#AtoZChallenge - Perspectives: #Reflections on the 2017 AtoZ Event

This year was a mixture of the very familiar and the totally new.  Familiar as once again we selected themes, posted each day in accordance to the alphabet, visited blogs that were new to us, commented, linked, shared.  That same sense of fellowship.  The same chance to learn new things, see places we'd never otherwise see, get glimpses into lives all around the world to see for all our differences we have so much in common.  In reality, each and every blog is a unique perspective on the world.  A view, typically from one person and drawn from their knowledge and experiences. 


The new of this year revolved around doing away with one central linky list and replacing it with a separate list for each day's alphabet.  This had it's ups and it's downs.  The largest down simply being that each participant had to go and link up each day.  The only other down I can think of is that it makes it much harder to gauge how many of the blogs you have visited at least once and how many are left to go.  So, for someone determined to visit them all, this would be a drawback.  Since I never make it to all of them, it did not matter for me. 


The upside, of this new approach, from my perspective, vastly outweighed the drawbacks.  For one thing, you never had to worry about arriving at a blog before they had posted for the new day/letter combination.  For another thing, it seemed traffic stayed interspersed more evenly throughout the day instead of all bunched up.  Also, I loved often knowing the topic of the day right in the list!  There was also more opportunity to share on social media without simply repeating same posts.   It was very nice that not once did I go to a blog and find it to not be participating!  Overall, this new approach is a total winner in my book. 


I found so many themes and posts I enjoyed this year!  It seemed more varied, and richer content abounded.  Not, to slight anyone who I visited and enjoyed, I still want to take the time to spotlight those that caught my fancy in a particular manner: 

A. J. Sefton Dark Ages Historical Fiction - A.J. led me on a journey through the places of the dark ages and the events surrounding them. He revealed the history that is known as well as the legend and myth and included breathtaking pictures for our journey.  If King Arthur appeals to you, the Legend of Robin Hood resides in your heart or tales of Vikings stir your blood you will enjoy!

Coach Daddy - I stumbled upon Eli and was mesmerized.  His theme was simply to clean out his idea box of assorted posts.  Each day was a new surprise, yet every entry was delivered with warmth, humor and humility. Visit once and fall in love.

Jingle Jangle Jungle - Mary blogs about music.  For the Challenge she took us back through the 70's with a list of Billboard Magazine's chart toppers.  Since I was 10-19 years old through the decade, I enjoyed hearing songs that still remain on my playlists and those forgotten gems. Even if you didn't live the 70's, they offered some of the best rock ever made.  So roll on over and have a listen.

Josie Two Shoes - Josie weaved magic in six sentences each day about one character in a story entitled "Full Circle".  The theme revolves around a ladies' group and life in a small Midwest town.  Written with warmth, we see women we know reflected in these posts as genuine, warts and all. If you came from, live in or ever wanted to be in a small town you must visit Cottonwood Creek!

Living in the In Between - Christian author, Ronda Werre, explores the the deeds and life of King David's Mighty Men of the Old Testament.  She gleans from the scriptures every morsel of information about these brave, loyal warriors of old.  If you enjoy delving deeper into scripture,  as I do, and exploring in detail the eras of the Bible to make it come alive, you'll like this series!  Even if you simply love action and stories of bravery you'll be at home here.

my morning cup of coffee...  -  Much like Dr. Sam Beckett finds himself leaping into different situations within his own lifetime in Quantum Leap, Debby leaps us around to different events of the Baby Boom years, essentially from the mid forties to the mid sixties.  Relive memories on this ride or gain a new perspective on your parents or grandparents through these articles.

If Only I Had a Time Machine -  Maryann revealed her creative side when she chose the lyrics to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" for her theme. With each letter, she explores the historical references named in the song!  A truly unique way to explore history and a great way to get the whole idea of the song.

Science Ladybug -  Being a science teacher herself, Ann is qualified to lead us through exploring the difference between opinion and scientific fact.  She clarifies things for us, reminds us of things we forgot and does it without boring us!  After all, her blog subtitle is "keeping science fun", which she does.

The Old Shelter - Sarah takes us by the hand and leads us through the dark, intriguing and dangerous world of film noir where the femme fatale and damaged heroes live.  Step in and explore the mark world war and the changing roles of men and women made on Hollywood film and America.

Ya Gotta Laugh About It - Calling her blog an electronic journal, Rhondi simply writes about her life and her experiences.  She does it with an honesty and sense of optimism you grow to love.  If you never have, you must go meet this glass half full Canadian girl.

Some of these I have already read every post and others I am going back to to finish.  All are on my follow list.

What did you think of the new way of doing things?  Are any of my picks also on your list?  Is there anything you want to recommend to me?

Barbara

Reflections on the April A to Z Blogging Challenge, 2016 Edition

I'm going to try to keep this post short and sweet, as I myself am exhausted from a beautiful, wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  

I like to end on a positive note, so I'll begin on the negative.  I had less interaction this year, than last year.  But I expected that going in.  My Tender Years theme about childhood memories was simple and plain.  Also, I was a minion last year and was everywhere.  This year I was not a minion and was lucky to visit my 6 list blogs a day, answer my comments and drop in on a few of the many blogs I wanted to follow through the Challenge.  All together, I had about 1200 less visits than last year.

On the plus side, in many ways, this year rocked!!!  I had a core of people who really got into my Tender Years theme and visited almost every post!  I found many new blogs to follow, who seem to be the type that I love the most:  just real people blogging about life.  To me, that is what blogging is. As the year progresses, and I see just what unfolds on these "new" to me blogs, I'll be spotlighting and sharing.  Statistics wise, even though this year did not out do last year. it did surpass any of the other three years I was in the Challenge.

So, I'm chalking this year up as a win, win.  I gained some new, looks to be faithful, followers and found some new blogs I think I can really love.  Some of you will be seeing me coming back on slow Saturdays reading A to Z posts I missed.  Some of you won't; not because I don't care, but because there just aren't enough hours in a day.  

For those not familiar yet with Caneyhead as usual, I do my own thing called "I Saw it on Facebook", where I take an image I saw on Facebook and expound upon it.  Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes humorous or tongue in cheek.  You'll also see faith posts, as I am a professing, Bible believing, born again Christian.  There are also personal posts about life in Caneyhead, post about things that matter to me, posts regarding issues I care about.  Occasionally my warped sense of humor and random train of thought take a bow here as well.  I do not have certain days for certain things.  Life doesn't work that way.  You'll likely see one to three posts a week from me.   

Thanks to our Challenge hosts, minions and helpers!  And I certainly hope I"ll see every one of you back here next year for 2017!  If you want to see some more reflections, just click the image above.