I've started and stopped this blog many times over the years. At times, I've built a decent readership so that it doesn't feel like I'm shouting into the void. But a few years ago, I became erratic and made too many changesāremoving content, redesigning the site, even changing the domain name. I lost almost all my readers.
When I started publishing on this new version of the blog, the viewership was nearly nonexistent. But as I kept writing and added my blog to a few blogrolls, I slowly gained traction. A few weeks ago, the views suddenly became consistent.
I'm really happy about thisāI couldn't have asked for more. But here's the problem: earlier, I would have posted journal entries expressing all my ideas without filters, but now I have to think carefully about what to publish and what to hold back. I've even unpublished posts.
The blog is fairly anonymous, but it can still be connected to my identity. And that's where the real problem lies. I'm not worried about readers in Eastern Europe, but here in Indiaāwhere I liveāit could jeopardize my work.
I've thought about starting a completely new blog with a fresh identity, but I'd certainly lose all the views I've built over such a long time.
I'm still wrestling with this dilemma.