This blog is 4 years old today! A personal retrospective!

It’s kind of hard to imagine it’s already been four years! But it’s true! I started this blog on 06th of September 2019!

You can find my first-ever blog post here, which was interesting to read after four years!

I had given myself a little interview, I have no idea where I got these questions from, but I’m glad I did do that.

Back then, I said that I’d hope people would stumble on this blog and find it useful, and I could have never imaged just how many people would read my blog throughout the years! Every now and then, I get a little comment saying thank you, which I really appreciate. Sometime people even donate a cup of coffee!

I also said that I wished I could maybe build a little community… I had forgotten that I said that, but it makes sense. When I tried doing a few YouTube videos for fun, I tried building a little community, but I think I rushed things a little. I’m a nerd, not an entertainer, so maybe YouTube videos aren’t my thing. But I intend to give it another try sometime.

However, I think I had more luck building a little community on the Fediverse! By which I mean I made a couple of friends and met a few people who will read my blog when I post something new. :D

I guess I’m not a people’s person, and four years ago I asked myself “Who would you love to connect with via your blog?” to which I jokingly responded “Stay away! :D”.

That’s because I’m quite introverted. Or was introverted? It felt a bit odd to read this four years later. I used to be very introverted, I’d always think, rather than speak, but I also had social anxiety. I still do have social anxiety, but Fedi helped me get out of the shell. Perhaps a bit too much, as I now dump a lot of nonsense! And it’s good to know I can do that without everybody hating me. :D

I sometimes wonder if I should go back to being more serious and formal, as that’s where I feel most comfortable. I do like making silly jokes, though!

I feel like “Sindastra” is an identity crisis between me, simply being myself, and a “brand” wanting to write serious articles! Well, semi-serious articles. (:

Back when I joined the Fediverse on 08th of September 2019 (yes, shortly after creating the blog!), the network was a lot smaller. I didn’t really interact that much, and I definitely did not post nonsense. I could post an article, and many people would see it (no, I don’t mean this in a mainstream “outreach” way). Nowadays, I post something, and it’s not really seen as much. The socially anxious part of my brain asks: Is this because the Fediverse has grown so much that I go under, or has the Fediverse conspired against me because I’m so annoying? :D

What I’m really looking for when I post things, is feedback, friendly people who want to chat (and of course, I still hope it will be useful to someone in some way)! So, I guess maybe what I’m looking for are meaningful connections, and encouragement, knowing that people find what I do useful and/or like it so that I know I shall continue doing it!

So, four years later, the answer to “Who would you love to connect with via your blog?” is “Anyone who is willing to! (:”

I guess to four more years, right? 🍻

PS This blog, but also fedi, were a big part of my personal and social development in the past four years. I think I should create an anniversary post more often, to keep a log and be able to look back. Also, if you’d ask me if I’d do anything differently about my blog, the answer is yes. With hindsight, I would have created fewer but more meaningful categories and tags to organize posts into. :D