In the past year, I’ve made a lot of changes on the blog. I went self-hosted, I narrowed my focus, and I’m now a history and culture blog (with style, of course!). I love my corner of the internet and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, I love that I can bring history, style, and culture to people. However, there are some aspects of being a history and culture blogger that can be difficult to deal with, and a lot of questions that I ask myself!
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you will know that I’ve touched several subject and topics over the years. I have narrowed it down to history, culture, and style to give more of a focus but still allow me the breadth I enjoy. Lifestyle blogging can be very enjoyable, but I found that it is a huge arena where it can be hard to make any headway, and it can feel like you are split in a million directions. I’ve got my narrowed down niche now, and it’s wonderful!
History and culture make sense for me. I have two undergraduate and a graduate degree in history, I have published papers, and I stay as active in the field as I can. In terms of culture, I have been involved in ballet since I could walk, and my local ballet company is my favourite thing in all of Winnipeg. I think that culture and art can be accessible and enjoyed by everyone if it is approached in the right way! And style? Well, I believe that your personal style is very much a part of your identity, and that it plays a crucial role in all of our lives (whether you acknowledge it or not).
In terms of history, you have to narrow that down, as well. History is a vast endless subject, and there is always another period, another area, another person to study. I personally have few areas of research right now: royal history, ballet history, early and medieval Ireland, England, and Scotland. Although it is quite a range, I love that I have options to look into what interests me at the time! And I love that blogging about culture can help people explore new things and take chances they wouldn’t otherwise take. (I’ve now had over 10 readers tell me that they’ve gone to the ballet on my recommendation, and that is my biggest blogging accomplishment!)
There are some challenges that comes with having a history and culture blog, though, and there are some questions that I ask myself on a near daily basis.
How Far Down the Hole?
I love doing a deep dive into an area of history. If I am truly interested, I will probably go on a reading and watching spree and try and take in as much as humanely possible. I create my own bibliography, and even build my own collection of notes on the topic if I think I will want to come back to it later. However, because of the amount of organisation needed for my graduate work, I tend to take quite an academic approach to things. It is a habit that I haven’t broken, and I’m not sure that I want to. However, that leaves me in a slightly odd spot in regards to writing my posts. If I go too academic, I may alienate many of my readers who enjoy my more casual blogging tone. If I am not academic enough, other history bloggers and historians may not take me seriously. So, how much detail and depth should I go into with a post? That is still an answer I’m searching for….
Finding Sources and Images
If you know anything about blogging, you will know that images and sources can be tricky. You may have noticed that when I use someone else’s image, I link the direct website that it came from. You can use images for educational or review purposes, but you have to credit the owner. You can also use databases like Pixabay for free-to-use images, but you usually can’t find specific images in terms of historical persons and topics. It can be quite difficult to find images, and I end up setting aside a fair number of posts because I can’t find images that are available and relevant. (Fun fact: you can just limit image searches on Google to those that available for re-use! It saves you a lot of time and energy to start by doing that.)
It can also be tricky to find sources. I like to start with academic sources and then read more casual sources, but sometimes there is a real absence of one, the other, or even both. (Yes, to a historian that would mean that you should absolutely write about it because no one else has. However, we all have limits on our time and access…) I like to ensure that my information does come from trustworthy sources, and those can be difficult to locate, as well. In some ways, I found lifestyle blogging much easier; most posts are either your opinions or your recommendations. When it comes to history and culture, you have to go beyond yourself, which can present a challenge.
Physical Location
If you don’t know, I live in the middle of Canada. The place that was colder than Mars, if we are getting specific. Now, Canada is a pretty great country- we have solid healthcare, excellent education, we are one of the only countries in the world who can feed its population with food from within its borders, and we have nearly every kind of landscape available. One thing we don’t have? A whole lot of medieval and early modern history. Yes, Canada has its own rich history, but it isn’t my first inclination. And while I am quite excited to share Canadian history on the blog (starting with a quick piece of Hudson’s Bay Company history), most of my readers don’t want that all of the time. And yes, there are people who will say “write whatever you want” but that isn’t the type of blogger I am. 90% of bloggers are paying attention to views, and work hard to maintain a balance of actually drawing traffic who read your posts and writing about what interests you.
There are some amazing history blogs right now that are killing it, and I admit that I feel I am at an endless disadvantage. They can visit these amazing historical sites on a weekly basis, have gorgeous pictures and dazzling write ups, go to numerous conferences and talks. They are making endless connections, and I wonder if it is worth it for me to keep persevering. I try to stay active on social media and keep up with everything, but being 6 hours behind many of the people that I am chatting with makes it quite difficult sometimes. They are doing it so well, and on a daily basis, can someone out here in the sticks of Canada even hope to participate? Should I even keep trying?
My upcoming trip to the UK is going to be absolutely jam packed, and if I’m being honest, will probably keep me in history content for years to come. I do everything possible to ensure that I soaking every bit of history up from the places I visit; from the Old Banff Cemetary to the Baker Street Tube Station. One on hand, I probably would be doing 90% of it anyways, because history is one of my passions. On the other hand, I would likely give myself a bit more down time in my schedule. When a flight to the UK is $900+ CAD on a good day, I can’t afford trips there more than every 3-4 years- does this mean that I should take a step back and find a different topic? Is this history blog of mine worth it?
♠
Overall, I adore what my blog has become. I am incredibly proud of it, and I never have that question of “should I tell someone about it?”- if it is appropriate, I am happy to share it. Being self hosted now, with an archive of over 1200 posts, and a wealth of skills and abilities, I have really accomplished something here. However, sometimes it can be a tough slog that can feel like quite a hike.
What is one area of your life that you find tough but stick through it?
Cheers,
The Historian
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This was an incredible post! If you had asked me, prior to reading this post, what I would imagine the challenges of being a history blogger were, I doubt I could have come up with much concrete other than the intellectual property challenges that all of us bloggers face. However, you really opened my eyes here, and it all makes perfect sense — the line you walk between casual and academic, the particular IP challenges you face, and the physical location constraints in particular.