regularly. Some have a retro theme and some do not, but I have my own reasons for following all of them and try to pop in on them when I can. They all deserve their own pat on the back!
