No, not the latest default theme for WordPress, though I admit it is pretty nifty (and there might be some changes happening around here because of it). First I have to level up my energy and concentration.
Honestly, I think I had a “Rip Van Winkle” episode. Things got to be just too much (inner critic: nag, nag, nag) and I needed to take an extended break from all things internet.
First, Twitter: all drama, all the time. Good-bye for now. (If you’re currently following me, I’m still getting DM’s.)
Mastodon: Unlike my offspring, I have not taken to it like a duck to water. This post from one of my knitting klatches might help. If you’re tooting, let me know in the comments and I’ll add you to my growing toot circle (but, like tree rings, it may take ages).
Instagram: Soon again. Maybe. Commenting, yes.
Goodreads: As a result of being offline, I’m reading (and knitting) more than usual (which isn’t saying much).
- Currently I’m reading Katie Mack’s “The End of Everything: Astrophysically Speaking“. Seemed appropriate.
- Knitting-wise it’s another pair of fingerless mitts, my go-to project to keep my hands busy and warm.
IRL: The big news for us is we took our whole family abroad for the first time since BC (before Covid; once-upon-a-time, that acronym meant “before children”). For hubby and me this was a huge step mentally and physically, being we are in the 65+ crowd. It was a short holiday, not too far away and not too cold. Just right. There were lessons learned (and relearned) on this trip so that we do it better on the next one and I believe there will be a next one fairly soon.
On WordPress.com: Too much to add here. The biggest news is the move by all the current learning courses from the closed wpcourses website (with its really wonderful social forum, which I personally will miss) to the freely accessible wordpress.com/learn and a separate, but integrated, Education Community forum in the community support forums.
ICYMI: A must-watch. Matt Mullenweg’s 2022 “State of the Word” annual keynote address, where he said big things are happening in 2023. Still hoping to see answers to the questions asked in the YouTube chat during the live session in December. (The featured image on this post was modified from his presentation.)
On the blog: Jetpack Stats let me know that 2022 tied with 2020 for the most posts published (17), but there were fewer words per post on average than 2020 (681 vs. 898). Twenty twenty-two also had the most comments ever (185), but ranked second to 2020 in Likes.
Thank you for making 2022 a banner year! 🎉🙌
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What’s next for you in 2023?
As always, the information in this post is correct as of publication date. Changes are inevitable.
WPcomMaven 
17 posts! … Best I’ve been able to do is three posts in a day . . . wait . . . per year! Ah, yeah, I had a few more than that.
I keep meaning to look at my stats, but they seem somewhat irrelevant because I know I have much less interaction than even when I started blogging. Basically, comments are down to less than a handful of people, and even then, not regularly.
I know I’m posting a lot, so I’m probably overwhelming readers (or making them very, very tired of me). (I just looked . . . 404 posts, 400K words)
I looked at the 2023 theme, hoping to find something to like but, again, nowhere near matching my preferred layout, despite promises of customization galore. I’m sure if I do a deep dive I might be able to get to a format that’s acceptable, but it doesn’t seem it would be easy (because I tried).
My social network interactions were stopped years ago, and I’ve not missed them (I still have all the accounts). Being sort of tired of a large portion of the human race, I’m not looking to join anything, especially given the various reports of dumpster fires on most platforms.
Traveling sounds . . . challenging. We, too, hope to get back to it at some point.
You don’t say if it was a good experience. I don’t mean the destination; I mean the actual traveling (what gives us pause).
Anyway, welcome back, and Happy 2023.
Given that this blog is quite niche, it surprised me that I’d written 17 posts last year! Twenty-twenty was when blocks hit the fan and I was very fired up about writing tutorials. For whatever reason, the Site Editor just hasn’t lit my fire in the same way, so to speak. If I ever find some aspect of the Site Editor where I can share a revelation, I’ll be on it. Meantime, WordPress.com keeps handing me things to write about.
After three years of not traveling abroad, the experience itself was at best reasonable. I also didn’t have high expectations since we flew with a low-cost (sic) airline and our flights were booked solid in both directions. We were masked both ways. Now I’m thinking about long distance flights and THAT gives me the heebie-jeebies.
129 posts from me in 2022, with just over 5,200 comments (some of those include my responses to comments) and just over 48,000 words.
I left one large blogging community because it was getting too much like ‘I’ll like and comment on your post if you like and comment on my post! I spent far too long reading posts that did not interest me. Now I’ve claimed back all that time.
I am pleased that WordPress.Com will always hand us something to write about. I’m always surprised by how many readers don’t know a lot of the stuff that WordPress notify users about. I guess it’s a case of not having time to read or simply not caring.
What’s next for me in 2023? To carry on blogging about blogging and to help even more, especially new bloggers who have questions about the art of blogging. Oh, and not to get angry with those bloggers who come in with a bang and leave quietly when they realise blogging isn’t as easy as they thought it was going to be.
Hi Hugh, those are quite the stats and a testament to both you and your blog’s community.
The long haul is a challenge, unless a blogger has a journey or purpose to share. Generally that’s not something that new bloggers think about, but then discover when their initial enthusiasm wanes or it becomes more time consuming than they originally thought (Feed the blog! Feed the blog!). Over the 25 years I’ve been online, I’ve spun off my various interests to separate sites to tailor my content to my audience and have closed more sites than I can count. But, hey, that’s life. 🙂
I’m not surprised that people don’t know about the technicalities of blogging or aren’t familiar with the big picture. From my experience, folks generally dive in when they encounter an issue they need to resolve. That’s why having good resources, official and non-official, are so important. Keep up the good work!
25 years! My goodness, that’s a great run, Jen. You must have witnessed so many changes over that time. How long have you been blogging?
Pretty much from the beginning, although that was long before there was WordPress! It was all hand-coded HTML and CSS.
On, my! Can you imagine those still complaining that they’re not going to use the Block editor having to use hand-coded HTML and CSS.
I think the technical bridge to working with the Site Editor is still quite high for most folks. But even if we don’t hard code our sites any longer, knowing the basics of both *HTML and CSS* adds to one’s understanding of their use. That’s always a good thing.
*Edited to add.
And answers to the questions asked in the chat during 2022 State of the Word have been posted at https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/01/13/sotw22qa/
I had to chuckle when I read that “global search” is being considered for a “new admin tool.” We had Global Search (AKA Omnisearch) c. 2013-2017, but it was dropped in favor of separate searches for each admin dashboard. I guess it’s another good example of everything old is new again. 😊